FEATURES
Cass and Billy come to the cafe in Pell City
Laura Nation-Atchison
12-19-2006
If you’re into rap or hard rock, she says, “You’ll hate us,” but if you like traditional country, maybe a little rock thrown in and some great swing songs form the past, they’re for you.
The duo that calls themselves “Cass and Billy” and has connections to Pell City comes through town to play for friends usually around Christmas, and this year, their visit comes Friday night at Café Avanti.
Cass and Billy Hunter will play from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m., and with it being Christmas and all, plan to thrown in some Christmas songs along with their usual offerings, plus requests “if we know them,” Cass said.
Cass said they’re calling the visit their “Pell City CD Release Party,” because they’ve just gotten their new CD out titled “Honey House.”
They wrote most of the music for the CD, all but four, and most are a result of the two working together.
“Billy is great with melodies, and writing with him has put a new twist on some of my songs,” she said. “He has more of a rock influence than I do, and he has such a great ear for chord progressions.”
Cass said she started writing music when she moved to Nashville in 1992 when she was 19.
“I’m still learning, of course, but I had some song writer friends in Nashville who helped me,” she said.
Her interest in music started at home, with an older sister who was a church pianist at age 15 at Southside Baptist Church in Trussville where the family lived at the time.
Cass was 12 years younger than her sister, and would sit by the piano at age 3, fascinated while her sister played.
Her sister sang harmony, and Cass said she got hooked. She then went on to sing in school events and competitions and in church, and sang in every talent event she could find.
Billy had his musical ambitions turned on by a sibling, too.
His older brother played guitar, and listened to lots of records at home. Billy would use pillows for drums and play with wooden dowel rods, playing along with the records. When he was about 13, he picked up his brother’s guitar and before long, his parents arranged for him to take lessons. After catching on, he started playing with bands in high school and college in Huntsville.
He moved to Houston, played with some more groups until 1994 when he moved to Nashville and started playing with musicians there, including David Ball, Sara Evans, Monty and the Pythons and others.
Cass’s parents and a sister still live in Pell City.
Now, Cass and Billy have a recording studio in their Huntsville, Texas home, where they are care providers for his ill father.
That’s where they worked on the new CD, “Honey House.”
They play often in the Huntsville area, and perform regularly in Nashville and in Alabama, also in Little Rock, Mississippi and Louisiana and on the Florida-Alabama coast twice a year. They recently added a trip to play in San Diego two or three times a year and travel every few weeks.
Cass and Billy started playing together in 2000, when Cass was brought in to fill in for a female vocalist who was sick.
Cass and Billy have played for the Pell City Block Party and for several locations in and around Talladega.
It’s recommended to call for reservations for their appearance at Café Avanti Friday night. You may call the restaurant at (205) 338-8900.
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About Laura Atchison
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Laura Nation-Atchison is The Daily Home features editor.
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