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Hi Billy, thanks for taking time to answer some questions, I appreciate your time, especially as you must be busy with the new album! “I appreciate YOUR time and support. Thank you!” It’s quite an obvious question to begin with, so apologies if you are sick of answering it! After so long in the music industry, ‘Feed The Fire’ is your debut solo album, was there a particular reason it took so long, and why now? “I’m never sick of talking about something I’m passionate about! I think in a way I’ve always been a solo artist who writes with my friends in whatever band I’m with at the time. With all due respect to Biohazard and Powerflo, I love being a part of something big that’s made of the sum of it’s parts. I dig that and will always love being part of a group. On the other side of the coin, I’ve always brought in complete songs to the bands and shared them as my songs. With Biohazard, we always put the songs through a “grinder” and everyone breaths their life into the song making it a Biohazard song. I look at it like a painter who creates his painting that he held in his head. When it’s done, it hangs on the wall with pride. For me, I like seeing my full idea hanging on the wall, so to speak. I don’t invite my friends over the house to take a paintbrush and change the colours around.” The album begins with a voiceover of Charlie Chaplin’s famous speech from ‘The Great Dictator’, “The hate of men will pass and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people…” It’s both incredible and saddening that particular speech is nearly eighty years old, and yet we still don’t seem to have learned? “Is that Charlie Chaplin? The man who said so much without saying anything? Yes, it’s sad how the more things change, the more they stay the same, but I’m a PMA guy, and believe in the goodness of the human race. There is definitely more good in the world than bad, or things would be much more worse than they seem to be now!” With the current shit-storm going on in the world, ‘Feed The Fire’ is very relevant. You couldn’t have struggled for subject matter. “True that! I’ve never found an end to inspiration. There’s a lot more where that came from. I’m meeting old friends, making new ones, having interesting conversations with honest people who can respectfully agree to disagree. I think that’s a big problem in the world right now. People can’t accept that people don’t agree with them. Living in a world where everyone thinks like me, believes in the same things I believe in, eats what I eat, likes what I like, would be a boring place to live!” It’s a very eclectic album, mixed in with hardcore and punk. There is the classic thrash of ‘No Apologies No Regrets’ and the synth heavy ‘Trepidation’. Was this an organic way of recording in the studio, or did you go in with a clear idea of what you were looking for? “I never sit down and plan out my music/art/albums, etc… I just let it flow and see where it takes me. From studying piano beginning at age 6, I’ve become very open to many types of music. There was a long phase where I only liked hardcore/punk/metal, but now that has become a huge foundation for my musical tastes.” ‘Generation Z’ is incredible, vying with ‘No Apologies No Regrets’ as my favourite track on the album at the minute. How did the song come about, and what message do you hope people take from it? “I love how the new generation doesn’t take any shit. I’ve always been about standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves on their own, and Generation Z is all about that!” I’m also struggling to get the short and haunting ‘Remedy’ out of my head! What is it about this one that makes it so memorable? “Maybe I’ll have a release of more of that later [smiles]. It follows Sick and Tired… “I’m sick and tired of living my life full of hate”…. Then…”if I kept on…” pretty much sums up what I was getting on about.” I had been listening to some football on my PC, and had the sound up quite loud to hear the commentary. I had forgotten about this then put on ‘Feed The Fire’! Christ, the production on it is top notch! Especially at full volume! “Awesome. I’ve always looked at my music as having three stages. There’s the album you have in your head; the sound, the vibe, the energy… the picture is all there and just needs to be captured on canvas. Then there’s the actual record you create, and in the end, there’s the album that you wished you would have created. For me, this is the first time in my career I hit all three on the head!” You launched BillyBio in Europe, where you opened up for your great friends Life Of Agony. That must have been special. “We all pretty much went through puberty together! This tour was by far the best I’ve done in a long time. I jammed a few songs with LOA each night and that rocked! We were sharing a bus with All Hail The Yeti, and it was a non-stop party! I’ve always treated everyone as family, and when you have that vibe, it’s a blast! For the nitty gritty details, stay tuned for the book! I’m heading back out with LOA and Sick Of It All next month, so I’m looking forward to that!” Your touring band included my countryman Robbie Davidson from The Exploited. There must have been some fucked up moments on that tour bus! “Hahaha… what happens on tour, stays on tour! But it was a blast, and it’s actually Robbie’s birthday today [at the time of the interview]. He’s been in puberty for a long time, and happy he’s nearing the end of it!” I think Robbie is due to leave The Exploited early next year. Will you work together again? “I had a blast with Robbie, and love playing with him. He’s a talented artist, and I’m looking forward to working and playing with him again! That would be a yes!” The European tour hit some amazing countries, but each country brings another border crossing and customs agents. With Brexit now “agreed”, this is something that we will have to get used to again. Does the extra hassle and costs of these such things ever put you off touring Europe? “No, life to me is all about challenges, not problems. I take things as they come and deal with them. Success is based not on how well you handle the good news, it’s how well you navigate the rough roads!” I believe you are a black belt in martial arts? Jiu-jitsu, is it? Speaking as someone with two teenagers who hold black belts, I usually associate martial arts with respect and control. What has it brought you? “I’m a black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu. They call the black belt in Jiu Jitsu the PhD of martial arts. It takes much longer than any other martial art. The skills in the Academy apply to everyday life, and the stories I have are entertaining and long-winded! I have a charity organisation called Rock-Jitsu. Working on a donation based program, I come to an academy near where I’m playing and share some stories, show some technique, talk about my love for hardcore/metal/punk, and Jiu Jitsu, etc…” With 2019 just around the corner, what will it bring for BillyBio? Touring, touring, and more touring? And will it reach the UK? “Working on a UK tour now, stay tuned on that. Yes, plan for 2019 is touring with BillyBio!!! Working on the next Powerflo release now also.” Lastly, what is the worst injury you have suffered either through martial arts… or your world famous stage diving? “A true warrior never reveals his weakness! I’ll tell you that each broken bone heals stronger than before, and you never break the bone in the same place twice. Each scar heals strongs… mmm… seems like a song… wait, nevermind! Already wrote that; ‘No Apologies , No Regrets’.” Haha! Cheers for your time, Billy. It’s much appreciated. Good luck with the album, it’s an incredible way to end 2018! “Thank you, bro. Looking forward to coming back to the UK this winter! Take care.” Check out BillyBio here Interview: Dave]]>
