START DREAMIN'...
Billy Dreamer started out as a solo acoustic side project of Mary Kelly drummer Joshua varichak in 2005. over the next few years, (playing 1-3 shows a year) he released an ep and lp of demos while living in the rural drinking town of rome, wi. When mary kelly broke up in late 2008, he decided to do dreamer full time.
in 2009 joshua moved to milwaukee. while playing shows regularly, he released a second lp of demos as well as a compilation of the first two releases. around this time, Adam mihal of teenage heartthrob suggested that joshua have Pat michels play drums. the duo released a split ep with (AT THE TIME) milwaukee blues rocker jacob green, and played around wisconsin for 3 months.
in 2010 mary kelly frontman kyle elftman joined the band to fill out the sound on bass. as a trio, the band spent the next 8 months playing around milwaukee and released two more demo lps as well as a single. in august, due to rising tensions in the band, Pat left billy dreamer and later joined jam rockers stereoactive. Without a drummer Joshua and Kyle put the band on hold. Kyle went to college and Joshua started playing bass in the River Water Tribe.
Almost a year had passed before the band started to play live again. They returned to the stage in the summer of 2011 with a brand new line up. In addition to main stays Joshua and Kyle, the band now featured Joel szabrowicz on second guitar, Paul deraimondo on Drums, dom mcgoy on Violin and Ashton on Backing Vocals. a compilation album containing the best of the early years was released and after 3 months of playing out and recording, Ashton and dom were out of the band. the remaining members released their 6th lp of demos, along with the 1st version of thEIr music videos dvd.
In the summer of 2012 Kyle left the band for personal reasons. Joel then moved from guitar to bass and dreamer became a trio again. they wrote a batch of new material, and the 3-piece released kyles last show on cd/dvd, a brand new ep, and an updated version of their music video dvd. shortly after, the band signed to Sealed Juvenile Records and played their last show of 2012 with new labelmates Wisconsin Beef Commission.
In 2013 Dreamer released a live acoustic album, a collection of rarities, and a brand new ep.
they focused on the festival scene playing: mke punk fest 3, midwest snowfest, HUMAN RIGHT's FEST, summerfest, steelbridge songfest, and weird music 4 weird people fest. they closeD out the year with their 4th annual halloween show, and at the Rock n Ride festival in december.
Early 2014 BROUGHT THE RELEASE OF a greatest hits album. They promoted the cd with an 8 date national tour dubbed "the tiny tour 2014". at their homecoming show they released a split ep with the meatcurtains. shortLy after the tour the band decided to part ways with drummer paul deraimondo.
in spring, wisconsin beef commission front man mike rowan joined the band on drums for their spots at mke punk fest 4, the mark anthony tribute show and steelbridge songfest. After steelbridge the band went on A 4 MONTH hiatus. Josh started playing guitar in beaker and hit the studio with genderchores. JOEL JOINED GENDERCHORES ON BASS IN THE FALL. around this time dreamer came off of hiatus with mike returning to the drums and they booked dates to fill out the rest of the year. a change in tradition also came as their annual Halloween show became an annual Halloween weekend tour.
early 2015, wisconsin beef commission bassist dave weise joined the band on 2nd guitar. JOSH PLAYED HIS LAST SHOW WITH BEAKER IN february and began work on new dreamer albums. shortly after, Mike rowan left billy dreamer to pursue his dreams out west. in the shuffle to find a new drummer, they parted ways with dave. amy lynn of the meatcurtains became dreamers new drummer in march. the new line-up played their first show later that month, during closing weekend of lake villa, IL' s famed Swingstate venue. a place that had become a second home for the band since their first show there in 2010. in april they released a single featuring two live cuts from the swingstate show, and began booking shows for the summer. While Amy got up to speed on the matierial, Joel and Josh hit the studio to record a single.
By summer the band had released the "Kill Yr #Selfie" single, and played a handful of shows including steelbridge songfest and mke punk fest 5. . A 3 month residency at The Local followed, and the new line-up became a tight unit. Fall brought the Halloween weekend tour and the release of the lost EP "Death of the Jerk".
