In honor of this month’s Single and Successful issue, we sat down with Bill Littleford, of The Tadcasters – who have a new single (get it?) debuting on February 29th.

CP: Tell us a little about the Tadcasters. Who is in the band? How did you start?

The Tadcasters have been around in different forms since 2006.  We started out playing more traditional bluegrass and then we started branching out into different styles and combining different styles to get a more unique sound. I’ve played a lot of blues, jazz and folk rock and I felt there was no reason to ignore those influences. The other members are from the same mindset as well. Our current lineup is me, Bill Littleford, on guitar and vocals, Nick LaBoffe on mandolin and vocals, Josh Moore on upright bass, and Chris Novy on what we like to call Sputnik (it’s a metal barrel with a drum head on top) and banjo.

CP: How would you describe your sound? Who are your influences?

I’d describe our sound as a big organic stew of funky bluegrass with jazz and folk and foot stompin’ and rhythm and rock. It’s taken on its own identity. I guess we could be called a jam ban, but that’s just too vague. We’re influenced by so much music. All music can somehow make its way into our songs.

CP: You’re the band in residency this month at Stanley’s Pub. Tell me about the experience

We just started it tonight (February 2nd) and it was great! Hickory Robot came out and jammed with us and seems people are digging our latest direction. On different nights we’ll have Greg Mahan, Dave Mackey, Eric Evans, and Shawna James come out and play some of their music as well. Basically, we play our set and then a guest gets up and plays a set and then hopefully we’ll play some songs together. Each Wednesday night in February should have something different to offer.  It’s a long night though – we play from 9:30 to 1:30.

CP: And you’ve got a new single you’re releasing? What’s it called? Why release a single?

Well, our “single” is two songs, because the old 45’s had an A-side and a B-side. So we’re releasing a song called “Nick’s New Frontier” and a song called “Chaingang” on February 29th. It will be available as a digital download. You should be able to get it on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, etc. We decided to release a single because our old CD doesn’t reflect who is in the band now, and doesn’t have the same sound. So we wanted to update everyone on our progress.

CP: Any other new music on the horizon you’re releasing?

It will probably take a few more months of recording, but hopefully sometime this summer will have a new disc done and ready to go.

CP: Any upcoming shows that you want to mention besides Stanley’s Pub?

We’ll be playing Arnold’s on March 9th. We’re starting to book more gigs again, you can always find our schedule on our website www.thetadcasters.com.

CP: I understand you’re in another band outside of the Tadcasters. What’s it called? Sound? What prompted you to do two different bands?

Yes, I do a jazz trio called The Bill Littleford Trio. It’s named after me, so I can’t be fired.  It’s more of a funky, groove, jazz sound. We compose a lot of our own tunes and it’s another creative outlet. You don’t plan to be in more than one band; it just sort of happens.

CP: Any interesting stories from the stage? Amazing show of a lifetime? Show that went to hell in a hatbox?

Oh, there’s plenty of good and bad shows. I’ve learned to just roll with it. One thing I know is nothing usually goes as planned and that can be good and bad.

CP: Since this is the “Single in Cincinnati” issue…I’ll throw this question out there. Any of your band members single?

No. Everyone is either married or in a long term relationship.