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The Feelies: How I (Accidentally) Found Bill Million
I first crossed paths with Bill Million on a typically balmy Florida afternoon in the spring of 1995. At the time, I had no idea I was meeting a reclusive god of strum; in fact, I was not even aware strum was a sub-sub-subgenre of rock music. All I knew was the bespectacled man who stood before me (looking equal parts Harry Anderson and Danny Elfman) was my classmate Jon’s dad. I had ventured over to Jon’s house so we could embark on a round of clumsy, amateur sales work on behalf of our high school newspaper, The Pawprint. As underclassmen with no real pull yet in our shared journalism class, we were burdened with the thankless task of driving out to the various nail salons and insurance agencies around town to see if they were interested in purchasing ad space in our unpopular and usually mistake-laden four-page rag. No fun by any means, but we fancied ourselves on a career path, and this was one of those necessary evils.
At this point in my young life, I had just begun the ancient male teenage ritual of playing in terrible bands with assorted friends and miscreants. If memory serves, I had just escaped the hellish torment of my very first musical catastrophe, the Roswell Incident, a stomach-churning aural nightmare that culminated in an extraordinarily embarrassing first/final public performance at a local pizza parlor (the bass player burst into tears before and after our chaotic 10-minute set). Naturally, I had bragged about all this in journalism class, trying vainly to put some awesome spin on the tale that made the Roswell Incident sound more impressive than the Beatles, Slayer, and Green Day combined. This prompted Jon to mention the fact his father had once played in a band, which certainly struck me as neither important nor interesting at the time. Lots of people’s dads had played in bands. Was your dad in Nirvana, Jon? No? Then why am I being saddled with this painfully erroneous information? Ugh, it’s simply unbearable.
Such is the thought process of a spoiled suburban 16-year-old. Nevertheless, I was polite (or I tried to be) on that first visit to Jon’s home, particularly when his father attempted to engage me in conversation. He seemed like a fairly cool, unassuming guy, certainly not the prototypical overbearing you-kids-be-careful-and-what’s-with-your-damn-pants type of parent. That was appreciated, but I still wasn’t very curious about this group the old dog had apparently been involved in years earlier.
The next time I encountered Jon’s dad, however, the story would be completely different. Four years had passed; during that time, I had received as a birthday or Christmas gift a book entitled The Secret History of Rock. Aside from the usual suspects (Minor Threat, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sonic Youth, etc.), there was an entry on the Feelies, the critically acclaimed Hoboken rockers who counted R.E.M. and Robert Christgau as fans and who broke up when their founding guitarist Bill Million skipped off to Florida without telling any of his band mates. A Feelies photo graced the pages of my tome; one guitarist bore an incredible resemblance to Jon and shared his Christian last name (Bill Million, as you may have already guessed, was but a pseudonym, like Johnny Rotten or Redd Foxx before him). Could it be? Did I live within driving distance of a founding father of alternative rock?
I had fallen out of contact with Jon and couldn’t quite remember the details of his father’s rock ‘n’ roll exploits (or what little he relayed to me during high school). Luckily, neither one of us had advanced all that far in life; we were both still trapped in the same gross, muggy area of Florida. Thus, it was easy to track Jon down and verify that his pop was the one and only Bill Million. This led to an invitation to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers with my pal and his mercurial dad, a night I would partially spend quizzing the former Feelie relentlessly about his musical experiences and general status as a revered indie god.
25 Comments
The Feelies were an unbelievable breath of fresh air back in the day. To say they set the template for REM is an understatement. If you can find any of their CD’s, grab em. The music is driving, yet hypnotic. Those guys knew how to drive a groove….Thanks for the article!
Wow. I was sitting here, listening to “Only Life,” when i came across this article. How funny.
Yes indeed, they were a hell of a great band, and I pull their stuff out e few times a year to give a listen.
I never should have sold him that coke.
just listening to time for a witness in the car today-weird…
I first read of the Feelies in the listsing in the back New York Magazine. It referred to “while hot” guitar work. I never missed them at Hurrah, the best rock club in the city. Loved this article on Billy.
