Simulated above are two guitars Billy plays, a Music Man Axis Sport, and a MartinD28. However, a gaggle of guitars are always used, ranging from the popular Tele, the mellow Gibson Les Paul, to the"Lollar Strat ".an unbelievable spanky Strat with Jason Lollar pickups....Que mole, amigo!

 

 Look out for an upcoming CD with a warm blend of acoustic and electric musical styles...Talkin' bout San Luis Obispo stuff... Preview some snips


Getting very close to finishing CD- Check back here for availability, as it will be offered exclusivly here (and outa the trunk of my car!)...and throughout San Luis Obispo County...

 music
P.O 12028
San Luis Obispo
PH (805) 546-8863 (or 546-TUNE)

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Upcoming Gig Calendar...

Once a week at the Cambria Pines in Cambria (usually Monday)
More info at the San Luis Obispo
Gig Calendar


LIVE Music is the BEST!

Woof!!!

San Luis Obispo professional musician Billy Foppiano is one of the Central Coast's most talented and versatile guitarists. Dubbed"the Guitar Wizard"by music reviewers, Billy plays and sings a warm mix of popular rock, blues, jazz, country and more, designed to suit a wide variety of musical tastes.

Billy has been pleasing crowds all over the San Luis Obispo area for more than two decades, both as a solo musician and as the leader of various bands, including the Mighty Croon Dogs. He provides fun musical entertainment to fit the mood at wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions, parties, wine festivals, fundraisers and other special events.

"Guitar Wizard"Billy Foppiano is an inspired player of both acoustic and electric guitar. Using modern musical technology, he can create a whole orchestra's worth of instruments to back up his dynamic electric guitar, offering the sound of a full band for the price of a solo musician. You can hear his upbeat musical style on acoustic guitar once a week at the Otter Rock Cafe, 885 Embarcadero in Morro Bay, where he performs popular favorites and amusing original tunes. (Check the calendar for times!)

Billy and the Mighty Croon Dogs are well-known as the most fun dance band on the Central Coast. Always happy to play and sing anything people ask for, the Mighty Croon Dogs are a popular choice for weddings, festivals and parties. 

Keep a look-out at familiar places like the Otter Rock Cafe, Cambria Pines Lodge Cisco's, and The Pozo Saloon, and read the New-Times for up-coming events! Live music in San Luis Obispo is always the BEST!

 

The Wizard inna Cowcoat.. “Guitar Wizard” Billy Foppiano

Live Music + Energy = Fun

 

 

By K.J. Johnston

 

    “If you see a peppy black pickup with ‘TUNEDOG’ plates barrelling along

the road, you might just want to move out of the way!” laughs “Guitar

Wizard” Billy Foppiano. Like a live music express, he buzzes from one end of

SLO County to the other to deliver up a good time, which he considers the

key component of his spirited music.

    Follow in the vortex of that whirlwind of allegro energy and you’re

likely to end up anywhere in the county, where the indefatigable guitarist

performs in a flurry of settings, sometimes two or three a day.

    “You can’t be a one-trick pony,” says “Guitar Wizard” Billy Foppiano,

who makes his living playing music locally. “This area is sustainable for

musicians who can wear many hats, from solo performances to duos and bands,

from acoustic to electric, from clubs to special events. It’s where multiple

personality syndrome can work for you!”

    His friends compare the busy musician to James Brown— “the hardest

working man in show business”— but Billy disagrees, saying, “I don’t work, I

play. I’m always chomping at the bit to play. And it’s always

different---that’s the challenging thing. But the bottom line is always

about fun!”

    Ask him what kind of music he plays, and he smiles, “I play both kinds-

good and bad! The point is that everybody likes something different, so I

week I played for the sexually violent predator ward at Atascadero State

Hospital, and the next night for a parents’ mixer at Mission school. And at

both gigs, they all remembered me from the year before!”

    Describing his long-running band, the Mighty Croon Dogs, as

“chameleons,” Billy adds, “We fit our groove with everybody else’s groove.

That’s how we make the connection. It’s the ultimate fun package. We coined

the admittedly ungrammatical label — ‘the funnest band on the Central

Coast’— because we consider ourselves to be conduits of fun.

