Stories From the Stage

From a sheer audience size, the most people Bill has ever played in front of was a crowd of over 10,000 when The Bitteroots shared the stage with Everclear at the Woodstock Amphitheatre. It was the second time they'd played with Everclear — the first, a year earlier in Chamblee, GA, drew over 4,000.

Everclear were the nicest guys, and at both shows the bands hung out backstage and chatted. Bitteroots sax player Derron Nuhfer had played sax on Everclear's 2x platinum record, So Much for The Afterglow, so he had some history with Art and the guys.

The venue was massive — a literal sea of folding camping chairs set up days before the show. Everclear was already ripping through their soundcheck when the band arrived. After finishing their own soundcheck and dinner backstage, The Bitteroots watched the crowd grow and grow right up until showtime.

New guitarist PJ Poellnitz had only been with the band a short time — this may have been his first show as the sole guitarist, following the overlap period with departing member Greg Sims.

After the set, the bands high-fived backstage. Then the Fire Marshal from Cherokee County appeared — he was there because they were at capacity. When asked how many were out front, he said: "Well over 10,000, but the venue only holds 10,000."

The night ended watching Everclear's set from side stage with cold beers and big smiles on an incredible August night in Woodstock, GA.

Bill had dreamed of playing Cumberland Caverns after watching the PBS show Bluegrass Underground. When RCS Productions offered the opportunity to open for Mother's Finest deep underground, the decision was immediate.

The morning of the show, the band loaded out early from their practice space off North Avenue in Midtown Atlanta and drove to the middle-of-nowhere Tennessee. At the end of a gravel road was an opening in the side of a mountain — the entrance to the venue.

A converted Jeep with a lowered windshield and flat-bed trailer transported the gear. Once inside the cave, there was about a quarter-mile walk down a winding path, with clearance under one massive rock formation of maybe four and a half feet. At the end of that path, everything opened up into The Volcano Room — 333 feet underground.

The 800-capacity show was sold out. Cave concerts start at 2pm because it's completely dark underground and they don't want people navigating mountain dirt roads after dark.

Then there was the dust — in their hair, clothes, noses, eyes, amps, guitars, drums, cables, everywhere. It took weeks to clean everything.

The Bitteroots got a standing ovation. Then Mother's Finest spent 90 minutes absolutely ripping their set. The band watched from the back of the cavern, sharing Derron's whiskey flask, and explored some of the 27 miles of branching caves — still hearing the music echoing in all directions.

As they reached the entrance after several hours underground, they were met with bright afternoon sunlight. It felt like it must be the middle of the night.

Bill had been a fan of Freddy Jones Band since college — their CDs on permanent rotation for 25-30 years. Songs like Take The Time, Texas Skies, Wonder, Waitress, and In A Daydream.

In 2010, he spotted Freddy Jones Band playing Eddie's Attic, right down the street from his house in Decatur. He bought a front-row table and took a few guys from The Bitteroots. After the show, he and bass player Jim Bonaccorsi exchanged numbers.

At a 2011 show at the Virginia Highlands Summer Fest, Bill talked his way backstage, found guitarist Wayne Healy, and boldly suggested The Bitteroots should open their next Eddie's Attic show — and that he should sit in on a couple songs. A few weeks later, Wayne called. The show was on.

They ran through The Puppet and In a Daydream during what was clearly an audition — up to now, the Freddy guys had never heard a single note from Bill or The Bitteroots. Everything checked out.

The sold-out show was packed beyond capacity. After about an hour, Wayne called Bill up as "Young William" — a nickname that has stuck for over 13 years. They burned through the songs, the crowd screamed for an encore, and Wayne asked if he knew Dixie Dynamite. He did.

Wayne and Bill became good friends after that night. In 2017, Wayne and Bill, along with Clay Fuller from Allgood, met in Atlanta, had dinner and a cocktail or two, and formed The Core.

Back in 1992, Bill's band New Found Daze played a Friday night in Macon at Rivalry's on Cherry St. The next day, he went back to get their check and one of his favorite bands, Jupiter Coyote, was running through their soundcheck. His copy of their 1991 debut CD, Cemeteries & Junkyards, was already well worn. He met songwriter Matthew Mayes briefly, but had to hit the road.

In 1994, Bill left New Found Daze to "cut my hair and get a real job," moved from Macon to Atlanta, and traded hundreds of shows for an office cubicle. For the next 13 years, he'd still play in loose garage bands — maybe 1 or 2 shows a year at backyard parties.

He continued buying every Jupiter Coyote CD and going to their shows. Those songs became an integral part of his life's soundtrack.

By 2007, his travel schedule made band commitments impossible. He left that band and thought he might be done with music entirely. For 4 or 5 months, he didn't even pick up a guitar.

But in early 2008, the stars aligned. Casually opening the "musician seeking band" page on Craigslist, the very first listing was for a new band looking for a drummer and bass player right down the street in Decatur. He auditioned and got the gig. That band became The Bitteroots.

The Bitteroots went on to play 200+ shows over 15 years, sharing stages with Grammy winners and Hall of Famers. Through those shared shows, Bill reconnected with Matt Mayes at a 2019 festival backstage. He casually mentioned: if you ever need a fill-in bass player, give me a call.

In 2022, Matt called. Jupiter Coyote had shows coming up and needed a bass player. Bill received the song list — 75+ songs — but he already knew most of them. The first full-band show in Raleigh was incredible.

He went on to record bass on Jupiter Coyote singles — Flowers, Balance, Time Won't Wait — songs by a band he'd been listening to for over 30 years.

In early 2019, The Bitteroots got the call to share the stage with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and multiple Grammy winner Kool & The Gang at "The Fred" — a 4,000-seat amphitheater in Peachtree City, GA. They had to sit on the news for months, waiting for the formal announcement.

The night before, they played a sold-out show at their home base of Eddie's Attic. The next day, they loaded the van and trailer at their practice space off North Avenue in Midtown Atlanta and drove south.

They expected to see the "old guys" of Kool & The Gang during soundcheck, but instead found about a dozen young musicians in their 20s burning through the check — absolutely incredible players. The four original members wouldn't arrive until closer to showtime.

The Bitteroots played their 40-minute set of all original songs to the sold-out crowd. Afterwards, they chatted with original drummer George "Funky" Brown backstage.

After the show, fans flooded the merch table to compliment the band, buy CDs and T-shirts, and take pictures on the way out. The show with Everclear in front of 10,000 would come just a couple of months later.