BILL BACHMANN Biography
Musician and songwriter Bill Bachmann began his professional career while in college, opening for folk legends such as Dave Van Ronk and Steve Goodman in his hometown of Buffalo, NY. He had learned the ukulele from his dad at age five, and then followed a natural progression to guitar and piano throughout his teenage years. After a move to New York City’s Greenwich Village, Bill was soon called upon by luminaries Matt Glaser, Kenny Kosek, Jon Sholle, Stacy Phillips, Paula Lockheart and Peter Ecklund, among others, to play guitar on their highly acclaimed albums. Simultaneously, Bill had been wreaking havoc as a lead guitarist with Paul Siebel, Rod MacDonald, Andy Statman, The Song Project, David Massengill, and George Gerdes, to name but a few, while studying jazz piano, as well as the oud with virtuoso George Mgrdichian. Variety magazine called him “impressive on lead guitar” and The Boston Globe commended his “tasteful lead guitar.” The New York Post deemed him “a fine guitarist” and the Boston Phoenix asserted that Bill was “grossly under-recorded.”
Bill also continued to pursue his songwriting endeavors. Singers Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky, and Christine Lavin, along with other Village artists, recorded his song “Vacation” on a "Live at The Bottom Line" CD. This track was chosen to appear on a Smithsonian Folkways Recordings CD, "Fast Folk," which included other songwriters such as Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Richard Shindell and Steve Forbert.
In 2009, Bill released his first solo CD - Big World Out There, writing the music and lyrics and playing all the instruments himself. He also arranged, engineered and recorded every song in his home studio. Wildy’s World called it “a master class in marrying storytelling to song craft” and wrote, “there are few in the Folk world or out of it who can tell a story with quite the same zest, wit and intelligence without compromising the inherent musicality of a song.” Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange asserted, "I dare ya to find a release quite the equal of this. And you'll have to do so on your own, 'cause I ain't lettin' loose of my copy."
Folk-n-Roller, released in 2011, was again lyrically driven, romping through a multitude of styles. Grammy Award winner Don Grossinger (Brian Wilson, Rolling Stones, Shawn Colvin) did the mastering. MuzikReviews.com claimed, “Bill Bachmann has delivered a near perfect album that never disappoints." Folkwords from the United Kingdom called it, “another guitar and lyrics masterclass.” Wildy's World noted, "As songwriting goes, this is a 'WOW' moment...As a guitar player, there are few more accomplished than Bill Bachmann." Muse's Muse Reviews wrote, "He's infectious - & this CD will suck you in like a drug." And in a review by Matt Warnock: “Is there anything Bachmann can’t do as a singer-songwriter?”
As a side project, Bill completed the mailing of his B-A-C-H-M-A-N-N song to every Bachmann in the United States. Many have written back and shared their own stories about how their name was always misspelled. Concurrently, Bill’s song “Telecasterbator” was selected as a Finalist in the 15th Annual Great American Song Contest, and his song “Size Don’t Matter on a Banjo” was selected as a Top Five Winner in its 16th Annual competition, picked from among 4,500 songs. Bill continued to write more songs and record instrumentals, and in 2019 began publishing a number of videos on YouTube, showcasing his musical talents.
IN 2023, BILL PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS WITH HIS THIRD SOLO CD -- Flight of the BumBillB Layered with humor, pathos, and satire, he again has written, arranged, recorded and mixed the songs himself, while playing acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, dobro, mandolin, bass, drums, piano and synthesizer. Puns, double entendres, parodies, overstatements, understatements, juxtapositions, and innuendos abound, and his guitar work and vocals have continued to rise to new heights!
Bill currently resides in New York’s Westchester County, performing in and around the New York metropolitan area.
Flight of the BumBillB Records