Musician Billy taking a bite at Big Apple
Most musicians would be gutted if they came down with a throat infection after being invited to sing and play on the radio.
Not Billy Gibbons – for he decided to perform a novelty set instead using a saw and a spoon.
And he so impressed one listener that he has ended up with an invitation to perform in New York.
Novelty instruments player Natalia "Saw Lady" Paruz, heard Mr Gibbons on BBC Radio Stoke.
Natalia, who was listening on the internet, was so impressed with what she heard she has invited the 57-year-old, of Audlem, near Market Drayton, play in the New York City Musical Saw Festival. Mr Gibbons said: "James Watt, of BBC Radio Stoke, invited me in the studio on May 22 for a chat about my upcoming show at the Audlem Music Festival.
"Because that week I had a throat infection, I didn't take my guitar in the studio as I would have done normally because I didn't want to strain my voice, so I thought to myself 'what else can I do'.
"What else other than my saw and spoon. It's just me whacking the living daylights out of a saw by thrashing it soundly with a spoon. Natalia got in touch with James after our interview and Natalia and I met through the air-waves to have a chat on the James Watt Show – me in my bedroom, James in the studio and Natalia somewhere in New York.
"To say it was interesting would be a slight understatement because I had no idea how Natalia was going to react to my playing, but I needn't have worried because she took it in the spirit it was intended.
"We played a tune together which was nice and after the tune had ended she invited me to New York to play in the saw festival."
