It has definitely been a journey being able to encounter so many different musicians and being given the opportunity to create with them. I was able to connect with Bill Flores, who is a multi-instrumentalist from Ventura, California, through Martin Young who I worked with on “Suspend”. I was telling Martin about my need for a lead player and I was thankful he provided me with Bill’s information especially since references and number sharing in this industry can sometimes be sacred. Bill was well known in the area as the go to guy for dobro and mandolin. I called him ready to talk about joining us but received no answer, so the band and I kept doing sets with the musicians we could. The issue is we were struggling to find the third person to play when Mike Rosen wasn’t available and we were still rolling through different players because they didn’t quite fit. During this time Bill gave me a call out of the blue from the orginal message I left him..
As an experienced musician Bill is skilled in several instruments including saxophone, dobro, guitar, pedal steel guitar, button accordion, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo. He has performed with a bunch of accredited artists like Jeff Brides and the Abiders, David Crosby, Jackson Brown, Phil Salazar, and Grammy award winner Louie Ortega. He also has appeared at several festivals across the country and internationally including Strawberry Music Festival where he played for the house band since its inception, Vienne Jazz Festival, and the Live Oak Festival. Another great aspect of Bill’s talent is that he has played a variety of genre styles some within Americana like bluegrass, cajon, zydeco and some alternative genres like American swing and keltic music.
I knew someone with Bill’s experience would be a great fit for the team. When he called, we were fortunately doing a gig near where he worked in Santa Barbara and set up a time to meet. After our talk Bill was onboard to play with us but he wasn’t used to my process of rehearsal being equated to life experiences and learning on the fly at gigs instead of practice style rehearsals. He was able to fit into our style very quickly. Once he learned the process he ended up liking the way I create in the moment and enjoyed the way our unique band created without an arrangement set in stone. The tone he adds to our renditions of “Hallelujah”, “Romeo and Juliet” and "Find My Way Home" are really special and he said are his favorites to play.
Bill is a fantastic person and I’ve enjoyed working with him. Currently, he also does studio sessions and plays the saxophone at various blues gigs. Also, as if he is not skilled enough, he is an instrument technician at Jensen’s Guitar and Music. Plus he looks great for his age (share the secrets Bill!)
Read up on what Bill has done at https://bowlfulofblues.org/performer/bill-flores/
Stream Find My Way Home here
Stream Hallelujah here