Interview with Bill Jr. Jr.
Interviewed by: Sarah Evangelista
From Vancouver, Bill Jr. Jr. is an indie folk artist to watch out for. Sarah got the chance to chat with Bill, read below.
What’s your fondest musical memory?
Some friends and I put on a little music and arts festival one time, mostly for our close friends and whoever was around. The festival wasn’t ticketed or tightly organized so anyone was welcome to participate or perform whatever they felt like. It was summertime and the vibe was very supportive and loose, which made things feel pretty free and fun! My fondest memories gravitate back to playing music over the course of these days and nights with friends.
You recently released Homebody, what was the creative process of the project like?
It was steady I’d say. There was always a song to work on or a part to fix, the next step was always pretty clear to me. It was also very collaborative, I had a lot of help.
The project was made from traveling between Vancouver and Montreal, what were the main things during your travels that inspired it?
Not being at home in Vancouver simply meant that I wasn’t in my default routine nor around my familiar relationships, so I was feeling a lot of newness wherever I went. Going to a new grocery store was exciting. Within all this newness I realized that I too could be “new”, which essentially led to me working on music more or less full-time, something I had never done before. I think giving myself the time and permission to do so was the biggest hurdle but once I got over it, the rest just flowed.
Do you have a favourite track off of the record?
It’s always changing. Right now it’s “So Long”.
Can we talk about the 360 video you made for “Dear Neighbour”?! It’s so cool! Where did the idea to create a 360 video come from?
I had been watching a lot of music videos to see which ones I liked (and didn’t) to help me think about what I wanted to do for a Bill Jr. Jr. tune. I knew I wanted to shoot a live video but I was bored with all the settings I was used to seeing them filmed in: studios, in the forest somewhere, bedrooms, living rooms… so, as a way to try something different, I wanted to cram us all into my van to see what would come of it.
Matt Sawatzky, the videographer, wanted to use a 360 degree camera so he could grab a bunch of angles and then cut them into a video. This was our original intention and can be seen in our video for “Blue”. The “Dear Neighbour” video was actually a B reel take that I hadn’t planned on using but then it grew on me and I figured that it was one more step toward trying something different. Happy you liked it!
Describe your music as an animal.
A sad adolescent bear?
Our music website focuses on up and coming artists and bands, do you have any favourites at the moment?
Mitch Davis just released a song I like and my friend Jordan made the video, check it out.
And although she seems to be doing quite well and perhaps wouldn’t be considered “up and coming”, I can’t deny Aoife Nessa Frances’ latest album. It’s a gem.