I was lucky enough to catch the Feelies in early ‘91 when they opened for Lou Reed (the “New York” album tour) at the Berkeley
Community Theater and they were so incredible that I took my girlfriend to see them at a small club in the South Bay a few months later. The Feelies put on a really exciting show and we were disappointed to find that they split up shortly after.
Now we know why ! Thanks !!!
For more Million brilliance try and get a hold of The Trypes s/t EP or Yung Wu’s “Shore Leave” both on Coyote Records, featuring the Million/Mercer combo that made The Feelies so f’ing listenable. Crazy Rhythms never gets old for me. Disney, huh? Nice article.
I loved by dad’s Feelies records (yes on vinyl). Would’ve been nice if the writter could have spent time talking about the Feelies instead of his stupid band flops. –janet
A few things I remember about the Feelies are that they always put on a good show, and I have never seen a band break so many stings during a set as they did. They are sorely missed.
Strings that is, hahaha
I remember seeing The Feelies at Mudd in NYC in ‘81 or so, then in SF at Oasis in ‘85…one of the most exciting music based bands ever! No b.s, just total, pure rock with a unique harmonic sound. They looked like nerds but so did Buddy Holly.
I saw the Feelies play the 8×10 in Baltimore 3 times………great band. I even got to talk to Brenda………M.
There is a song called “Late Birds” on Speed the Plough’s masterpeice album “Marina”. The song which was written by John Baumgartner contains the lyric “Meanwhile I don’t hear you calling, meanwhile you’re not heard from ever” (in the chorus). Could this be referring to Bill? One listen to Glenn Mercer’s new solo album “Wheels in Motion” and you might just feel the ghostly absence of Mr Million as I did/ do hearing it. Not that the album is lacking, it’s just that, while he beleives he is finished musicly, others feel remissed for the chemistry of the quartet, all of whom apear on the Mercer album except Bill.
To TJK:
Thanks for the kind words…and the close listening. Those lines from “Late Birds” were not about Bill. But they could have been. They were actually about another old friend who disappeared in the ether.
Health and Happiness to you,Bill you are Missed
Wow…does that bring back memories.
The Feelies were a remarkable live band. I interview them a couple of times in the early ’80s…at the house in Haledon (I forget if it was Glen or Bill’s). That quote in the article may have been from one of the things I published in NY Rocker. That was a long time ago.
OS FEELIES SÃO A MAIOR BANDA DO MUNDO
What a great article. Bill, I had the privelege, yes, PRIVILEGE, to see the Feelies in Virginia and DC 3 or 4 times, including a show where you openned for Lou Reed in DC. However, the shows at the now-defunct Library in Richmond, VA will remain strongly in my memories. You are missed, yet honored.
Saw The Feelies at Max’s Kansas City!
Top that!!
Million , Mercer, Saughter, Weckerman and Demenski.
Maxwell’s , June 30 and May 2nd. 2008 and Battery Park NYC with Sonic Youth! Can you beleive it? See you there everybody!
Nice interview!
I’m actually traveling from Chicago to Hoboken for their July 1st show (I’m promised myself I’d see them live should a reunion including Mr. Million ever occur).
Thanks for the great story. I just saw one of the reunion shows at Maxwell’s in Hoboken and it was mind-blowingly wonderful. It was as if these folks were playing for the last 17 years – super tight and in top form. Even the new songs fit right into the set. I can understand (some of) the band members desire to drop off of the pop music treadmill, but I hope the new songs the Feelies played point to a new recording in the future. And then maybe a few more shows?
One of the few bands I would see every chance I got. I still do, saw one of the Maxwell’s shows and the 7/4 outdoor show. They have lost nothing, tremendous energy and spirit. Thank you Bill for being willing to do this again. I hope there are more shows coming, but I will take whatever they are willing to do. There are recordings of a couple of the recent shows up at http://www.myctaper.com.
Great story. Often there is value in spending a little time with an older person – and then the coolest stories and … Good thing, someone gifted you that book and Jon was still around
The Feelies were the reason that I started writing music in the ’80s. I was fortunate to see them at the 9:30 and a few other places, and they were as great live as their recordings were. I never really got into the Crazy Rhythms album, but the three following were and are some of the best songs written. Thanks.