He is a modern day song and dance man. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever actually seen him dance, but I'll bet he can! Bill Small is from New Jersey where, as in The Odyssey, the sirens (of New York) beckoned him at an early age, and like Odysseus he escaped to continue his journey. Music is his muse, from Sinatra to show tunes, to every other style he has heard and played over the years, since he was a teen. Before his arrival, his family had lived in Austin. Both of his older sisters were born in Texas. He just missed it by a few years. Moving here twenty years ago was like coming home, in any case, to this mythical and abundant land.
The Mystiqueros, of which Bill is a member, traveled up the east coast a couple of weeks ago: a Yankee, two Texans, and an Okie; a very simpatico grouping of folks. They allowed me, another Yankee, to be the Pied Piper of their road trip, DC to Baltimore to New York. We stopped at The Mansion On O for a Sunday night show, part of their SRO Concert Series. I love bringing people to the Mansion, it is magical space. From the art on the walls, to the music played, and the sumptuous food. Brunch is served on overflowing platters in rooms and nooks and crannies...too much is never enough! When one walks in, it is always with the feeling of coming home. Music Fog filmed in The Billiards Room, with vintage Beatles posters resplendent on the walls, a Yellow Submarine Jukebox, and a couple of empty but ornate barber chairs bearing silent witness. Bill pulled one of the songs out from his new CD The Next Time. The pain and yearning stood the hair up on my arms. Especially as it was delivered in an old house that has stories the walls could tell, too. "This Old House," from Bill Small with John Greenberg lending a hand.
- Jessie Scott
PS No matter where you are on the Eastern Seaboard, we are hoping you were shielded from the rain, tides and winds that Hurricane Earl brought, scooting up the coast.
