Bill Hayes The "Grand Toastmaster"

Hi. My name is Orvis Kirkman (guitarist for the Flying Toasters).. 20 years ago in the summer of 1990 I moved to Indianapolis from Bedford Indiana.At the time I was engaged to be married and working for my fiance's dad installing rubber roofs. It was the month of June when I got a phone call about a working band called "Frontline" that was auditioning guitarists. To me, that sounded a whole lot better than roofing. :) In fact, I had  already been in several bands, and was just between jobs.

So we jumped in the car and drove to a place on the northeast side of town called the "Whiskey River" (I used to call it the risky liver), and that's the first time I saw the person that would become my "best friend on the planet"! Bill Hayes was the drummer in that band and as I watched I soon realized he was better than any drummer I'd worked with before. Not only that, he was fun to watch! Then, he came out from the drums and did a rap song. It was not only great, but he was hilarious!! That's when I turned to my fiance and said, "I've gotta be in a band with this guy!"  Meanwhile, someone went up to Bill and said "There's a guy here for the job, and he's wearing PINK PANTS! Bill then said, "I don't care who he is, if he's wearing pink pants, he's got the job!!" :)  Well, it wasn't that easy. I did have to audition, but I did get the job. More importantly, I made a lifelong friendship with one of the best humans I've ever known! Anyone who knows him knows what I'm talking about. He and his son Jason are like family to me! The fact that we're in this band together is like a huge bonus!!

Anyway, I thought it would be neat for all our friends and "Flying toaster" fans if I interviewed Bill for the "Blonde Entertainment Blog", so here it is:

Blondeblog:How old were you when you decided you wanted to play the drums, and who or what did you see/hear that inspired you to make that decision?

Bill: 13 or so. Johnny George brought his drums to school in our 8th grade year.(1968) While he played, the Jr. Hi-School girls flocked in and I thought,"That's a good job.."
After hearing Johnny in school, I started paying attention to Ringo, and Bobby Elliot from the Hollies, plus, I liked the way drums looked. I'm still in love with Ludwig blue and green sparkle drums.

Blondeblog: Who are some of the artists/bands that have influenced your playing and your desire to perform throughout the years?

Bill:My main influences were local.Unlike famous national artists, local players were accessible and in most cases were happy to show me stuff and discuss concepts.Henry Lee Summer and his drummer Mike Organ were the ones who sent me in a definitive direction for fronting a band and drumming; A direction I still aim toward to this day.(Oh yeah, can't forget you..) As for national artists, I loved Gary Richrath of REO.Yes, he played guitar, but he had an aura and a persona that I loved. Other than that, I was partial toward the British invasion bands and The Guess Who.

Blondeblog: Was there a defining musical moment where you heard or saw something that made you say "This is what I want to do with my life!"?

Bill: Sure. In the spring of 1980, REO came to the IU Auditorium on their "Decade Of Rock-N-Roll Tour. I had a 10th row seat and I was moved for life. Not only did they play great, but the way Cronin and Gary Richrath connected with the crowd was groundbreaking to me. I had goosebumps halfway back to Indianapolis.

Blondeblog: When did you start playing professionally, and who were some of the bands you played with prior to the "Flying Toasters?

Bill: It's kind of interesting. I started in a Holiday Inn-type band circa 1981-82. After that I joined a fun but dysfunctional country band named Elijah Stone. From that point I never quit and the players would come and go around me. It finally morphed into Frontline, a project I was especially proud of. After 12 years with Frontline, I spent 2 years with Duke Tumatoe and a year and a half with Henry.

Blondeblog: You Must have made some awesome friendships from those times.....

Bill: Indeed. Yours is at the top of the list, and I've been blessed with many others. I can't begin to name them all. It is especially gratifying to me to be able to go to barbecues and get-togethers with musicians that I used to watch in awe from the crowd.

Blondeblog:Most of your friends know you have always had a great passion for boating and the water. In fact it is a huge part of your life isn't it?

