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HOME CURRENT RELEASE PREVIOUS RELEASES ORDER ADD YOUR LINK CONTACT In late 1986, Bill Retoff was playing Fender Jazz Bass for a has-been cover band in central Illinois. Then one night, a group of slumming art students happened to drop in at the smoke-fogged bar where he was gigging, and took a liking to his trip. Soon after, they asked him to saddle up with a backup band they were getting together to play at a Monkees convention in Michigan, the following summer. The gig and the band vaporized, but the experience was a real revelation for Bill. He found out about the fascinating, burgeoning wave of indie pop. He learned that people did dig the songs that he'd been for years writing on his own. Before the 'Monkees group' faded out, they cut a few tracks at a studio in a dusty Amish town. Bill Retoff contributed two original songs. And right then and right there, he was hooked. Bill began to breathe, eat, sleep and bleed indie pop. His first ventures into serious recording came in the early '90s, via the gang of four later to be known as Retoff, McKenzie, Butler & Pierce. On Bill's self-made label, Maize Records, the band put out six releases, including the landmark cassette, NOW CAN WE MEET THE MAHARISHI?, in 1994. These were eventually gathered up with loving care and issued on compact disc by Pop The Balloon Records in France as THE RETOFF, McKENZIE, BUTLER & PIERCE STORY. In early 1994, Bill Retoff was struck down by spinal meningitis and intestinal cancer, which very nearly finished him off. But he got a reprieve from The Man Above, bounced back and continued on the indie path as a solo artist. More goodies followed, including his 1996 debut solo album, POP JEWELRY, in addition to three vinyl 45s and a small regiment of American and import compilation performances. Bill steadily forged a dedicated cult of listeners, building his rep and his sound on chiming guitars, block harmony vocals, and songs founded on a thorough working knowledge of '60s pop, with lyrics coming directly from the heart. ...And so, armed with his trusty Hamer electric 12-string, in his humble D.I.Y. studio on an upstairs floor at The Psychedelic Farmhouse, with guest shots by such indie luminaries as Rich Arithmetic and Christopher Earl...and with his faithful one-eyed cat, Bandit, napping nearby...Bill Retoff has conceived, written, created, recorded and produced his alpha work of luv pop gestalt-- REANIMATION. Out now and on the loose, seeking a place in your life. REANIMATION. On Maize Records in America. On Pop The Balloon Records in Europe. More recent hits of Maize Records include reunion CDs by RMBP: IN THE MOMENT, and their latest creation, EENIEMEENIEMEINEEMOJO. |