Billy Sharff: Bio
Billy Sharff is a musician, filmmaker, and photographer
working out of his home in Cornish, NH. At first working primarily
as a photographer, his emphasis gradually shifted to film, leading
him to write, direct, and produce two feature-length films and more
than a dozen shorts. His films have screened at many film festivals
around the world, from England to India. He is currently working
as a freelance filmmaker, and is covering the 2008 NH presidential
primary race for C-Span.
Sharff’s music came into focus during the recording of several
soundtracks for his own films, including one for a twenty-minute documentary
on former radio broadcaster Landon Saunders. He began playing music more
widely in 2005, heading an R&B cover band reviving the classics from
greats such as Curtis Mayfield, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding. At
the same time, he was writing his own music and playing acoustic gigs,
either as a solo act, or as a guitar duo with fellow guitarist Isaac
Luxon. In 2006, he began work on his debut album, “No Return From
Snockville.”
Before work on “Snockville,” guitar and violin were Sharff’s
primary instruments, but much of the album called for a larger sound.
He began to take up many instruments, from saxophone to keyboard, numbering
over ten in all. He layered these instruments to form the complex songs
of “Snockville,” all recorded at his home studio.
Since the album’s release, Sharff has been touring New England
with the Boston based roots-rock band Pariah Beat. He has also begun
composing and recording classical music, mastering new instruments, from
bassoon to euphonium, and even building one of his own instruments, a
classical flamenco guitar, made of curly black walnut and a variety of
rosewoods. He plans to release a classical album within the year.
© 2007 Billy Sharff
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