Billy Howerdel’s North American Tour Begins June 12 – News
Billy Howerdel, the critically-acclaimed songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind A Perfect Circle, has released his debut solo album, What Normal Was, today via Alchemy Recordings/BMG.
The highly-anticipated album’s arrival coincides with the launch of Howerdel’s five-week North American tour with the inaugural show finding the singer/guitar player opening for his APC bandmate Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifer at the Greek Theatre (Los Angeles) on Sunday. The trek, which features VOWWS on all headlining dates, crosses paths with Puscifer once again on July 1 at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre (Rochester Hills, MI). Tickets, and VIP packages, for all dates are on sale now, visit www.billyhowerdel.com for additional info.
“This is me stepping back into my early teen self and making the record I would’ve made if I had the means and the knowledge when I first picked up a guitar, just in 2022,” Howerdel explains. “It’s that moment as a kid when you hear a record, close your eyes, and go somewhere else. That was the time I found my lane, so to speak.”
Howerdel has welcomed fans into his first outing as a solo artist, sharing five songs in the lead-up to today’s release, with each track shared as a visualizer that’s evocative of the album artwork: “The Same Again,” “Selfish Hearts,” “Beautiful Mistake,” “Poison Flowers” (watch the video HERE) and “Free and Weightless.”
The album can be streamed or purchased HERE.
Tour dates:
June 12: Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre *
June 15: San Francisco, CA The Independent
June 16: Roseville, CA Goldfield Trading Post
June 18: Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
June 19: Seattle, WA Neumos
June 21: Salt Lake City, UT Metro Music Hall
June 22: Denver, CO Gothic Theatre
June 24: Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café
June 25: Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
June 26: St. Louis, MO Delmar Hall
June 28: Chicago, IL Cabaret Metro
June 29 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
July 1: Rochester Hills, MI Meadow Brook Amphitheatre *
July 2: Toronto, ON Axis Club
July 3: Montreal, QC Café Campus
July 5: Allston, MA Brighton Music Hall
July 6: New York, NY Gramercy Theatre
July 8: Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts
July 9: Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage
July 10: Charlotte, NC The Underground
July 12: Atlanta, GA Masquerade
July 14: New Orleans, LA House of Blues
July 15: Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall – Inside Downstairs
July 16: Dallas, TX The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
July 17: Austin, TX Emos
July 20: Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom
July 24: Ventura, CA Ventura Music Hall
*-w/Puscifer – no VOWWS
New Jersey-born and Los Angeles-based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Billy Howerdel has quietly asserted himself as an alternative music auteur whose knack for massive hooks belies a keen emotional understanding and sonic acuity. Devoting his life to music after witnessing Pink Floyd live, he acted as something of a behind-the-scenes journeyman, working as an in-demand touring and studio tech for the likes of David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, and Nine Inch Nails. Striking up a friendship with Maynard James Keenan when Tool opened for Fishbone (for whom Billy served as a tech), he occupied a room in a North Hollywood cottage with Maynard. Billy founded A Perfect Circle with Maynard in 1999. The group’s seminal full-length debut, Mer de Noms, went platinum and made history as the “highest Billboard Top 200 bow for a rock band’s debut.” They followed it with the platinum Thirteenth Step [2003] and gold Emotive [2004]. The group made their return with 2018’s Eat The Elephant, marking their fourth consecutive Top 5 debut on the Top 200. In between, Billy’s music has also appeared in video games and on the big screen. During 2008, he made his first solo statement under the moniker Ashes Divide with Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright. In the next decade, the album quietly pervaded as a cult favorite with millions of streams. On his 2022 proper full-length solo debut, What Normal Was [Alchemy Recordings/Rise Records/BMG], he inhabits a space that’s reverent of his past, present, and future all at once. After all of these years, songs, and shows, Billy is ready to introduce himself.
About Alchemy Recordings:
Alchemy Recordings was founded in 2020 by veteran concert promoter Danny Wimmer (Welcome to Rockville, Bourbon & Beyond, Aftershock, and more) of Danny Wimmer Presents, the biggest independent promoter in the US and Dino Paredes, President of Shelter Music (A Perfect Circle, Crowded House, Puscifer) and former American Recordings A&R executive. The label, distributed by BMG, is home to Puscifer, Billy Howerdel, The Black Queen, The Neverly Boys, and more.
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