Billy Pettinger
Encyclopedia
Billy Pettinger is a Canadian-born singer and songwriter who performs under the moniker Billy the Kid. She also fronts the rock band Billy and the Lost Boys and played drums in Vancouver's longest surviving Ramones
cover band, the Ramores.
Pettinger has been the primary songwriter in all of her original projects and has collaborated with such artists as Garth Hudson
from The Band
and Bob Dylan
, Randy Cooke of Dave Stewart
's Rock Fabulous Orchestra and Ringo Starr
and Stan "the Baron" Behrens, who played harmonica for Willie Dixon
, Ruth Brown
and the Four Tops
.
Her debut release The Lost Cause was produced and engineered by Raine Maida
, lead singer of Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace
.
every weekend in her 1965 Valiant.
Having skipped a grade in French Immersion, she graduated a year early from the Langley Fine Arts School. She attributes her love of poetry and prose to her years spent there as a writing major. After attending the University College of the Fraser Valley
in Abbotsford
for two years with the intention of teaching English
, she dropped out to intern at a record company and work at a music store.
, Degrassi: The Next Generation
and The Collector
. She self-engineered and producing the 4th Billy and the Lost Boys album titled "Off The Map".
. An additional six songs were recorded at the same time, some of which were re-recorded for the album "Ours" (the remainder were released on 2011's "Demo-Lish"). In 2010 Billy the Kid began a crowd sourcing campaign to fund her debut album. In addition to pre-orders and specialized bundles, she traveled across the continent to play fundraisers, anniversaries, birthday parties and private concerts as well as go camping, white water rafting and rock climbing, with fans. The result was the appropriately titled album "Ours". Pettinger's songs have appeared in A&E's Biography, Miami Ink
, Gene Simmons' The Family Jewels, Exes and Ohs, One Angry Juror, Alienated and Canada In The Rough.
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
cover band, the Ramores.
Pettinger has been the primary songwriter in all of her original projects and has collaborated with such artists as Garth Hudson
Garth Hudson
Eric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
from The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Randy Cooke of Dave Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
's Rock Fabulous Orchestra and Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and Stan "the Baron" Behrens, who played harmonica for Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
, Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...
and the Four Tops
Four Tops
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes...
.
Her debut release The Lost Cause was produced and engineered by Raine Maida
Raine Maida
Raine Maida , is a Canadian musician best known as being the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. He has come to be known for his unique countertenor nasal falsetto singing voice, as well as his cryptic and poetry-influenced song lyrics...
, lead singer of Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band additionally consists of Jeremy Taggart on percussion, Duncan Coutts on bass, and Steve Mazur as lead guitarist...
.
Personal life
Pettinger began running away from home at age 12 and after years of staying with friends and family, she finally went in to foster care at age 15. A string of group homes, halfway houses and foster families resulted in meeting a crises response worker who eventually welcomed Pettinger into his family's home, complete with a full recording studio, drum set and rehearsal space. After telling Pettinger she "just had to find some guys that would show up", she put together her first band in which she was the lead singer and guitarist. The Blue Collar Bullets (featuring You Say Party drummer Devon Clifford who tragically passed away on stage in 2010) were only together for 3 years but it was in this group that she cut her teeth as a performer, driving to VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
every weekend in her 1965 Valiant.
Having skipped a grade in French Immersion, she graduated a year early from the Langley Fine Arts School. She attributes her love of poetry and prose to her years spent there as a writing major. After attending the University College of the Fraser Valley
University College of the Fraser Valley
The University of the Fraser Valley , is a Canadian public university with campuses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and Hope, British Columbia...
in Abbotsford
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
for two years with the intention of teaching English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, she dropped out to intern at a record company and work at a music store.
Billy and the Lost Boys
With the breakup of The Blue Collar Bullets, Pettinger put together a lineup of musicians and within twelve days of forming, Billy and the Lost Boys played their first concert. They would go on to release 3 albums, 2 music videos and in May 2004 reached #1 on the Canadian College and Campus Radio Charts. Their music was featured in television shows Radio Free RoscoeRadio Free Roscoe
Radio Free Roscoe was a Canadian television series filmed in Toronto, Ontario. The show was produced by Decode Entertainment, and it first aired on 1 August 2003 on Family, in Canada. It has also been dubbed in French in the province of Quebec and aired on VRAK.TV...
, Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
and The Collector
The Collector
The Collector is the title of a 1963 novel by John Fowles. It was made into a movie in 1965.- Plot summary :The novel is about a lonely young man, Frederick Clegg, who works as a clerk in a city hall, and collects butterflies in his spare time...
. She self-engineered and producing the 4th Billy and the Lost Boys album titled "Off The Map".
Solo work
Pettinger released a five song EP called The Lost Cause on November 14, 2008. The EP contains the songs "These City Lights", "Drown", "The Drugs", "I Don't Want to Know" and "Just Trying to Get By". The Lost Cause was produced by Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida. It is sold on her her website, and on iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. An additional six songs were recorded at the same time, some of which were re-recorded for the album "Ours" (the remainder were released on 2011's "Demo-Lish"). In 2010 Billy the Kid began a crowd sourcing campaign to fund her debut album. In addition to pre-orders and specialized bundles, she traveled across the continent to play fundraisers, anniversaries, birthday parties and private concerts as well as go camping, white water rafting and rock climbing, with fans. The result was the appropriately titled album "Ours". Pettinger's songs have appeared in A&E's Biography, Miami Ink
Miami Ink
Miami Ink is an American reality show on TLC that follows the events that took place at a tattoo shop in Miami Beach, Florida. The show premiered in July 2005 and has finished broadcasting its fourth season...
, Gene Simmons' The Family Jewels, Exes and Ohs, One Angry Juror, Alienated and Canada In The Rough.
Solo
- 2008: The Lost Cause
- 2010: Live at the Verge
- 2011: Ours
- 2011: Demo-Lish
- 2011: Ours - Acoustic
Billy and the Lost Boys
- 2002: Strong Like Prawn
- 2004: Breaking Down the Barriers That Break Down Your Music
- 2005: Breaking Down the Barriers That Break Down Your Music Remastered
- 2006: Yet Why Not Say What Happened?
- 2008: Off The Map