AWmusic

WF= William Fitzsimmons (in case you thought it meant someone else)

Zal: Thank you Mr. Fitzsimmons for allowing us to interview you today. How are you?

WF: Good, thanks for asking.

Zal: For some of our readers who are not familiar with your music or works, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

WF: Sure, I’m a folk singer that used to be a therapist that stumbled backwards into a career in music, because I liked writing songs. And yeah, I make kind of, usually very sad, sad songs, and sometimes a little too sad. But I like writings songs that are very honest and very open, sometimes to a fault. Yeah, that’s about it.

Zal: First of all, I just want to say how much I really enjoy your new CD, which was released yesterday (Tuesday 22nd, March). When you were writing this record was there a theme or motif you had before you started writing, or was it something that developed as the music and/or lyrics progressed?

WF: That’s a good question. I’ve actually never been able to write without a specific theme in mind. I know that a lot of people, a lot of my friends who are writers and musicians they’ll be at a sound check, and just be able to write a song there, and I’m really jealous of that. No, I need to have a framework that sort of acts as an inspiration, acts a muse.

I can branch off from there. On this one really, I didn’t have a plan on making this record, until my life started to mirror the things that I wanted to talk about and sort of get out. And it was a result of kind the flipside of dealing with all the painful stuff I was before. There was no plan, but once I started to feel differently and live my life differently, the songs sort of came out from there.

Zal: Your answer ties into my next question. The song writing process for you, what’s that like? Do you come up with the music first then lyrics, or vice versa? Or is it something you do all together?

WF: It’s pretty standard for me; I almost always do it the exact same way. There’s been a couple times where I’ve woken up, sometimes in the middle of the night and I’ve had a melody of lyric in my head, but that’s happened like twice in my whole life. Most of the time, it’s just the matter of being in the mood of playing music and messing around with, you know, different chords and progressions. Whatever general emotion I’m feeling at the time is usually informative to what I’m playing. Then that leads me to start thinking about things that become paragraphs, become sentences, words. It’s only later that I start to make it into a song, if it gets that far.

Music to me, music should be the driving force, and it’s strange to say it because I feel like, most people I’ve talked to who connect to this music, it’s the lyrics are the thing that they really feel the most. And that’s wonderful, I love that, the funny thing is that’s the second part for me. The music needs to start it.

Zal: One thing I enjoy about your music is the fact that you’re able to incorporate electronic elements as the acoustic folk music. I was wondering what influenced you to use it in your music. Was there a specific band or was it just an idea that popped into your head?

WF: It was really a necessity kind of thing. I didn’t have anybody that I was, I didn’t have a band, so you know I had these things I wanted to write, and you know I had a vision. It wasn’t always with a guitar; sometimes it was, simple and soft. But you know, some of the songs I wanted them to be bigger and different things. I guess I’d heard, there’s different artists that I’ve heard, Paper Route, who become friends of mine, they’re still a band. They were doing the kind of folk-tronica thing. I heard that and I was like, this is crazy! Very, you know, mathematical music, very cool. I was actually getting the emotional connection coming through real strong, and that’s a weird thing. There’s different artists that do that real well, you sometimes forget that they’re using synthesizers and loop pedals and computers because it just feels so organic and so authentic. (He mentioned Imogen Heap, Frou Frou) I was a mix of all those things.

Zal: Your background is in psychology, you have a master’s degree. DO you feel that music can or does have a real big impact on peoples lives? Especially the kinds of music they listen too?

WF: That’s been, um, that’s such a good question, that’s one I’ve been thinking about for five years, ever since I started doing this thing. You know it’s what is..the big question we ask in therapy and counseling, when we’re thinking about what kind of practitioner we want to be, what’s the best schools of thoughts. What are the agents of change? What are the conditions? What do we have to do as therapists, what do I have to do, when I’m sitting in a room with someone who’s suicidal, what do I have to do to help them change? To come to a point where that ideation is no longer there? I’m not really going to offer a great answer, because I don’t really think there is one. It’s different for everybody. But for me, the experience I’ve had, it communicates a language that nothing else can. Music is very, very idiosyncratic like that. Uh, and I don’t know why. There are other more talented and brilliant people, who have said that before me, but it’s true and I echo that sentiment. I think it just hits a part of us that nothing else can get too. There’s something about the combination of, you know, melody, of words being spoken. It’s the same way that film can affect you, you know, in a way that a magazine can. When you put these sentences together it’s just very powerful.

My one fear, and the thing that I’ve discovered myself is that music is not the only thing, nor is it necessarily the best thing, for every situation. I’ve gone periods in my life where I’ve relied way to heavily on art to kind of, take me out of circumstances where I’ve needed a lot more than art, like actual help. So I think when it’s, when music is digested correctly it’s beautiful. You just have to be careful you’re not using it by itself.

