Billy Sherwood

American musician

William Wyman Sherwoodis an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist in 1994 and from 1997 to 2000 and as bassist since 2015, following the death of original bassist Chris Squire.

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About the Billy Sherwood

William Wyman Sherwoodis an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist in 1994 and from 1997 to 2000 and as bassist since 2015, following the death of original bassist Chris Squire. He is also known for working with former and current Yes members on other projects.

In addition to his involvement with Yes, Sherwood is the frontman of progressive rock groups World Trade, Circa and formerly Lodgic. In 2017, he joined Asia after the death of original singer and bassist John Wetton. Outside of these bands, Sherwood has worked as a producer since the 1990s, most notably on tribute albums dedicated to Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Queen and many others. He is also a solo artist, having released ten studio albums to date.

30 Quotes by Billy Sherwood

  1. 1.

    I have always enjoyed different kinds of music.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  2. 2.

    Everyone is really getting along with each other and we enjoy each others company and love playing live.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  3. 3.

    And I found that when I built my own place and just shut the door, the creativity was endless.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  4. 4.

    I love all Yes music and love to play it live, but I’m most interested in making new music with Yes.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  5. 5.

    So that studio served its purpose, and still is working very well for other people right now.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  6. 6.

    I wasn’t really writing with anything commercial in mind I just wanted to create some new music.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  7. 7.

    When you’re a songwriter and you click with someone, you tend to want to keep writing with that person.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  8. 8.

    I know that if I went to other studios, like in Vancouver, that those are set up to be as professional and as true, so it’s just a different flavour, it’s a different sound, but I think both have their place.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  9. 9.

    You know, I am just a musician and I have no idea these days what good and bad is in terms of labels.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  10. 10.

    Sometimes I hear a drum groove in my head and I rush down to my studio.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  11. 11.

    I love the feeling of creating pictures in someone’s mind just by spelling out the right lyrical combination.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  12. 12.

    I write on all instruments.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  13. 13.

    So I was always around music and my dad was in his own way a progressive jazzer, a big band jazzer guy.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  14. 14.

    I also write poems, so that is something that I really enjoy.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  15. 15.

    We came off the road of the last tour very inspired to just keep playing, so we went to Canada.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  16. 16.

    It’s an album that is a little bit different and probably isn’t easy to get out. It’s not likely that a major label would have picked it up and said that they had a smash hit record.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  17. 17.

    I think that the climate within the band has changed, it’s now in a more functional situation.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  18. 18.

    So one can say that I write all the time, that goes for the lyrics as well.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  19. 19.

    So whenever I had some in-between producing time down in my studio I popped a tape in and started working on it. Working a little bit at a time, it actually took almost four years.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  20. 20.

    So when bands work with me and it’s 10 o’clock, usually you’d have to be getting out of the studio, we could go on until 2 in the morning cause it’s my place!

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  21. 21.

    I’ve had the luxury of owning my own studio, 24 analogue, 48 digital, endless effects, endless hardcore gear, that I don’t have to rent, I don’t get stuck with the bills, it’s all mine.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  22. 22.

    So for my studio purposes, I know that I’m in my studio with technicians who’ve done amazing things to my board and to my power amps and I know what I can deliver out of my studio.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  23. 23.

    So in one sense you don’t have the classic keyboard player in Yes.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  24. 24.

    I’m very proud of it as a Yes record amongst many of the other Yes records.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  25. 25.

    I wrote songs with the guys from Air Supply for their record… So I was just writing songs.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  26. 26.

    And as you said, everyone contributed; certain areas of material came from certain individuals.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  27. 27.

    I grew up in a very musical family, my father was a musician and a big band leader and made records.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  28. 28.

    I mean, Beatles songs were two and a half minutes long, and they’re fantastic.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  29. 29.

    I’d written songs with lots of people, from one spectrum to the other.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician

  30. 30.

    I don’t have any assistants, I do it all myself, I don’t have any secretaries.

    Billy Sherwood

    American musician