In this interview spotlight, I chat with Will Berry about the latest music, dream collabs, musical memories and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
What’s something you’d like readers to know about your latest project?
My latest project has been a slow drip of sorts. For the past year and a half I have been slowly releasing singles that I have been recording with my friend and producer Andrew Adkins. Normally we will be working on 2 songs at a time and alternate back and forth until either one is finished and then add a new one to the stack. Some of the ideas are brand new while others have been kicking around for a while. The latest single is titled “Watching the Rain” and is a loose commentary on the insanity of the past couple of years. There is a certain type of surrender that has to exist in order to live comfortably on this planet and sometimes you gotta make the best of a crappy situation. Sometimes the best way to do that is by calibrating your internal environment, aka attitude.
How does this project compare with your other release(s)? Was there anything specific you were trying to accomplish?
“Watching the Rain” is probably the most different from the previous releases. This one contains a lot of layering and experimentation. It’s a simple tune (only 2 chords) but I owe a lot of the complexity to Andrew. He added a lot of the percussion and interesting sounds that you hear in the single including the outro. It’s funny, after listening back to the mix a few times I realized that It kind of reminded me of the end of the ET ride at Universal Studios as It has this kind of wacky out of this world celebratory vibe to it.
What motivates you to create music?
To put it simply, I think it’s the basic drive for creative expression. I have always had music playing in my head throughout the day and a lot of how I write is loop based. Over time I’ll come up with a riff or a melody and will kick it around in my head for weeks or sometimes years until It becomes apparent that It is a song that wants to be realized. A lot of my motivation comes from observing how the individual songs evolve from conception to final product. It never turns out exactly how I imagine but that’s what makes it so great. My favorite songs are the ones that surprised me and end up vastly different from the original idea.
What’s one of your first or most powerful music memories? Did that play any role in driving you to create?
That is a great question. I would have to say that my first musical memories come from car rides with my dad when he would drive me up to the mountains to go camping. A Lot of John Denver, Cat Stevens, Dan Fogelberg, and Crosby Stills and Nash. My most powerful musical memory occurred after I borrowed my friend’s “Best of Jimi Hendrix” album in middle school. I fell asleep listening to the album with headphones on and woke up during the guitar solo of Axis Bold as Love. I remember being totally blown away and before that I had no idea that that type of music was even possible to play.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.
First pick would be John Lennon but since he is no longer around I would have to say that if I could collaborate with anyone it would be Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. He was such a big influence on me growing up and I have a similar vocal range so I think we could come up with some really cool stuff.
What was the last song you listened to? And who is one of your favorite all-time bands/artists?
The last song I listened to was “Path Through the Tall Grass” by Kalaido and one of my favorite of all time artists is Elliott Smith.
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
That would be Instagram @_wtb__ or email wberry86@gmail.com.
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you, it’s been nice talking to you. Nothing too much really, just looking forward to releasing more music and gearing up to play live shows. Oh yeah one last thing, I am looking for a drummer and a bassist so if you know of any in the Nashville area send them my way!
-Will