That’s a really long answer, I’m sorry about that. I feel like I could have said that in one sentence, but I just love to hear myself talk. (laughs) Good question though, so it’s your fault (laughs) (we all laugh)

Zal: I’ll take responsibility for that one. (laughs) So, you collaborate with a lot of different artists and you’ve done some cover songs too. I knew about the Katy Perry one a little while ago, only the other day did I discover the Kanye West, Heartless one. It was done real when. When you decide you want to cover a song or collaborate with people; I guess for the collaboration part, do you choose people you admire or colleagues? And for he covers aspect is it for fun?

WF: For the first one (collaborations): To the first thing, the collaboration, it’s always, I love, love musical chemisty and it’s something that is actually really hard to come by. There are people that I’ve sat down with, super talented people that I’ve tried to co-write with. It’s just like a romantic relationship. If the sparks not there, then it doesn’t work. So people like Priscilla Ahn, Brooke (Fraser), Julia (Stone), there was just something there. It could be as simple as just the voices sound good together, or I’ve just been a fan of this person for a long time, and respect what they do. I started out really, really alone, and I grew a little bit too prideful of that, and I wanted to be the dude who just stays out in the cabin and just doesn’t do anything with anybody! Like Bob Dylan or something. It’s things that should be shared, and other people have beautiful talents, so why not? So now, I just love it, and it’s a great way to open up your mind to places where you normally wouldn’t go.

To the cover thing (snickers), it’s a little bit of fun or I think the songs awesome. Last time I was in Toronto, I played a little bit of an Ashley Simpsons song, Pieces of Me song. I love that song; I think it’s a lot of fun. Music is fun. Some music is sad some music is serious. I think Katy Perry is fantastic, and I would tell that to anybody. I think she’s a really talented singer, and you know the music is pop, but that’s what it’s supposed to be. She’s trying to make people feel good, she’s not trying to cure the world. There needs to be both, there needs to be balance. And other times, it’s because I like pulling meaning from a song that wasn’t necessarily there. For the Heartless song, people would listen to that song because it’s got a cool beat to it, and it kind of moves well. It sounds amazing, Kanye is one of my favourite artists, ever. But that one, it’s such an incredible song, and I wanted to pull it out, and see if it was presented in a very somber and kind of acoustic way, if people would get the sentiment of it more.

Fiona: Your rendition of it was really striking.

WF: Thank you, and you know, that’s what it’s supposed to. It’s a really beautiful song here, being put together in form.

Fiona: Just with the way that the song was put together before, you wouldn’t realize those were the lyrics he wrote…

WF: Yeah, you don’t. Like he’s pouring his heart out. And that makes it cool.

Zal: What records are you listening to now?

WF: I recently got the, the new Adele record? Golly, that record is blowing me away. I was a fan of the first record too. It’s incredible and she’s such a good singer, a lot of passion. You know who I really love and I’ve been listening to a lot lately? A Fine Frenzy, you guys know her? She writes these songs that really, that really get real deep and the Nationals, High Violet. It’s incredible. It’s neat too, because sometimes there’s just so much music, that it gets harder and harder to find music that’s really special. So when I find records like that, like even the Adele record, because she’s a great singer, I get really excited. Did you see the videos? You need to check out Rolling in the Deep. Listen to it!

Zal: For someone who is just getting into your music, which record would you recommend they start with, or is any record a good one to start with?

WF: No, the first one’s terrible so I wouldn’t start there. Man, that’s a hard question, hmm, I feel as though Sparrow, Sparrow and the Crow, is probably the best place to start because it’s pretty representative of the tempo an the overall thematic presentation of what I do. Yeah, I think it’s the best place. The first record is more for people who are like, I like him, but I don’t have any other music so I’ll get that. Yeah, so Sparrow is a good place to start. I think it’s sad as hell, but it’s a good place. It’s a good party record (laughs).

Zal: For our last question, your beard is awesome.

WF: Sure, I did so much to make that happen. (laughs) You gotta believe me, it’s a nightmare sometimes. Try eating a bag of chips. One time I was eating at a Vietnamese restaurant having a big bowl of noodles and soup. I was eating it and I was across the table from my manager and he’s like, “you, err, uh.” I look down and my beard is half in my soup, I finished it. It was good. But anyways, sometimes it’s great sometimes not so great.

Zal: Are there any beards that inspired you? Or any beards you really admire in general?

WF: My dad. All the Fitzsimmons men carry beards. And that’s the only reason I have it. That’s the only reason. People usually assume it’s a religious thing or political. It’s just a family thing. I grew up seeing my dad with a nice healthy beard, I’ve never seen my dad clean shaven. So you know, once it starts coming in you’re like “yeah it’s coming in!” At first it looked like horseshit, it looked so bad. It was just three random hairs. I always thought it was really cool.

Zal: That’s all our questions. Thank you so much for letting us do this.

WF: Oh thanks guys, thanks a lot. It was my pleasure.

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William Fitzsimmons – Just Not Each Other
William Fitzsimmons – Tied To Me

For More…
Website: http://www.williamfitzsimmons.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/williamfitzsimmons

Tags: William Fitzsimmons