The Billy Dechand Band: World Famous in Chapel Hill (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: February 1, 2002

The Billy Dechand Band provides an alternative to Alternative Rock. This guitar, bass, and drums trio also excels as a multitasking unit. Guitarists Billy Dechand and Vito di Bona share vocal duties, while the former also handles keys and bass. Drummer/percussionist Mike Yanoski operates the rhythms amid these concisely organized pieces with sociopolitical musings. The band augments its sound with accordionist Jay Cartwright, clarinetist Nancy Fiator, and others. The entire production clocks in at thirty-four and one-half minutes.

The group melds an element of folksiness via a verse/chorus stratagem atop simple crunch chords and a few unexpected time changes as they occasionally skirt the fringes of progressive rock. On the piece "The Emperor Has No Votes," the band enlists three folks who chant, "hip, hip, hooray!" subsequent to the vocalists' bubbly and altogether lighthearted choruses. Besides the straight-ahead rockers and psychedelic riffs, they also toss in a few countrified, Southern Rock motifs here and there. Yet, some of these pieces fail to impart a lasting impression, although the group's approach is miles ahead of a large portion of the rubbish on present-day rock radio.

Muss My Hair Records

Track Listing: 1.Hard Moon Crash 2.Water On The Ocean 3.Beware 4.Flip The Switch 5.The Emperor Has No Votes 6.Fu Fu Bunny 7.Angus 8.Catacombs 9.Bike Back 10.Multiply 11.When The Sand Is Dry

Personnel: Vito di Bona: vocals, guitars, drums

Style: Fusion/Progressive Rock