Killbilly was a

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

-based band active from 1987 to 1994, which described its music as being a mixture of bluegrass and punk. Critics have variously described the band's style as a "fusion of bluegrass and shred metal", and as "a genuine bluegrass band playing straight, fast and loud." The ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

''s Robert Wilonsky described the band as "irreplaceable" and their breakup in 1994 as the "end of an era".

History

Killbilly originated in 1986, when its guitarist, Alan Wooley, wrote and recorded the cassette "Foggy Mountain Anarchy" entirely by himself. At the time, Wooley was performing with the punk rock band the White Shapes. He then sent the cassette to

KNON KNON (89.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station broadcasting a community radio format. Licensed to Dallas, Texas, it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and is owned by Agape Broadcasting Foundation, Inc. KNON (for NON-commercial) is a non- ...

DJ Craig "Niteman" Taylor, who liked it so much that he called Wooley to invite his entire band to come on his show to perform. Wooley then admitted that he had no "band", and that he had recorded the album by himself, to which Taylor replied, given that Taylor knew how to sing and play harmonica, they should make Killbilly a real band. Wooley and Taylor went on to do so. They played their first show on March 12, 1987. The band's lineup changed, but its core members were Wooley, Taylor, singer and banjo player Stephen Trued, acoustic guitarist, mandolin player, and singer Harris Kirby, bassist Richard Hunter, and drummer Michael Schwedler. After producing cassettes and selling them at shows, they released their major label debut album, ''Foggy Mountain Anarchy'', in June 1992. In 1994, the band released ''Stranger in this Place'' on Crystal Clear Records. Like their previous album, ''Stranger in this Place'' was internationally distributed. The band broke up due to financial insolvency in 1994, and played their last show on November 4 that year.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Stranger in this Place'' (

Flying Fish Records Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to Rounder Records. Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of ...

, 1992) *''Foggy Mountain Anarchy'' ( Crystal Clear Records, 1994)

Cassettes

*''Alive in the City of Hate in the Lone Star State'' ( 4 Dots, 1990) *''Bootleg '91'' (1991)

References

{{Reflist Musical groups from Dallas Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 1987 establishments in Texas 1994 disestablishments in Texas American bluegrass music groups Punk rock groups from Texas