by Jed Minor (Editor in Chief)
Email: cascade.arts@ufv.ca
Billy Pettinger, aka Billy the Kid, started playing music in her teens, most notably fronting the Fraser Valley based punk band Billy and The Lost Boys. She then left the band to pursue a solo career as a singer/songwriter folk artist and has been making a slow steady climb to notoriety through relentless touring both in Canada and the United States. Having her last album produced by Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace certainly helped raise her profile in Canada and so has being featured as a guest on The Hour with George Strombolopolous on CBC television. Billy has been hailed as “precociously gifted” by the Georgia Straight and “one of the best female guitarists I’ve ever met” by The Daily Nar. The Cascade sat down with the UFV alumnus recently to get a portrait of the artist in her own words.
You now tour all over Canada and the US. You are originally from the lower mainland, where did you grow up, and what was that like?
I grew up all over BC… every exit down the number one highway as far as Chilliwack! I was a very happy kid, but at 12, I started leaving home because of some family issues. I went into foster care at 15.
Your career started in the lower mainland punk scene when you were fronting Billy and The Lost Boys, how do your punk roots influence the music you do today?
I’m still a punk at heart. Folk artists really are punks. There is something to be said about just trying to be creative and not expecting anything in return. Punk rock saved my life in terms of all-ages shows and the music, but it also taught me so much. The DIY mentality is essential in music and creation and, regardless of what type or style of music I’m playing, I will always be a punkass! [laughs].
In your experience what is the main difference between fronting a band and performing as a solo artist?
I really do love both for different reasons, and I love that I can live in both worlds. Playing with backup musicians is great because it is collaboration and a shared experience. I love traveling and having fun with my gang too. Playing solo is its own thing because every night is a completely different experience. I don’t make a set list and I tell a lot of stories. It’s almost like a stream of consciousness experience for me.
Who are your favourite artists, and which artists would you consider to be influences on your music?
I love everything that Ryan Adams and Ray Lamontagne do. I’m influenced by Neil Young, The Band, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Sprinsteen.
What kinds of things inspire you to write music?
Heartbreak. Catastrophe. The working class. Hard times. Conflict. Love. Struggle. Overcoming adversity.
What was working with Raine Maida like on your last album, The Lost Cause?
Raine is great [be]cause he is super chill. He also understood what kind of songwriter and person I was and wasn’t trying to change that… a lot of times in the music biz working with a producer means changing who you are and what you sound like in order to sell records. It wasn’t like that with Raine.
Your last album dealt with poverty, drugs, and struggling to get by, what themes and general sound can listeners expect on your upcoming album?
I had my heart smashed to smithereens recently so there are a lot of songs about that [laughs]. I wrote a song for a friend in an abusive relationship encouraging her to leave. There are a few about every day working class topics inspired by some of the many jobs I’ve had, one being an assembly line worker. Sonically I’m very excited about it because I’m recording the songs in various studios around North America and basing the locations around what the song needs. For example, I just did a session in Bayfield, Ontario in their town hall and an old church. Bayfield is this adorable little town that I absolutely fell in love with on tour, and I knew I had to go back and record there. I did a few piano songs on this old piano in this old building and then proceeded to sing my guts out with microphones placed all over the town hall. It sounds very ambient and there are so many textures and stories in those old walls. I’m really enjoying the process too.
In addition to making music and touring the country you run a record label. What is that all about?
Our motto is “kids in bands helping kids in bands,” and it started as a way to just get our music out. Now it has evolved in to a collective of likeminded musicians helping each other in every aspect of our careers, from booking to marketing and everything in between.
When can we expect to see you next in the lower mainland?
I am going to be playing in Abbotsford this December. Please go to my website www.billythekidonline.com to see when the date will be as it is not confirmed yet. Other than that, I’m taking a bit of a break from playing live to record a bunch of new songs.
When is your next album coming out?
As soon as the music is recorded! [laughs.] Oh, also, if people wanna help me make my album, I am raising funds by doing pre-sales of the record on my site at www.billythekidonline.com