Playing around town and a couple fests, the next few months flew by and the band finished out the year with a memorable show at the mutiny in chicago.
in 2009 joshua moved to milwaukee. while playing shows regularly, he released a second lp of demos as well as a compilation of the first two releases. around this time, Adam mihal of teenage heartthrob suggested that joshua have Pat michels play drums. the duo released a split ep with (AT THE TIME) milwaukee blues rocker jacob green, and played around wisconsin for 3 months.
in 2010 mary kelly frontman kyle elftman joined the band to fill out the sound on bass. as a trio, the band spent the next 8 months playing around milwaukee and released two more demo lps as well as a single. in august, due to rising tensions in the band, Pat left billy dreamer and later joined jam rockers stereoactive. Without a drummer Joshua and Kyle put the band on hold. Kyle went to college and Joshua started playing bass in the River Water Tribe.
Almost a year had passed before the band started to play live again. They returned to the stage in the summer of 2011 with a brand new line up. In addition to main stays Joshua and Kyle, the band now featured Joel szabrowicz on second guitar, Paul deraimondo on Drums, dom mcgoy on Violin and Ashton on Backing Vocals. a compilation album containing the best of the early years was released and after 3 months of playing out and recording, Ashton and dom were out of the band. the remaining members released their 6th lp of demos, along with the 1st version of thEIr music videos dvd.
In the summer of 2012 Kyle left the band for personal reasons. Joel then moved from guitar to bass and dreamer became a trio again. they wrote a batch of new material, and the 3-piece released kyles last show on cd/dvd, a brand new ep, and an updated version of their music video dvd. shortly after, the band signed to Sealed Juvenile Records and played their last show of 2012 with new labelmates Wisconsin Beef Commission.
In 2013 Dreamer released a live acoustic album, a collection of rarities, and a brand new ep.
they focused on the festival scene playing: mke punk fest 3, midwest snowfest, HUMAN RIGHT's FEST, summerfest, steelbridge songfest, and weird music 4 weird people fest. they closeD out the year with their 4th annual halloween show, and at the Rock n Ride festival in december.
Early 2014 BROUGHT THE RELEASE OF a greatest hits album. They promoted the cd with an 8 date national tour dubbed "the tiny tour 2014". at their homecoming show they released a split ep with the meatcurtains. shortLy after the tour the band decided to part ways with drummer paul deraimondo.
in spring, wisconsin beef commission front man mike rowan joined the band on drums for their spots at mke punk fest 4, the mark anthony tribute show and steelbridge songfest. After steelbridge the band went on A 4 MONTH hiatus. Josh started playing guitar in beaker and hit the studio with genderchores. JOEL JOINED GENDERCHORES ON BASS IN THE FALL. around this time dreamer came off of hiatus with mike returning to the drums and they booked dates to fill out the rest of the year. a change in tradition also came as their annual Halloween show became an annual Halloween weekend tour.
early 2015, wisconsin beef commission bassist dave weise joined the band on 2nd guitar. JOSH PLAYED HIS LAST SHOW WITH BEAKER IN february and began work on new dreamer albums. shortly after, Mike rowan left billy dreamer to pursue his dreams out west. in the shuffle to find a new drummer, they parted ways with dave. amy lynn of the meatcurtains became dreamers new drummer in march. the new line-up played their first show later that month, during closing weekend of lake villa, IL' s famed Swingstate venue. a place that had become a second home for the band since their first show there in 2010. in april they released a single featuring two live cuts from the swingstate show, and began booking shows for the summer. While Amy got up to speed on the matierial, Joel and Josh hit the studio to record a single.
By summer the band had released the "Kill Yr #Selfie" single, and played a handful of shows including steelbridge songfest and mke punk fest 5. . A 3 month residency at The Local followed, and the new line-up became a tight unit. Fall brought the Halloween weekend tour and the release of the lost EP "Death of the Jerk".
Playing around town and a couple fests, the next few months flew by and the band finished out the year with a memorable show at the mutiny in chicago.