Watermelon Slim and the Workers
Bill Homans, professionally known as "Watermelon Slim", is an American blues musician. He plays both guitar and harmonica. He is currently signed to NorthernBlues Music, based out of Toronto, Ontario.
Homans has been performing since the 1970s and has been linked to several notable blues musicians, including John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Champion Jack Dupree, Bonnie Raitt, "Country" Joe McDonald, and Henry Vestine of Canned Heat.
The first recording project to feature Homans was "Merry Airbrakes," an album recorded and released on a small label in 1973 after returning from a tour of duty in Vietnam. Homans had become, after his return home, involved with Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the Merry Airbrakes album had many songs with odd lyrics reflecting drug use, spiritual exploration, and involvement with the emotional cost of fighting "enemies." The Merry Airbrakes album, originals of which are now highly collectible, has been re-released.
His more recent music is rooted in the Mississippi Delta style, as he plays his dobro guitar lap-style with a slide. While typically an acoustic performer, he has been known to occasionally play electric. Recently, he has toured with a supporting band dubbed "the Workers". In 2005, Homans was nominated for the prestigious W. C. Handy Award for "Best New Artist Debut". He and his band have also been nominated for six more Handy Awards for 2006, in a variety of categories, and for a Maple Blues Award from the Toronto Blues Society for the 2006 album Watermelon Slim and the Workers. In early 2007, Homans' Watermelon Slim & The Workers won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues Album. [1]
Homans is a graduate of Lenox School for boys, a boarding school in Lenox, MA. Homans has a bachelor's degree in journalism and history from the University of Oregon, and a master's degree in history from Oklahoma State University. He has also served as a member of Mensa International.
Before dropping out to enlist in the Vietnam War he had attended Middlebury College. He came back home a fervent anti-war activist, and remains a member and supporter of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
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