Interview Phillious Williams | « Fuck success, but… »
En avril 2010 débarquait sur Net Emergence, Phillious Williams, un crooner hanté, charmeur et inquiétant. Interview 2011 du chanteur atypique par Laurent S.
What changed for Phillious Williams since last year? New band members?
Yeah we changed drummer at the end of last year , as the previous one was Linda just not right , it’s a real horrible thing to do when u really like the person , I’ve had to do it so many times now over the years and it never gets easier ! But the new drummer we auditioned 5 years ago and accepted him then few days later I busted my back gave up work and almost stopped playing live , so he never even done a gig with us . When we auditioned him this time I didn’t know it was the same dude from 5 year ago until we accepted him in the band he told us the story !!! So kinda like fate I guess , and he is a bloody legend and has the most versatile playin styles I ever heard , on top of that he is a gentleman . We all are real excited about this band , they are learning the songs real quick , drummer had one practice before the first gig and one more before the next few , on the third gig we done 2 hour 40 min set and he never missed a beat ! Rob Clarke has well and truly completed our great line up
And what about your mad project combining drawings and music ?
Right what about the book project …
Well to be honest almost nothing … I have been so busy back at work, earning money to raise my family and build my motorcycle .. i just not had any time to give to that thing. I have done the synopsis which I had been finding real tough , so really it’s just a matter of start sending it off cause it is 100% finished as far as I can take it . Maybe I’m just scared folks are gonna hate it , maybe I can’t handle the rejections ? ( Maybe I’m just a lazy motherfucker ) ?
I guess life is about priorities , I spent a long time where all I done was write that book, I gave up 20 hours a day for months , then I just sketched them pictures for hours on end day after day…
This year I have put most my energy into Phillious Williams … and the other 3 members have given up heart and soul for it too .
Since money is always a matter, did you think about websites like http://www.kickstarter.com/ to fund your music projects?
I never looked into things like this , but it seems a good idea ! I guess maybe i don’t trust the internet , I don’t trust many people neither .. I kinda have to look into someone’s eyes and make up my own mind what I believe , and often I’m still wrong , had a few people come up and say they gonna help out , do this for us , do that … get us some funding … and been let down to many times .. nowday’s I take all I hear with ‘half’ a pinch of salt . I am optimistic that something will happen , but I am not a pushy wannabe famous type, trying hell bent on selling myself to the world.. and maybe, that will be my downfall …, but you know what … I love writing , singing , playing these songs even if it is in a shitty little venue .. I enjoy it the same singing on the beach alone with a can of beer … but I could do with more money!
Fuck success , most of it looks like a pain in the ass ,but , with success comes money and money buys time .. time leads me to creativity .. creativity makes me content.
Internet is also a way of sharing your music, you moved to facebook and recently you shared your bed sessions on soundcloud, big changes for the band, isn’t it ?
Oh man yeah I am getting high tech nowdays hahaha ..
Facebook , well everyone left myspace , i put it off far too long I think I was one of the last 3 people on the planet to join FB… but glad I did , for one it works so much better than myspace and two everyone is on it . The best thing I fond with facebook is that it has stopped me bowling round the streets sticking up flyers on posts, bus stops , phone boxes and blind folks dogs asses .. seriously I can honestly say I have not stuck up a single flyer for a gig since FB entered my life and people find out bout the dates quicker than the band does. Also folks sometimes take pics and stuff and they put em up so it’s kinda cool , sometimes !
Soundcloud , yeah I only just found that thing, I have not done much with it , but thrown up some bed sessions ( really rough 1st takes ) … I didn’t really know if anyone would dig em as they are rough , but I put em up and 1st few days had 300 plays or something so it was not a bad idea !Some of these songs I never played live .. so it’s cool way of testing out a song … like some gal turned up at a gig and was like ‘Please can you play ‘gal who stole my world’ I really love it … I just split up with my man and it’s like my tune .. except I sing guy instead of gal « so that kinda thing is cool … if someone finds a kinda meaning in a song for them too .. it’s a nice feeling for me.
What will be your next song ?
What like, next one I write, or next one of my back log the band will learn ? I will answer both , use which answer you want …
Next one I will write , would be a strange question because I not wrote it , not thought about it , you can’t think about writing a song , you can never say
« You know what… this tuesday , I’ll take a day off to write! » I’m sure people so plan writing sessions , but that is a dumb idea and very odd indeed.
Songs just come out when they are ready , I believe all my songs are just like hidden in my guitar … you just have to unlock em … I think every instrument in the world has little songs hidden , just depends what one you end up with to what songs you get … so if this is the question
I have no idea what song I will get next.
As for what one we will learn with the band … we learnt one last night at a gig … it is called ‘the likes of you’ dirty fast bluesy kinda thing … but I’m always throwing new songs at em .. they are very quick learners but still piss me off that they don’t know everything I do …. hahaha
We just need like two months in a great little room with all our gear , an endless supply of bourbon and smokes, and a waiter who turns up 3 times a day with huge fillet steaks .. I think then , they could learn my favorite 200 and we could do a show with girth.
One (or more) band you would like to « promote » ?
There are a just few acts who used to play Cobra Club … that blew my mind .. and still do … to mention a few… David Woodcock , Caleb , Russel Joslin..
All totally different … but all magnificent singer/songwriters
