Date June 27 2002 Page B1 Section
Cary Edition Final
Byline Jennifer Layton Source Correspondent Slug
CLBillington627cn Length
58.485
Subjects music
Proper Name John Billington
Art c photo
Photo-Credit Staff Photo By Brad Smith
Headline Billington explores new world of sound
The first thing I expect Cary musician John Billington to show me is some
giant computer. After all, he is an electronic artist, obsessive about
collecting sounds from all over the world and bringing them to his basement
studio.
But right away, he hands me a pair of binoculars, points to his backyard
koi pond through his kitchen window, and tells me to focus on the middle of
the pond. Resting with its head just above the surface is the biggest, most
frightening-looking frog I've ever seen. It must leave dents when it hops
across the yard.
"His name is Frodo," Billington says, laughing at my reaction.
"I dug the pond, and he just hopped out of the woods one day and made
himself at home. Sometimes I see him making eyes at one of the stone
gargoyle frogs at the
edge of the pond."
Then we go downstairs to the studio. Now, I think, I'll see some computers.
Instead, the first thing I see is an acoustic drum kit. And the first thing
Billington does is pick up a vintage alto saxophone and play a jazzy riff.
He then puts on a wireless microphone and plays a flute. The sweet, dancing
notes sing playfully from the speakers and actually make the drums vibrate.
I wasn't prepared for this. I came here to argue. As a fan of true acoustic
music, I felt my defenses go up when reading about this local artist who
prides himself on using the computer to create musical compositions. His
press kit plainly states that his home PC is the centerpiece of his music
CD production and boasts of his B.S. degree in physics and math from
Northern Michigan University. He also has an M.S. in computer science from
the University of Missouri. No degree in music. Blasphemy, I think. So I
pick up my notebook and tape recorder and march right over to his
house, and the first thing he does is play some real instruments.
In fact, as Billington finally moves on to the electronic tone generators,
wind controller, and various sequencers, he readily acknowledges that
nothing can replace the sounds of the real instruments.
"That's a vintage saxophone," he says, gesturing toward the
instrument. "And that's a really good flute. I would never go to this
computer and try to reproduce those sounds. And to work with electronic
music, you've got to have the musicianship. If you don't have that skill,
and you just have a collection of electronic sounds, you're like a kid
who's been playing the saxophone for two weeks and just making a honking
noise. He's trying to be a musician, but the result shows he's not there
yet. Musicianship is what
drives everything."
###
A world of sound:
Musicianship, along with a lifetime of travel, is also what has driven
Billington to collect a world of sound. Born in Ontario, Canada (his uncle
directed the Toronto Mendelson Choir), his family moved to the United
States when he was 5 years old. As he grew up, he explored Tokyo, Paris,
Monaco,
London, St. Thomas, and many other exotic cities.
Despite his non-musical career decision to take a job in Cary as a quality
auditor for a telecommunications company, such a background had kept his
mind open to different cultures and his ear trained to single out new
sounds. When telecommunications jobs in the Triangle started getting phased
out and Billington lost his, he began pursuing his music full-time.
He started by recording two CDs in his basement. The first,
"Tolisha," he spent two years composing and recording completely
on his own. (The cover features a baby picture of his now 18-year-old son
Tommy.) "Tolisha" is a
collection of electronic sounds layered around natural vocals and
instruments.
In fact, a segment of the CD, "Teal Lake Trilogy," was inspired
by a boyhood experience hearing the sounds of nature. He and a friend
ventured out on a raft on a northern Michigan lake that was thawing after
an ice storm, and the wind blowing the ice fragments together created a
crystal chime that has stayed with him ever since. The trilogy is a
collection of ambient sounds that sweep the listener out onto the lake,
hearing the ice clinking together bracing against the strong wind.
Billington even acknowledges the importance of natural sounds in the liner
notes of "Tolisha." "The sounds on this album are the
creation of man, not nature," he writes, "but there is still
magic whether the sounds stem from
the wonder of nature or the technology of man."
###
The human element:
However, exploring the technology of man alone in his basement for two
years can make even the most solitary person a little batty. "That was
too much,"
Billington says now. "After I did that CD, I wanted to work with
people again. There's a flow that has to happen here. If I stay on the
computer in this basement, I dry up after a point. I have to get out and
see people and
interact with other musicians and play live. It recharges me. That human
element has to be there, or I can't bring passion and new ideas to the
music."
So Billington teamed up with fellow artists Mike Davis and Lani Kee
VanSickle to form Project Bluebook, an electronic fusion band whose
compositions include samples of classical choirs, movie-related special
effects, nature noises, sensual moans, religious chants, and many other
unusual sounds. The result, "Children of the Ancients," has
fascinated listeners of all kinds of music, from electronic enthusiasts to
those who prefer the more acoustic sound. Wherever Project Bluebook plays,
they get the same question: How are you getting those sounds?
"I used to wonder the same thing when I first started hearing
techno-dance stuff," says Billington, who studied classically as a
flute player while
growing up. (Asked when he began exploring electronic music, he says
cryptically, "Older. I was much older then.")