    “Music is an interactive, good clean way for people to bounce their

bodies around and feel good. There’s a tribal element to it too,” he says.

    With a wide-ranging repertoire spanning the decades, the Mighty Croon

Dogs can play two four-hour gigs back to back and never repeat a song, Billy

says.

    “People like to hear familiar songs, but if you’re clever you can put

your own spin on it and make it different. The Croon Dogs are the only band

I know that can go from Elvis to a Ben Harper tune, then from Bakersfield

country to the light jazz of Norah Jones, then reggae, Latin, motown or

swing. Even if we don’t know a song someone asks for, we’ll do it anyway!”

Billy explains with a laugh.

    A guitar player since the age of six, Billy didn’t expect music to

provide his livelihood. He tried to hang up his instrument while studying

solar electrical engineering at Cal Poly, but college friends persuaded him

to play for them and he’s been doing it ever since.

    Ten years ago when he gave up his day job and turned to music

professionally, he began by working on his computer day after day,

programming tunes for a computerized back-up band for his solo electric

guitar performances.

    Now he uses a new technological trick known as looping for his acoustic

guitar gigs. “I can play guitar passages and record them on the fly, right

there, and then play over the top. It’s a whole cacophony of guitars, and

I’m like a composer playing interactive parts all woven together. What a

blast! And if you’re clever you don’t let them see who’s working the levers

behind the curtain and they think you’re just a fabulous player,” says

Billy

    “I’m always evolving musically. It’s not as if I’m on an assembly line

cranking out ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’. I put a different spin on it every time.”

    Performing in a duo with singer and stand-up bass player Piper Heisig,

the two focus on ‘30s and ‘40s acoustic swing music, which Billy terms

“subtle, very challenging, and lots of fun.”

    A “stripped-down trio” with bassist Frank Paredes and drummer Jerome

Taylor is another enjoyable combo for the Guitar Wizard. “Those guys are so

good it’s like driving a bus downhill. Their rhythm is solid as a rock.”

    Other trios and quartets, he explains, are “manufactured on the spot,

depending on what’s needed. There are so many great musicians in this county

that it’s always fun and never boring.”

    It’s a lifestyle that requires boundless energy and enthusiasm to keep

going full steam ahead, sometimes two weeks without a break, up to three

gigs a day. “I need amazing energy reserves, since I’m also a roadie,

driving everywhere, carrying and setting up all the equipment, plus

interfacing with people and staying jolly all the time.

    “I’ll share my secret: eating a good foundation of live organic food.

We’re lucky in this county to have so much fresh organic food available.

I’ve had virtually no sick days. That’s my health insurance,” says Billy.

    He praises the many local venues and local events where live music is

considered an integral part of the experience. “Live music brings magic to

any event. Music hits you on conscious and unconscious levels and everywhere

in between. It can shape your mood or help you relax or inspire you to jump

around.

    “I’ve been totally mesmerized just by listening to the vibrations. Music

puts you in the here-and-now, where you forget your problems and get lost in

the layers.”

    An active marketing program has been a crucial part of Billy’s local

success. His website at www.funlivemusic.com has had thousands of hits from

all over the U.S., ever since he first developed it after taking a one-day

class at Cuesta College. “Brides from New York or Chicago appreciate the

fact that they can instantly hear live music samples of the band right at

the website, so they can feel good about hiring the Mighty Croon Dogs to

play their wedding on the Central Coast.”

    For him, playing music outdoors is the best. “Music just sounds better

outside. It’s very hard to hit a wrong note when you’re playing under the

sky. It really opens up all the senses so you can appreciate the smells, the

sights, the sunlight, the breeze, as well as the music.”

    With winter coming on, though, he says there'll be more time to work on

his first CD of original songs. Not that he wants worldwide fame and

fortune, however. "I'm just glad to be living here in this beautiful place,

where people appreciate live music. I'm in it because it's fun to do," he

says.

    After years of hearing Billy work tirelessly to perfect his guitar

technique, his teenage son Charlie is now considering a musical career too.

Billy’s advice: “Don’t buy anything if you’ll have to make payments, because

you never know when the next money will come in. Keep your footprint on theearth small.

And always take the gig!”