Bill Lewis, Owner of Muddy Waters Cafe

Anyone in the Santa Barbara area that loves live music owes Bill Lewis some thanks. He's been kind enough to share Muddy Waters with all of us, opening its doors to music fans and performers alike. Thanks to Bill's generosity and personal love for music, the small cafe at 508 E. Haley St. has become one of the most intimate venues in southern California. In the past few years, Muddy Waters has become the kind of place where you can see a local band play their first show, or you can see a national act that has the attention of every major music blog. The Mud doesn't discriminate. One thing you can count on is that whoever you see at the cafe will be good. Bill has an insane amount of musical knowledge, both local and otherwise, and is definitely a key factor as to why the live music scene in Santa Barbara just keeps getting better and better. Bill drops a lot of knowledge about some pretty awesome bands in the interview below, so if you don't know who he's talking about I suggest you get googling.

ASTR: What is Muddy Waters? When did it open? What's your involvement with it?

Bill Lewis: Muddy is a cafe/restaurant that opened in 2000 that my brother & I bought in 8/06.

ASTR: When did Muddy start having shows?

BL: 8/06

ASTR: Can you remember what the first show there was?

BL: Either the Rockabys (now Martyrs) or Captain Ahab w/ Automatic Automatic, at least during our tenure. I know Siobhan had Nerf Herder.

ASTR: When you bought Muddy did you intend for it to be a live music venue, is that what you were looking for? Or was it just meant to be a cafe when you opened it?

BL: Not really... we knew we wanted to be open later and that bands were constantly asking to play. But I did not think it would work or that people would come to see bands... it is such a strange place for a show to go down. We just started saying yes to some things that we thought were too cool to pass up.

One of the employees, Lil Al , AKA Ally Beth, AKA the leader of the Unicorn Posse, was also a degenerate music fan & music writer, so we would talk about shit... what we thought was cool as far as seeing a band, what bands we liked and so on. We booked Ave (now Gardens and Villa) early on, mainly because Adam had a cool beard and he mentioned liking Good Speed you Black Emperor.

Gardens and Villa @ Muddy Waters

ASTR: Who does the booking for the shows?

BL: Mostly me (Bill Lewis) but also Jeff Mercy (Club Mercy) does a lot, and some other various locals... Tim & Josh Wartime from Springtime is Wartime and Hard to Find Showspace, Brian Mutineer from the Mutineers & The Depths, Tali & Kyran from Verna beware & Black Mamba booking, Ralph Underdog from underdog booking...

ASTR: How does Muddy attract such high profile acts? What is the appeal for the artists to play there? Is money ever an issue when dealing with some of the big names you've hosted?

BL: This is a long answer... I can’t say exactly why we have been able to get some of the bands we have. It is remarkable and something I never would have guessed might happen. One thing I do know is most players do not start in huge places. Most start is garages and crappy places like the Mud. So, I think some dig being able to get back to that vibe. They can really feel the audience reaction, and are on the same level with them. That is just one thing ya know.

As far as $, basically if a band is playing here the money is secondary for them. Even with the Spirits in the Sky show @ 30 bones a head, I would not be surprised if Billy lost money or just broke even on that tour. He had a huge band to pay, 2 vans and shit... hotel rooms. Food. No matter who they are and what the door fee is, they are factoring other reasons into the decision to play here. They have to be. Same with bands at the Biko. Same with the Hard to Find, or the Living Room. The people who go to shows at places like that pay attention to the bands and that has to factor some.

Also, I think my booking philosophy factors some. I view Mud as a public space. I have just booked stuff I think is good or stuff that needs a platform. I do not understand noise music, but the noise bands and noise fans have a hard time finding a place to get down... so even if it is not my bag, people say it is good and needs a platform. To me, booking Dustin and the Furniture is the same thing as Ladybug Transistor or The Spires or Ox VS Thunderbird. It is either good or it is not.

ASTR: How did your personal interest in music start, what bands really got you excited about live music?

BL: Listening to records my parents/brothers had as a real young kid... Peter and the Wolf, The Beatles, Billie Holiday, Mommas & the Poppas, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly... lots of random pop stuff. Hippy stuff.

Also, I had a radio show at KCSB when I was in high school, so I had access to reams of records that might not have fallen into my hands otherwise.

What got me hooked on live stuff was seeing local bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket, Penis Brigade, I Rails, Jerkin Gherkins and stuff like that at the Red Barn in IV... lots of crazy punk bands that I do not remember names of.

