Billy Sherwood

Born William Wyman Sherwood in 1965, Billy Sherwood took to music early and naturally as he came from a very musical family. His father was a big bandleader, his mother a drummer. Sherwood formed his first band, Lodgic, with his brother in their native Las Vegas. The group relocated to Los Angeles in 1980. It was there where they recorded and released one album, entitled Nomadic Sands, which came out in 1986. Eventually, Sherwood had moved onto his next musical project, this time without brother Michael. The project was dubbed World Trade, as was their 1989 debut album. Among the musicians in this group was Lodgic bandmate Guy Allison. Throughout much of the 1990s Sherwood was doing a considerable amount of work as a producer/engineer. He worked on a large number of tribute albums (to artists as diverse as AC/DC and John Wetton). He also began an association with prog rock supergroup Yes. That association started in 1992 when Sherwood served as producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician on the track "The More We Live/Let Go" on their Union album. World Trade released a second album, Euphoria, in 1995. By 1996, he had again hooked up with Yes, this time as producer/engineer for the two Keys to Ascension albums. One of those would be released that year, the other the following year. 1997 saw Sherwood working in the group the Key on their album The World Is Watching. It also saw him joining Yes as a member with the recording of their album Open Your Eyes. He joined them on tour that year, coming in as a full-fledged member of the band. In 1999, although still a member of Yes, Sherwood also found the time to work with his brother again. This time the collaboration was on Michael's solo album Tangletown. The second Yes album to feature Sherwood, The Ladder, came out that same year. 1999 also saw Sherwood's solo debut with the album The Big Peace. He would also continue with Yes during the tour for that release, but he left them shortly thereafter. However, one performance from that tour was immortalized in the House of Yes: Live From the House of Blues CD and video. The year 2000 saw Sherwood again collaborating with Yes bassist Chris Squire on the album Conspiracy.