"One artist that caught my attention was Moby. I like Moby,"
Billington remembers. "He uses different sounds in the texture of his
music, and I wanted to know how he was doing that. And then I discovered
how with the computer. I'm sitting here in my basement, and I've got the
sounds of the world at my fingertips! As a composer, it's brought the whole
world into my basement."
It's also brought convenience and financial practicality. "I don't
have to go to India to get an eastern flute sound. I don't have to go out
and buy expensive flutes or sitars. I have all that via samples that I can
use. I love choir sounds, but hiring a choir would cost a fortune. Instead,
I can use the samples. The computer has given me a tremendous amount of
power and a tremendous number of sounds."
The sampled sounds appeal particularly to music students, especially when
Project Bluebook plays live.
"The best response we've had has been, understandably, in
Winston-Salem, where they have the North Carolina School of the Arts. When
we played there, it seemed that about 80 percent of the audience was doing
graphic art on
laptop computers. So they were very receptive to the new music, and they
the themes behind it. Part of the theme of the CD is about aliens,
different cultures on Earth, and they liked that. They also liked the
Easter Island picture on the cover."
The students are also fascinated with the MIDI horn, an electronic device
that produces many of the more unusual sounds. "A lot of flute and sax
players come up to me after performances," Billington says, "and
they want to see the horn, pick it up and see how it feels. That's actually
a
fascination piece. People are very interested in that horn and where the
sounds are coming from."
So far, Project Bluebook has managed to get their collective foot in the
door at Triangle venues like the Cary Borders and Raleigh's Millenium
Music.
They've also convinced those retail outlets as well as others like
Schoolkids Records, Amazon.com, and CDBaby.com to stock and sell their
music. Still, Billington says, it can be tough finding venues in the
Triangle if you're not a college rock bar band.
"Any musician in this area will tell you it's extremely difficult to
get gigs if you're not playing party music," he says. "And
everybody will tell you it's hard to get radio play. You have to go with a
record producer, and
radio people want to see sale volume first. Still, we've got airplay at the
University of British Columbia (correction by JTB) and at a Toronto
station, which I'm pretty happy about."
###
Relaxation response:
When he's not composing and performing, Billington gives seminars to
Triangle corporations about what he calls the relaxation response -- using
quiet sounds with no beats or vocals to relieve stress and produce more
restful sleep. In order to be effective, such music must avoid drastic
volume changes and contain no understandable vocals to trigger thinking.
The desired effect is achieved by featuring many aspects of electronic
music that its foes particularly dislike.
"I hear some people say that electronic music lacks passion,"
Billington explains, "but passion is just an element of music. The
ambient music, the type I play for the relaxation response, helps people
relax in a way that
can be psychologically measured. It fits a certain criteria to get that
physiological response. No emotion. No melodies. No loud noises. No chord
changes."
True to his nature, Billington then returns to the balance. "It just
depends on what you want from your music. I can compose techno-dance music
that evokes passion and excitement that some people want. I have my own
preferences. I love the cello. I love the saxophone. Those are every
expressive to me. I like the interesting melody lines of jazz and the
emotion involved in a good blues solo. There are many, many moods in
music."
Looking forward, Billington wants to teach others the world of
possibilities that he's found in music. He is building a student base,
teaching both natural instruments such as flute and saxophone as well as
electronic wind
instruments. He has students of all ages, including a corporate CEO and a
manager at Nortel. But Billington especially likes teaching children.
"I give lessons both here in my studio and in local schools," he
says. "Teaching is good for me as a musician because it firms up the
fundamentals. And if it's done right, it can be a tremendous self-esteem
builder for
children. I like to watch as they progress and their self-esteem builds.
It's nice to be a part of that."
Eventually, Billington would like to divide his time into thirds with
composing, teaching and performing live. He also wants to continue his
occasional forays into Triangle clubs and across the globe to see what else
is out there.
"I like to go to Sullivan's on Glenwood Avenue because of the high
caliber of jazz there. I like almost every kind of music. I like some
reggae. When I
went to Hawaii, I liked the music there, a mixture of Jamaican and
Hawaiian."
He also enjoys quiet time with his wife, Lee Ann, and teenage sons, Tommy
and Shawn, although finding that time has been more difficult lately.
"Shawn
is 16 and just got his driver's license. If you happen to see him, say hi
from me," Billington laughs.
And of course, he'll keep exploring on his own and collecting new sounds
for upcoming projects. "I've been to so many places, and each city's
got some
different kind of music. I love bringing it all into my studio."
As long as he doesn't try to bring home any wildlife companions for Frodo,
area musicians and music students alike will be eager to see the new
collections Billington brings across the border. While he travels and
teaches, he can show them what's possible in the world of sound.
###
To make contact:
How to reach John Billington: P.O. Box 4442, Cary, NC 27519-4442, or e-mail
him at billington@ipass.net.
Cutline(s): Versatile artist John Billington combines traditional music
with electronica.
Mary A. Wehring
The Cary News
(919) 460-2600
fax (919) 460-6034
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