BLMar24

Brevard Live
JAMES’ GANG
By Steve LeClair
You walk up to your favorite watering hole and hear the
band playing some great music and are excited as last
week’s band wasn’t that great (wrong genre of music). As
you grab your seat you look over at the bandstand and to
your surprise it’s only a drummer and a keyboardist! NO
WAY!! It sounds like a full band. That duo is the James’
Gang and, yes, they don’t use any backing tracks either, it’s
all live. It’s an unique make up for sure as most duo’s are
keys and guitars but Billy James and TA Williams make it
work.
Billy James has a long history in Brevard County as one
of the most respected drummers around and with the James’
Gang he also provides vocals. He’s been in numerous bands
but most recently with his band Changes. When he started
working with TA Williams he decided to drop to a duo act
and that became the James’ Gang (Not to be confused with
Joe Walsh’s band James Gang of Funk 49 fame). The duo
has been going strong for the last three years providing an
eclectic mix of music ranging from Three Dog Night, Men
At Work, Billy Joel, ELO to Sinatra and everything in between.
TA is a keyboardist extraordinaire and provides lead
vocals. He’s been a professional musician his whole life
performing in Casinos in Vegas and numerous cruise lines.
When he relocated to Brevard from Ft. Lauderdale, he and
Billy hit it off, and the rest is history. TA has the ability to
play about any song you request off the top of his head.
Billy is a retired policeman originally from New York. He’s
been a practicing musician since the early 80’s. He told me,
“... that playing is really for enjoyment and therapy.” He
added, “TA is the best musician he’s ever worked with.” A
fun fact is their first show was played with no rehearsal!
They endeavor to bring the audience into the show by
bantering with them and providing songs that bring them
back to the day. You can find the James’ Gang perform at a
wide variety of venues from Biker events to country clubs.
Because of the wide variety of music in their set lists, they
are able to play pretty much to what the crowd is. When
asked why they play? The simple answer was they’ve been
at it a long time and still enjoy it. Billy and TA are happy
playing locally and don’t have any goals to expand out.....
Billy joked, ‘’We’re always busy.” To use a title from Joe
Walsh’s James Gang, don’t Walk Away when the James’
Gang is playing, you’ll miss out on a great show!
30 - Brevard Live March 2024