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."

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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."

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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."

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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.

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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