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Billy Otis

Sometimes dreams come true. Sometimes you have to use a little elbow grease.

Billy Otis is of the do-it-yourself dream making school. A construction manager by trade, Otis was far from content with the direction of his life as he approached his 40th birthday.

“It’s those 10 year birthdays that always seem to do it to you. You know the ones, 20, 30, 40, 50,” Otis says. “My father described it as ‘kinda like strangling.’ It was my 40th and the noose was tightening.”

That’s when he picked up the harmonica for the first time (a gift from his brother-in-law), bought the training manual and cassette and started practicing. Now, just eight years later, Otis has signed a recording contract with the Nashville-based Wild Oats Records and his sound has been dubbed “earthy” and “tasty” by Washingtonian Magazine and 94.7 FM.

Hailing from Arlington, Otis has been a fixture of the local music scene for some time, performing at venues such as the now-closed Jay’s and Bangkok Blues on Broad Street. Otis even started the blues jam at Fast Eddies in Fairfax. During those years, Otis made the rounds on the local circuit with his first group, The Crow Valley Band.

But despite the satisfaction Otis enjoyed playing with Crow Valley, little problems started cropping up, such as finding a stable singer.

“After three to five months our frontmen would leave. Life would just come crashing in,” Otis says.

Determined to pursue his dream to the last, Otis didn’t let this recurring glitch deter him. Instead he taught himself how to sing, adding three songs at a time to his catalog until he could cover an entire set.

Eventually Otis left Crow Valley, wanting to concentrate on writing his own music.

“I noticed the people who seemed to be making it were making it by writing their own material,” Otis says. When he took that step, he liked what he found.

“The whole world opened up when I stepped outside the 12 bar blues,” Otis says.

He has recently released his third CD of all original material, titled Sowing Wild Otis. It is available at all local Tower Records locations.

“I’d like to get up to selling 50 CDs a week,” Otis says. “That’s when someone is going to notice and start to wonder ‘Who the heck is this Billy Otis jerk?’”

In the meantime, Otis says he’s going to continue to try to “ratchet himself up.” Currently he’s teaching himself to play guitar, practicing two to four hours a day, two to three times a week. He’s also in the middle of series of acoustic shows with girlfriend Julia Rose. He comes to Stacy’s Coffee Parlor ( 709 Broad St.) in Falls Church this Saturday, July 30.

While Otis has enjoyed some recent success, it has been only modest, and he has not quit his day job. He’s currently contracted to restore the Tenleytown Fire Station in Northwest D.C.

“My day job is very important,” Otis says. “It keeps a roof over my head, but more importantly it fuels my dreams. As far as my music goes, I ain’t going anywhere. I’m either going to succeed or die completely broke.”