William Joseph – Exclusive Interview
When did you first start taking an interest in music?
When I was about 15 my brother got me my first guitar, didn’t care too much for it. At that point in time I was prominently on drums as my main instrument. Eventually I started writing songs on the guitar, it was much easier than piano. I’d say Percussion definitely lead me into the world of songwriting.
Is anyone in your family a musician?
My father kind of showed us that making music is possible, he and his band would practice in the basement every Friday since I was a baby, I think that may have been inspiring but I’m not quite on to it yet. My brother resides in Los Angeles playing bass for a group called KULA, he actually plays bass for the entirety of my new record. My sister is also a singer-songwriter, but you can find that out for yourself. Check out KULA and Danielle Fortier on soundcloud.
What genre would you call your work?
I don’t think anyone really knows what genres are anymore. I never liked them, and being in the position of trying to explain that to someone, or defining my work just isn’t appetizing to me. Pick up a handful of pebbles and try to sort them out by colour, shape, and size. Then try and generalize these three elements, and I’ll be amused. If you come up to me and tell me my music sounds like “so and so meets so and so” it’s an easy way for me to not want to converse about music with you. Not to be paternalistic, but walking through the airport right now that’s what I’m thinking.
How many hours per week do you work on your music?
It’s hard to say, I will spend as much time in a given day to complete whatever task I have. There are times where I’ve watched the sunrise, and sunset all in one session. More than 80, that’s for sure. You need to be able to just sit and focus if you ever want to do something.
Can you describe your creative process?
It usually consists of an idea, could be small, could be big. That idea usually starts with a visual, and as I browse through this visual, whether it be a scene I’m imagining, or a radical idea.. I write all my music to this. Everything gets written to the visuals. Probably 80% of the songs on this record have a video treatment written, it’s just the time and energy it takes to actually shoot them.
I know that you shoot your own music videos and you’ve won a few awards. Do you consider yourself a filmmaker or is that more of a hobby?
The filmmaking aspect of it all is all part of something you need to do. I enjoy writing and directing videos, especially my own, but I try not to attach myself too much to one aspect of this whole thing. You can put all your energy into one piece of the puzzle, and you can do it really good, but I find it so much more exciting to expand. Spreading my tools out so I can make the most of my work became a huge advantage, I can present my work how I want to. This way nobody can tell you how or what to do with your work. It is the only way.
What can we look forward to from you for the rest of the year?
Definitely new material. Not exclusively music either, I have a lot of stuff I have laying around that I’m stoked to release, and shows as well. Really looking forward to collaborate with more people on new projects. It’s very difficult for me to settle on just one sound, so expect diversity if you plan on sticking around.
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Ken Cosentino Ken Cosentino is an artist from Niagara Falls, NY. He is an award winning filmmaker, CEO of White Lion Studios, LLC and a published author.
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