BILL FOX is one of the most influential people in the world electronic community. A tireless promoter of the genre in the Northeastern United States, he runs three radio broadcasts of electronic and modern progressive music on two radio stations, which can be heard on streaming Internet radio at WMUH and WDIY. His home page is soundscapes.us/bill. A multi-instrumentalist who’s equally at home on guitar, bass, saxophone, and keyboards, he has lent his talents to the Ricochet Dreams albums as well as to a collaboration with world-famous space musician VidnaObmana, and he plays in a number of musical groups in eastern Pennsylvania, including Xeroid Entity, who performed at several recent electro-music festivals. Bill uses electric guitar and Hawaiian lap steel being treated by electronic processing to create otherworldly tones and makes use of looping echo devices to accompany himself and build up thick textures of guitar music, in addition to synthesizer. As a result of this technique, any mistakes Bill makes will be repeated for quite a while, so he’d best be careful, hadn’t he?
I like making music from the ground up. I like learning cover songs as well as composing and arranging. Rehearsing can be fun, but the biggest kick is performing for a crowd. I also like the recording process where I can really make artistic statements.
I like to hike in the woods and mountains. I go to the Blue Ridge Parkway almost yearly.
Lately, travel has become a big interest with me. However, I tend to combine it with musical activities. Attending the Ricochet Gathering as a musician has taken me to the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia, the Mojave Desert in California, Germany, Poland, Spain’s Canary Islands off the Moroccan coast (NW Africa), and Italy. I have made the most fantastic international friends. The electro-music festival, though local, draws more international friends into my life. Attending Different Skies as a musician takes me to Arcosanti in Arizona, including a side trip to the Grand Canyon. I’ve also been to the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France to go to concerts, be with friends, or just visit somewhere I’ve never been before.
When I was growing up, I lived near a University that had a radio station. It was WUJC in those days but is now WJCU. When I was in high school, I used to hang out there whenever possible. Although that interest lay dormant for many years, I finally became active in radio in 1995 at WDIY. In 1997, I started a weekly radio show that is now called Galactic TravelsTM which I still do. Since 2002, I’ve been doing two shows at WMUH; Afterglow and The AM/FM Show.
Important Links
My Current Bands
Pinnacle – Original Progressive Rock trio
Pulse – Classic and Progressive Rock cover band
Malarky – The first Celtic band I joined and the only one that will still have me!
Xeroid Entity – Electronic Music Chamber Ensemble
The Municipal Band of Allentown – A community concert band