Billy Ray Hatley & the Showdogs

Billy Ray Hatley is living the musician's equivalent of a double life. For more than 20 years, Richmonders have known and loved him for his work with the big blues and big rythem and blues sound of Big City. As passionate as he was and still is about Big City, Hatley experienced a yearning to revisit his musical roots. The product of that yearning is Billy Ray Hatley and the Show Dogs, a rock-folk-country and almost all acoustic act made up of Hatley, guitarist Jim Wark, Mike Moore on upright bass and percussionist Rico Antonelli. "The difference between the two bands is significant" Hatley explained in a phone interview. "The Show Dogs is more of a roots-rock band with country influences as well as blues and folk. Its a smaller, acoustic band. Big City is more of an R&B, Delbert McClinton-type blues band". The Show Dogs do play more rockin' stuff but the feel still has that country backbone. "I put the Show Dogs together because its what I grew up listening to and playing around my family," Hatley said. "My uncle had a band when I was a kid and my sister was a singer. That's the stuff that they played. My mom wrote songs that I used to listened to. It was more like old traditional country but it sort of flows into what we're playing now." Another crucial difference is that words matter to Hatley. "Those songs that we do with the Show Dogs have some lyrical communication. I try to write them about something rather than just have lyrics flowing with a groove. Hatley and the Show Dogs released "More Years Than I've Got" almost a year ago. "It's doing real well," Hatley said. "It's sold alot in Europe. I'm right happy with it." "The reaction of some Big City fans was really good and really supportive and they've become really true Show Dog fans' said Hatley. "But I had one girl who e-mailed me the nastiest e-mail and told me she couldn't believe that I would stop singing the blues." Hatley is well aware, though, especially when it comes to music, that you can't please all the people all the time. "When you sit and listen to it, the Show Dogs sound does have that twang to it. But that doesn't bother me a bit because I love it all. If it feels good, then I don't care what we're playing. As long as everyone in the band is having a good time and people in the audience are picking up on it." Hatley and his boys are primarilyworking the Central Virginia club circuit as well as making some short road trips to Williamsburg, Hampton and Fredericksburg. "I wan't to get bigger," Hatley said. "I think we're hitting sort of a fan base. The simplicity of it speaks to alot of people. Hatley is shopping tunes to record labels as well as club owners. He recently started receiving royalties for songwriting credit on Michael Burks' latest Alligator Records release. And he's hoping that those checks represent the first of many. "I've sent out the Show Dogs CD thinking an artist may be interested in picking up one of those songs...I'd be happy to sit back and have people record my songs."__________________________________ Written by By Bill Craig........special correspondent