Billy West August 21, 2008

Billy West's voices are heard all over the world, whether it's in a cartoon or a commercial, the sound is out there somewhere at any given time. A self-proclaimed Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck etc.) devotee, West says that the cartoons he saw on TV in the 1950's hit him over the head like an anvil. More like a cartoon anvil that is. "I knew deep down even back then that I wanted to be one of these screwy adults with magic voices," says West with total resolve.

Billy West was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1952 and did a lot of daydreaming and blurting out surreal voices and noises. In 1963, Billy's mom and his two brothers moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He learned to play trumpet in Detroit and learned guitar growing up in Boston and started to perform with different bands for over 17 years.

"I still kept doing voices and routines onstage and people would get all excited," recalls Billy. In 1978 he left the musician's life and tried his hand at standup comedy. "Nobody told me you had to have an act. I just went up and screwed around. While wildly amusing, it was the voice characterizations and impressions that rang the bell."

In 1985 West left Boston for New York and Howard Stern. Billy spent 1989-1995 voicing grotesque send-ups of the pretentious glitterati of the time and performed in the rarified air of unscripted radio comedy. Billy West had already gotten two jobs with Nickelodeon by then and found himself voicing the starring roles for "Doug" and the cult hit "Ren and Stimpy." He left the Stern Show because there was no real money in it...not even long term. The work lead to Hollywood and a Matt Groening cartoon - Futurama - and the show plays on the "world's stage" somewhere everyday. West continues doing hundreds of cartoon characters to date.

Billy also has a band "Billy West and the Grief Counselors" and made a CD.

SHOWTIMES: 8:00pm
TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

Official Website: http://www.aacomedy.com