The Bill and Andy Show Story

 

 

OK - this is where it gets scary...

Little Andy Andy Hladek

Andy started his love for guitar at the age of seven, strumming, strumming and strumming to The Monkees' "Auntie Grezelda" for hours….days…..weeks….years.

At the age of 16, he decided to learn other songs. This made his family happy, but the damage caused by nine years of constantly playing "Auntie Grezelda" will never be known.
Little Andy

 


Transaction Andy joined TRANSACTION (a New Jersey based cover band) that was known for their hard rock covers of KISS, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, etc. TRANSACTION was known for great music, doing benefits, fiery explosions, spitting blood, not knowing any nice songs, and the intense rivalry with Zigfried Elm (the band Bill Hadam was playing in….more about that later…). TRANSACTION eventually broke up after the other guitarist and bassist believed that "nice songs" should be introduced into the set list.
Transaction




 


TNP


After years of trying to get the band back together, Andy gave up. He finished college, got married, bought a house, got a dog, got another dog, and got back to playing guitar. TAKE NO PRISONERS (TNP) was formed. TNP had a fine run of the Central New Jersey club scene for a number of years.

Take No Prisoners



TNP2



After TNP disbanded, Andy lost musical motivation. Even tapes of "Auntie Grezelda" playing under his pillow could not subliminally spark his creative flame.



 

 

Take No Prisoners

The Bill and Andy Show!



Then came the infamous telephone call from Bill (remember Bill - from Zigfried Elm?) Bill was playing at O'Halloran's Irish Pub and wanted to work as a duo. Bill asked Andy if he could sing. Andy said, "Yes" (thinking Bill was inquiring about Bill). All the bad blood is now blood water under the bridge and "The Bill and Andy Show" rules.

Well, that brings things up to date about Andy. If I knew any more I'd be a freakin' mind reader - WOULDN'T I?!!!


The Bill and Andy Show

 
Little Bill Bill Hadam

Bill started playing guitar at an early age–too young to remember. He started out learning chords shown to him by a neighborhood friend, so they could play Beatles songs together. Eventually, Bill took lessons; but like most kids, he only practiced the night before the lesson, because the lesson stuff was boring.

In the early days, Bill played mainly acoustic guitar. Having two older sisters, he was heavily influenced by the 60's folk music he heard around the house. That all changed when Bill met his now long-time friend, Dan Palladino.

Little Bill
 


Bill performing with Zigfried Elm


Dan introduced Bill to Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Kiss etc. Bill & Dan formed Zigfried Elm, and Bill no longer played 'nice' songs. Zigfried Elm was your typical teen-aged garage band that played its share of High School dances, Battle of the Bands (a few against cross-town rivals, Transaction, whom Andy played with) and other such events.



 

Bill w/Zigfried Elm Altitude

ZE broke up and a new band 'Altitude' was formed. Altitude's public performances were limited but were always a lot of fun. With no big breaks on the horizon, it was time for Bill to focus on college and the real world.



Altitude

Moonshadow While in college, Bill & Dan got together again, but this time with acoustic guitars in hand to form a duo named Moonshadow. While playing typical acoustic music, they also mixed in songs like "Joe's Garage" by Frank Zappa. Neat stuff, considering MTV's Unplugged had not yet hit the airwaves. Moonshadow gigged pretty steadily throughout central Jersey for a couple of years.

Moonshadow


The Bill and Andy Show!


After college, Bill got a real job, married, had a couple of kids and drifted away from any serious musical endeavors. Until now that is. A phone call to his old pal and former rival, Andy, created this monster and there's no turning back now! Come rock (acoustically) with the Bill & Andy Show.



The Bill and Andy Show