"I don't think of myself as a folk musician, as I'm sometimes labeled," says Billy Shaddox. "My dad was in a bluegrass band, and he was a big influence on me, but I was really steeped in the sounds of country and rock. For me, it's really about honoring the styles of the past, but taking it a new level and making them my own."
Shaddox's band Billy Midnight won a 2008 San Diego Music Award for best Americana or Country Album. In 2010, he was heard on the soundtrack for the surf movie Highwater, which made its local premier September 3 at AMC Fashion Valley.
"The best San Diego gig I played was opening for Dave Alvin and Los Lobos at Viejas," he recalls. "I love both of these artists, especially Dave Alvin. To share the stage with them was an honor. The worst gig? Many years ago while on tour in Eugene Oregon, I sustained a head injury, a bad one, I cracked my skull, after a gig while sleeping. The show itself that night was okay, but cracking your skull in your sleep afterwards and spending a week in the hospital definitely makes it the worst gig. I have no idea what happened to me or what I did to crack my skull. A total mystery!"
His 2015 full-length I Melt, I Howl, released on June 16, was produced by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive, David Wax Museum) and recorded at the Great North Sound Society studio in Maine. Kassirer also performed on the album, as did Billy's brother Bobby Shaddox.
“I recorded this album on the heels of leaving my job in Spring 2014, buying a van, and touring and playing music all over,” he says. “The music is fueled by the energy that was charging me at this unique time in my life.”
As of 2015, Shaddox had relocated to Colorado. A western tour kicked off that October 4 at Winston's in OB, wrapping up October 19 back in Denver.
His 2017 album Record Keeper (released via Leesta Vall Recordings in Brooklyn, NYC) was preceded by a single for "Saint Vrain" b/w "Learn to Sink." "These songs were recorded and produced by me at my home studio the Gulch," says Shaddox.
A new full-length called Moodshine dropped in 2022. "This album is a collection of ten songs that I wrote during the summer and fall of 2021. It's a diverse collection, everything from delicate ballads to driving rock songs. My friends Chad Mathis [bass], Chris Wright [drums], Eben Grace [pedal steel and electric guitar], and Will Mulligan [horns] all lent a hand in performing the songs on this album. As usual, we recorded it up here in the Gulch, my home studio. So much goes into creating an album of music, from those vulnerable moments of song writing - guitar and journal in hand, to late nights in the studio manipulating microphones in effort to perfectly capture the sound of an instrument. I hope when you listen to these songs you get a feel for the love and dedication I put into my craft. There are stories behind each of these songs, some close and personal, some completely fictitious. Up until this point they've belonged to me but with the release of this album they become yours."
"My wish is that somewhere in these you find something to connect with, a melody you like to sing along with, or the perfect song for an experience you're having. This is why I do this, through music I want to connect my observations and life experiences with others. Hopefully that's you."
Unapologetically Billy came out in summer 2022. "This album was conceived and recorded in March and April of this year. Everything you hear on this one was performed and recorded by me, here in the Gulch. I’m honored to share this collection of songs with you, take a listen, connect with the music, and get to know me a little better through this collection. You can download the album from my website or stream it from any number of places."