William Joseph Ficca (born February 15, 1950, in
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
) is an American drummer who was a founding member of the rock groups
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
The Waitresses
The Waitresses were an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, best known for their singles " I Know What Boys Like" and " Christmas Wrapping." They released two albums, ''Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?'' and '' Bruiseology'', and two EPs, '' I Co ...
.
Career
Italian origins, Ficca was a childhood friend of
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television.
Biography
Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...
(aka Tom Miller). Verlaine moved to New York and in 1972 put together
The Neon Boys
The Neon Boys were a short lived New York City proto-punk band, composed of Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell and Billy Ficca. The trio later went on to form the influential rock band Television in 1973; Richard Hell also went on to form the influentia ...
with
Richard Hell
Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer.
Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...
(Richard Meyers). They recruited Ficca to be their drummer and then, with the addition of second guitarist
Richard Lloyd, changed their name to Television. After Television broke up Ficca joined
The Waitresses
The Waitresses were an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, best known for their singles " I Know What Boys Like" and " Christmas Wrapping." They released two albums, ''Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?'' and '' Bruiseology'', and two EPs, '' I Co ...
. Ficca also worked with
Nona Hendryx
Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author.
Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...
& Zero Cool, 40 Families and
The Washington Squares
The Washington Squares are a neo-beatnik folk revival music group. Modeled after early 1960s groups like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, the group was named after New York City's Washington Square Park, emblematic of Greenwich Village. ...
. He frequently performed with
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
/
vocalist
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television.
Biography
Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...
and
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
Richard Hell
Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer.
Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...
as well as bassist Clint Bahr. He also played with the French poet and singer Sapho in 1980 on her LP called "Sapho".
He has also been featured on albums by
Dave Rave
Dave "Rave" DesRoches is a Canadian rock musician from Hamilton, Ontario.
To the general public, he is the sometime Teenage Head rhythm guitarist on the early recordings who graduated to lead singer during a Frankie Venom hiatus in 1985 and ...
,
Glen or Glenda
''Glen or Glenda'' is a 1953 American exploitation film directed, written by and starring Ed Wood (credited in his starring role as "Daniel Davis"), and featuring Wood's then-girlfriend Dolores Fuller and Bela Lugosi. It was produced by George W ...
, The Novellas, Eugene Ripper, Shane Faubert,
Brian Ritchie
Brian Ritchie (born November 21, 1960) is the bass guitarist for the alternative rock band Violent Femmes. Ritchie was born and raised in the United States and is currently a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, with his full-time residence i ...
and Lach and the Secrets. He performs with Television,
Gary Lucas
Gary Lucas (born June 20, 1952) is an American guitarist/songwriter/composer who was a member of Captain Beefheart's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters in 1989.
Lucas has released more than 50 albums to date as a solo artist or band l ...
, Dylan Nirvana and the Bad Flowers,
Gods and Monsters, the New York Blues Project,
The Original Dharma Bums and Uncle Bob NYC.
References
1950 births
Living people
American punk rock drummers
American male drummers
American new wave musicians
The Waitresses members
American rock drummers
Television (band) members
Neon Boys members
20th-century American drummers
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