Hi Ant-Bee - Billy James Fans, Ever since I decided to create this
mailing list, I've been racking my brain with the question of how to
start this off. For the longest time I really didn't have a clue.
Should it be about Ant-Bee? One of the many books that Billy has
written, or been a part of? Maybe about a musician that Billy has
associated himself with? Frankly I'm not Mr. Know-It-All when it
comes to Billy. I read a few of his books. Have a few CD's that he is
a part of. Bitten off more then I could chew starting this list, the
little voice in my head told me time and time again. Then it dawned
on me. Thank you.

About a month or so ago, I received a CD in my mailbox. The name of
the CD is "Balls". The artist is Napoleon Murphy Brock. I remembered
the name. Received a e-mail one day from Billy telling me about this
guy. I didn't know who he was. "Worked with Zappa," replied Billy. I
grew up in the seventies. Was into rock n' roll. Of course I knew of
Frank Zappa. Who in the seventies that was into rock n' roll has not
heard of Frank Zappa? Was never a huge fan. Not like Billy. Over the
years I've collected a few Zappa releases. After Billy mentioning the
name, I looked for Napoleon in my Zappa collection. For a short while
afterwards I managed to get a hold of several releases Napoleon was
on. I even found a bootleg at a record show. While listening to all
this stuff, I researched Mr. Brock on the Internet. A couple months
later if the name was mentioned, I could at least tell you a little
about him.

I play the CD that arrived unannounced in my mailbox. I hear some
Zappa influences. I read the booklet. Chester Thompson on drums. I
knew who that was. The voice. Not that I'm a huge fan of vocalists,
but Napoleon has a good voice. A strong voice. Stands out. Not all
the same music song after song. A little rock. Might even call it
progressive rock at that. Some R&B. Even has rap. Includes
instrumentals, and even good old fashion whistling. No one whistles
anymore. More people should. After giving the CD several plays, I can
say over all I enjoy it very much, and that it has something for
everybody. If one track don't get you, another will. For the
ZappaHeads, a cool CD to add in that ever growing Zappa related
collection.

Thank you. Oh yeah, almost forgot. That's how this started off. The
subject line here is "thank you". In the booklet of the Napoleon
Murphy Brock CD called Balls, reads this; "Special Thanks - To the
following who are friends and more and without this project would not
been possible:" Ten people mentioned, one being Billy James. After
much thinking about how to start this off, it dawned on me. Thank you
Billy. Because of Billy, I know more about Frank Zappa then I would
ever have cared to know. That's written in a good way. I appreciate
the music of Frank more now, and the musicians who helped him create
that. Doing a mailing list about Billy, which includes being
subscribed to a mailing list about Billy, it's apparent that other
musicians are going to be discussed. That's why the name "Ant-Bee and
Friends."

Subscribers: Thank you for joining and holding on until something
went out. Hard to say at the moment where the future will bring us.
If anything I'm sure it won't be boring. Feedback is more then
welcome. Got a lot to do. Since I've done virtually no promotion for
this list at all, right now we've got one of the best kept secrets on
the Internet. That has to change. Tell your friends. Send in idea's.
Lets see where in the wonderful world of Ant-Bee we land next.

Gary Brown
Coordinator of Ant-Bee and Friends.

Check out:

http://www.napoleonmbrock.com

http://www.ant-bee.com