BILL WEST is a country music authority, barbecue enthusiast, and bestselling multi-cookbook author based in Charleston, South Carolina. He has been the on-air host and operations manager of Charleston's leading radio stations, and has interviewed some of entertainment's biggest celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Darius Rucker, Paula Deen, Zac Brown, Ryan Seacrest, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, and Alton Brown, to name a few. His blog at BarbecueTricks.com and his YouTube channel have accumulated more than 10 million views and 40,000+ subscribers. A native of Glenview, Illinois, West is the youngest of six children and has spent the last 30 years in the Southeast playing country music on the radio. Certified pit masters, he and his wife, MJ, competed in and judged barbecue competitions across the state for several years before Bill took up writing. Armed with a degree in broadcast journalism from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, he took his first "real job" in sunny Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in 1989 (just one week before Hurricane Hugo). Bill and MJ make their home in Charleston, South Carolina, and have one son, Jack, who is a gifted fingerstyle guitar player, on track to becoming the next Brad Paisley. Download Bill's free Sides & Sauces eBook: BarbecueTricks.com/sauces-sides-recipes