The Tearaways & The Tan, were big when I was just slightly too young to see them much (at least legally at an all ages place) so going to the Barn was the shit. This is part of why Muddy is always all ages. Seeing a band you like when you are 13 is a big fucking deal.

Deer Tick @ Muddy Waters

ASTR: Do you have a favorite show that's gone down at Muddy?

BL: Man... so many.

Any Mutineers, Girl in a Coma, Oso, Verna, Martyrs... the bands we have in a lot of times are all bands that have flipped my wig more than once. Any Beehouse records band is golden because they are all so good, but also they are just super sweet people. Oso is always special. Oso is so fucking good it is almost surreal. Entrance band is also a personal fav. Really, Entrance band is something you HAVE to see. Any time a band gets a vibe going with the audience and you can see if affect both the band and show goers winds up special.

Langhorne Slim’s recent joint was extra special. Great vibe between Slims band and the audience. He had cats asking him for hugs during the set. Reverend Peytons Big Dam Band was sooooo tight. I have never seen a band play like that in my life. Prize Country and 31 Knots both had me gobsmacked. Rubys and Finchies ... man, WAY too many to list.

Spirits in the Sky obviously, but for more reasons than one might imagine. Pretend you do not know who Billy Corgan or Dave Navaro are. They STILL had a superstar lineup of heavy cats from 60's bands. Linda Strawberry who has a whole career as a solo artist is singing backup... every player in that outfit was just badass. They were just a super groovy band, period, and doing something unusual for musics sake. I have talked to a bunch of people who went and checked out bands like the Seeds, Quicksilver, Electric Prunes and so on after seeing the show and now rock that stuff on iPod.

Mike Watt’s set with Kira Roessler, both playing bass as Dos, warming up for Joe Lally might be my personal fav because it was real neat seeing a bunch of cats digging a band of just bass players. And Mike is truly a hero of mine. As is Kira, and Joe Lally... so it was for me the same thing as getting to have lunch with Magic Johnson or something. And Kobe Bryant AND Derek Fisher are also chilling at the table.

Ave/Gardens and Villa. They have played here about as often as anyone and were one of the first bands we booked. 3rd show I guess.

Oso, live @ Muddy Waters

ASTR: Tell me about what happened recently at the Alberta Cross show.

BL: The show was just WAY more in demand than we expected. We had someone break down this fence thing and so a bunch of people snuck in the back without us knowing... putting us way over cap. Fortunately, Alberta Cross, the police and most of the show goers were super cosmopolitan about the whole thing. Alberta Cross played 2 sets and then had an open blues jam just to make sure everyone left happy. They really saved the day.

ASTR: I know you moved some of the shows that were scheduled right after that show, such as Black Francis and Bowerbirds. Is Muddy still going to be a place we can catch a national act in a super intimate setting?

BL: Yes. You may have to pay a bit more for it, and trust our selection in bands some... The Frank Black/Billy Corgan type artists that everyone already knows about are rare. But understand that a lot of the bands that get a ton of attention by the time they get to SB do not have nearly as much buzz when we booked them as they do once the tour picks up steam. Girls, Bon Iver, Beach house, Finn Riggins, Girl in a Coma are all examples of that. Frank Turner was not on many peoples radar when I first booked him w/ Chris T-T a while back. Now he has a huge following and is playing Coachella this year.

Girls @ Muddy Waters

ASTR: In your opinion, what's the best thing about the Santa Barbara music scene?

BL: We somehow produce a lot of good bands and players in spite of being so small. It is amazing how many good bands we have had crop up here, even going way back to the 60's.
ASTR: What is the Santa Barbara music scene lacking?

BL: Show goers. We just need more people who go to see music habitually and do not balk at paying to see bands, buy merch and all that. Especially for the indie bands who are lucky to make gas money... If one likes a band, buy the CD and t-shirt at a show. You might be surprised how hand to mouth a lot of the bands are on tour, even the ones with major label support... they really NEED to sell merch at this point to survive.
ASTR: What's next for Muddy Waters, and yourself?

BL: Right now my goal is to be able to pay my rent/expenses and my staff. Might not sound all that glamorous or rock n roll, but that is the truth.

If you haven't had a chance to yet, make it a point to stop by Muddy Waters and say what's up to Bill. Have a beer or a coffee and chat about music with him, you won't regret it.