Photo by Renee Jahnke
By Andrew Catania
Acclaimed for his associations with Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Savatage, Bill Hudson is a heavy metal guitarist who has risen to a stature of great prominence on the music horizon within a short span of time. What sets Bill Hudson apart from his contemporaries are his extremely refined playing techniques that are reflected in his electrifying tones. His natural playing flair was nurtured and incubated under the supervision of Kiko Loureiro who assisted Bill to opt for his unique playing approach right from the start.
Born in São Paulo on 13th January 1983, the 33-year old Brazilian guitarist started playing the instrument at a tender age of 12. By the time he completed his high school diploma, he had attained a firm grasp over the fundamental knowledge of instruments and elementary expertise over playing techniques under the supervision of Kiko Loureiro. To further enhance and extend his forte, he sought admission in FAAM Music College to pursue a professional degree in classical music composition. After completing another course at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, he formally commenced his career as a professional musician.
Bill Hudson was primarily influenced by Slash and later grew a liking for the music style of Savatage. Hudson’s fine-tuned skills have made him a much sought-after and high-in-demand musician of the present age. Since the very start his career, Bill has formed some associations with numerous rock and metal bands. However, before he began touring with his associated bands and staging shows across the globe, he laid the foundation of ‘The Supremacy,’ his studio project that featured some renowned European composers, keyboardists, and guitarists and entails two song releases on its portfolio.
Bill Hudson’s professional career features ten years of active association with some famous rock bands. His early associations include those with Cellador, and Power Quest, groups which provided him a great platform to master his forte and showcase his skills. No wonder he created a buzz in the music and entertainment press, being featured in ‘Betcha Can’t Play This’ series and in the July issue of Guitar World Magazine. He also filled in for Gus G in Nightrage while Gus was on tour with Firewind in 2011. The next year saw Bill shredding his axe with the death metal band, Vital Remains.
All this prominence and media acknowledgments, he attracted the interest of Savatage’s lead vocalist, Zak Stevens, who offered him to play guitar for his band Circle II Circle on their tour to the United States. The tour was an ultimate hit and paved the way for a promising association that is still flourishing today. Bill has accompanied the band on some trips to Europe, the US, and the Middle East. Aside from that, Bill was picked by Jon Oliva of Savatage for his final project titled ‘Jon Oliva’s Pain.’ He was confirmed as the permanent lead guitarist for the project in 2014.
Besides these two major associations, Bill joined hands with Tommy Vext and formed a partnership band called Westfield Massacre. The relationship allowed Bill to test this mettle in the area of lyrics composition. In 2015, the band released its debut album titled ‘Urban Yeti.’ The music for all six songs was written by Bill Hudson.
Bill Hudson delivered a fiery performance as a member of Savatage at Wacken Open Air Festival which was held last year in Germany. After that, he declared his partnership with Trans-Siberian Orchestra as the lead guitarist, replacing Joe Hoekstra.
Bill is about to go on tour in 2017 with I am Morbid which features members from Morbid Angel.
