Billy Schafer soars into the chorus of “The Dream is Alive” filled with infectious passion and conviction. This song and the others from his debut CD, First to Believe, introduce Billy as a singer-songwriter with an intuitive and confident grasp of song-craft. Fueled by infectious melodies and emotive lyrics of romantic depth, wit, and uplifting inspiration, these recordings showcase a versatile vocal delivery of powerful but pure tones.

Billy’s album was helmed by producer Michael Winger, president of the Northern California Grammy Chapter and known for his live recordings for KFOG San Francisco. The album captivates listeners with story songs that unabashedly and poetically reveal Billy’s private moments. These chronicles unfurl in his clear, earnest vocals while Billy’s acoustic guitar sometimes drives, sometimes caresses his tunes. Luring the listener to join him in reflecting on paths of self-discovery, these messages of empowerment and relationship dynamics are effectively voiced with understated and unpretentious band arrangements.

Performing solo and with a band in his adopted city of San Francisco, Billy readily draws an audience in with his affable manner and unjaded boyish appeal. Those unfamiliar with Billy on stage, quickly find themselves at ease, as if they’re revisiting a long-time friend.  Hearing Billy live can be an enthralling homecoming.

Hailing from Houston, Texas, the son of a piano-playing nurse and a father trained in classical trumpet, Billy forged an early and deep appreciation for music. He began on drums, but soon picked up the guitar to pay homage to song-poet heroes like Paul Simon and John Lennon. In more recent years, Billy’s focus shifted toward writing his own songs, filtering influences ranging from his mother’s ear for 60’s folk and pop, musician film biopics like La Bamba, and a mélange of rock and Texas troubadour driven music.

Billy’s writing has drawn attention with awards and honors. A “Best Song” won at a West Coast Songwriters Association monthly live song competition, a feature on a TV showcase series of fresh Bay Area performers, and a treasured evening when Billy performed solo in the poster room at the esteemed Fillmore in San Francisco—all indicating how this songwriter and performer keeps building his career.

His tastes and influences stretch far beyond what Billy’s current sound might imply. Days as a youngster with beat-box rapper obsessions, pop-punk shouts and harmonies, Bossa Nova studies in Brazil, and singing the national anthem at Wrigley Field are all in his history. Billy now concentrates on expanding his growing catalog of original material, recording, and frequent gigging–from coffee house slots to full-band shows pumping up the audiences at Bay Area clubs.

It’s all part of a vision depicted with insightful irony by the title and cover art of his album. Conveying both the serious challenge of creating a thriving performer’s career and the tenacious playfulness that fuels Billy’s music, the album title First to Believe is juxtaposed with a whimsical illustration of a tremendous hog with wings. “When pigs fly” indeed.

Billy will tour California during Fall 2010, including a show on 10/24 at Yoshi’s San Francisco. Along his tour, fans will be treated to songs from his recent release as well as new material reflecting a to-date unrevealed moody side to Billy’s music.