The day Billy Broome graduated from school in his hometown of Bonham, Texas, he wasted no time shipping south to the Live Music Capital of the World to pursue his dreams of seeing his name in the marquee lights.
Now, a years-long mainstay of the Austin scene both with his band Silo Road and more recently performing under his name, Broome has proven a musical force to be reckoned with. Harnessing a captivating amalgam of classic rock n’ roll, cosmic country, and a sprinkle of grunge, Broome delivers a powerful sound both live and in the studio.
And quietly, under the radar, the modest singer-songwriter and guitarist dropped his debut solo album, Cosmic Grooves, which hit streaming platforms February 6th, 2024 with vinyl releases available March 22nd.
Cosmic Grooves is an 8-track sonic adventure from start to finish, never administering a dull moment with its rollicking blend of honky tonk rock and semi-psychedelic grooves with songs that touch on detoxing from booze (“Pink Elephants,”) Broome’s playful relationship with his cat (“Gone or Not”), the delightfully meta song about writing a song (“Another Song”) and much more.
It was recorded at Signal Hill Recording in Dripping Springs, Texas, co-produced and engineered by Patrick Herzfeld, and mastered by David Willingham. Herzfeld also plays drums on the album, along with Adam Johnson (guitar), Morgan Patrick Thompson (bass), Simon Page (pedal steel), Sammy Powell (keys), and Jason McKenzie (tabla). The album art was created by Amy Beth Winkler.
As a life-long disciple of the city’s musical traditions (and of his hero, Doug Sahm), Broome has found his own sound and voice, and doesn’t hold back using it. And every Sunday night, he can be found at his residency leading Silo Road in a rousing musical journey at iconic East Austin haunt The White Horse—a testament to his commitment to the live music experience he sought out since he was a kid growing up in Texas.
We got to chat with Broome to learn more about what makes this Texan tick, his new album, what’s on the horizon and much more.
So is Billy Broome your real name?
It is. I mean ya know, I’m a William, but I always went by Billy.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Houston. But I’m from a little small town called Bonham. I’ve lived in Austin most of my life though. But Bonham is where I grew up, it’s in Northeast Texas.
What can you tell me about Bonham, Texas?
So Bonham is the birthplace of Charlie Christian. He’s from there. It’s just a little small town though, not much really going on. I went to school there and then pretty much moved to Austin and lived here ever since.
How long have you been writing and performing music, and who inspired you to do so?
My grandfather played drums professionally. And some of his family did too, I think in Nashville at some point. So they all just played and I was always around it. And all of my friends played, and there wasn’t that much to do in Bonham you know, so you kinda play guitar and that’s what we do here on a Saturday or Sunday. That’s just whatcha did.
When did you get your first guitar?
I would say about 15 or 16. I always knew I wanted to play guitar, there was no question. But I ended up going to bass first. Finally I started playing guitar doing a more lead role and all that.
What can you tell me about your band Silo Road?
I got some friends together to start playing, we sounded good, and so pretty soon the band officially formed. I wrote a bunch of tunes, and we did an EP and a couple albums. After that, Covid kinda got in the way. So a lot of it took a little longer than I wanted. After Silo Road put out a few albums, I wanted to do a solo thing, and put a bit of country in there coupled with our live feel. Just changin’ gears and basically having fun.
And do you still play with Silo Road?
We’re still around, yeah. We play Sundays at The White Horse in Austin. We’ve been doing it for so long. We talk about putting a few singles out here and there, and we do gig. ‘Billy Broome’ is a bit more of a rockin’ show. It’s pretty much me for both, though I do some co-writes here and there, but I’m pretty much the main writer.
I see you decided to record a pretty gnarly rock n’ roll cover of the Townes Van Zandt classic, “Waitin’ Around to Die.” What made you want to record this particular song in this particular way?
So it’s our ode to Rocky Hill. He did a similar version of it, but we wanted to kick it up another notch or two. We wanted to come at it like a full on punk band. [cracks up]
I think Townes would appreciate it honestly.
I think so too man! [continues laughing] I hope he would. I really do love that tune, and getting to play it and get into it as loud as you can. We did it live one time – and I mean – I’ve never seen a reaction like that. You could hear a pin drop before a loud ‘yeahhh!’ So we thought maybe we should record this one. I never knew how that was going to be taken too. I figured it could make some people upset. And I hoped not, I really do love Townes. I appreciate him and all the Texas songwriters, I really do. I’m a huge Doug Sahm fan, he’s my favorite out of all of them. He’’ll change your life man! He was in a band called the Sir Douglas Quintet. Check that out. I swear his spirit is still alive in Austin.
Can you talk about the importance of the order of the songs on the album and how you envision it to be listened to from start to finish?
They all came together a certain way. You know, if we put “Waitin’ Around to Die” at the beginning of this thing, people are going to think this is a heavy kind of album. I really liked “Gone or Not” as the opener ‘cause it almost has this beepin’ thing, and it just says ‘We’re off in space now. We’re going cosmic right now, get ready and start your next one.’
Is there a song on the album that was the most difficult to write/record for one reason or another?
“Don’t Know Why” was a bit of an issue, but we went back and I put Baritone on it and that fixed the whole thing. So it just needed another instrument basically. But there was a couple times where I was like I don’t know about this one. Patrick and I addressed this, and this was the solution to just fill it up and give it more of a floaty vibe.
What has been your favorite/the most rewarding part of making this album?
You know, it was great working with everybody. Everybody coming together and making an album is awesome. Everybody has a little piece of it. You can come up with all the ideas and the world, but once everybody is putting in and creating, it’s really my favorite part of the whole thing.
What messages or feelings do you hope to convey in this album?
Enjoyment! [bursts into prolonged laughter] I mean, that’s what I hope for you know? You never can tell but I hope. I mean I hope there’s at least one song on there that folks like, and that there’s enough variety of styles and sounds.
What are one or two pinnacle moments for you as an artist?
I’ve got so many. Playing all the places I get to play honestly. Having the [White Horse] residency as long as I’ve had I consider a big deal. I appreciate everybody at that club and the fans that come see us, it’s just awesome. That would be one. Putting the album out is another one. I really consider that a pinnacle too.
Do you have gigs lined up for summer and beyond?
We’ll be playing shows throughout the year all over the east coast and into the Midwest!