Bill:Yes. It's kind of odd in the sense that it's totally unrelated to music. One seems to balance the other, though. My favorite is coastal and offshore cruising. I love all water, but I am partial to Northern Lake Michigan and the Atlantic waters of the Florida Keys.I am totally at home on the water. My boat has a small cabin that is crowded, but I love staying aboard for weeks at a time.

Blondeblog: Another hobby of yours (that may stem from your nautical side) Is meteorology and the weather....

Bill: Correct. My weather lore developed as I spent more and more time on the water. Besides the obvious safety reasons for being aware of changing conditions afloat, I found I enjoyed learning about it. It's not enough for me to hear "It's going to rain." I have to figure out why. My friends have learned not to ask me the forecast unless they have 10 minutes to spare.

Blondeblog: Every time you come out from the drums to sing, it's a MONUMENTAL performance!! Would you mind talking about when that started?

 Bill: Thanks! It started in that Elijah Stone country band I mentioned earlier. The sax player was kind of a drummer so we switched off on a couple tunes. At that point I realized I could put across a song a lot better out front than I could behind a drumkit. It evolved from there as I watched Henry in his heyday and other good frontmen. My goal has always been to go beyond just singing the song. I want to make it memorable, funny and entertaining at the same time. The secret to doing that is to have a band behind me totally dialed into what I'm doing when I decide to deviate from a song or go off on some tangent. The other secret is the guitar player in our band that knows every song in the book.
One other thing I should mention is that I'm not a very good singer.Some of my friends are incredible singers and can mesmerize a crowd by just singing the song. I'm not that lucky. I sort of "sing with a handicap" and have to sell it, so I was forced to get innovative early on.

Blondeblog: You and your son (Jason) Co-founded the "Flying Toasters" back in 2003, and the band has been working steadily since March of 04. What's it like to be in a band with your son?

Bill: The "Proud Papa" thing really kicks in here.. Watching Jason run the show and work the crowd and play every instrument on stage? Priceless...He has a real gift for doing the right things in the right order to make our show happen every nite. Besides, I get to spend time with him onstage and off. We have talks and discussions about band business, plus we go boating and do father and son stuff. I pinch myself regularly...

Blondeblog: The next two questions are probably the most frequently asked questions regarding the band and you. Here's the first one. How did you come up with the name "The Flying Toasters"?

Bill: Your right; I get asked this once a week. Here goes...In 1997, my lady at the time was working late one nite. She asked me to come up and hang with her at her office. While there, I idly glanced at her computer screen and she had this screensaver; Toasters with wings flying across the screen! It was the neatest thing I ever saw! I was excited as possible, and said I'm gonna name a band that one day. We broke up, but I never forgot the Toasters with wings. When the band concept came up, Jason and I both agreed that had to be the name of the band.

Blondeblog: And the most asked question, (drumroll) What's with the hair? :)

Bill: I started doing it around the beginning of the band which was 2004. Gary Richrath had his that way, plus I liked the look of the Bon Jovi guys and others from that hair band era. Besides, it gives me a unique look in this day and age. I'm scared it'll come back in style, and then folks will think I'm trying to be trendy. I don't want people to think I'm trying to fit in with the latest fashion.

Blondeblog: Any other thoughts? Feel free to say whatever you want.:)

Bill: When I was in my 20's and 30's I didn't give much thought to anything past chasing girls and jamming with whatever combo I was with. With the 50's comes aches and pains but also more mature perspectives. I reflect regularly on how lucky I am to have my health, this great, popular band; family,friends and fans.The Lord has truly blessed me and I now take time to realize it. As Joe Walsh of The Eagles once said."Most guys our age are done.."


Thanks Bill! Truth is Bill is one of the top reasons the "Flying Toasters" is one of the more popular local bands in the Indianapolis area. If you haven't seen us, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??!! :):)
Here is our website
http://theflyingtoasters.com/
Feel free join our fan page on Facebook. Here's a link to it.
 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/TheFlyingToasters
You can email Bill at   bill@theflyingtoasters.com
Thanks everybody!!! Take care...... P.S. About those pink pants, They were shorts. LOL! I don't know what prompted me to want to wear pink shorts!!:). If I still had them now, I could wear them in support of breast cancer awareness. Hmm, maybe I should get some more.......