Artist Feature | Bill Brimer

What drew you to songwriting?

When I was twelve years old I started playing the guitar. I had an incredible guitar teacher. His name was Tommy Hiett. He is sort of a legend in the Dallas music scene. His approach was to have me bring him what I was listening to and he would teach me the songs I wanted to learn. I was listening to metal and punk music. But he knew I would stay interested in learning guitar if I was learning what I liked. Then he’d sneak in lessons about theory and structure. Right away I started experimenting with what I was learning. I’d learn a song and then change it or use the chords from it to write a different song. So to me, songwriting and creating were there from the start. I’ve been chasing it ever since. I’ve written way more bad songs over the years than I have good ones. I’m getting better at it, but I’ve got a long way to go. I feel like I’ve only really come into my own in the last couple of years. It’s taken me a long time to feel good about what I was writing. So it’s a challenge and that keeps me loving it. 

You write about a lot of pretty heavy topics. How do you decide what you will write about? 

I try to focus on stories and the characters in the stories. Music is powerful and stories are powerful. So I think if you can tell a story in a song, you’ve really combined two very impactful things. Story is dynamic and complex. If the story is good, there’s almost never a moral to the story. If the story is good, it's a treasure trove of meaning. There’s not just one lesson. 

I like complex characters as narrators. For some reason, people think that if you write a song, the song has to be about you. I get asked that all the time. I have a song called “Above the Deep” where the narrator is telling the terrifying tale of how he and some friends saw a UFO in the woods when they were young. I’ve had people ask me if I saw a UFO. Another song of mine “Blood Brothers” is about two brothers who are involved in a murder. I haven’t killed anyone okay! I don’t even have a brother. 

I’m not the narrator in my songs (with a few exceptions). The songs would be boring if I was. You don’t have to write about yourself. Stephen King didn’t bury his cat in a Pet Cemetery. So I try to tell interesting stories. The topics the songs explore are secondary to me. I will admit they tend to be heavy. But life is heavy.

Tell us a bit about what your creative process looks like.

I work at it 24/7. I’m constantly looking for ideas or phrases. I use my phone notes and recording memos all the time just to make a record of any idea. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the idea seems. I make note of it. It can be a melody without words. It can be words without a melody. It can be both together. It might be a guitar part. I get the original nugget recorded. If I hear someone say something interesting I grab it out of the air and keep it. Once I have the genesis of an idea I work it over and over. Revision is ninety percent of what I do. I try not to hold too tightly to the original idea. I let it develop and go where it goes in the revision process.

At the beginning of what will become a song, I try not to edit too much. I try to take that ember of an idea and fan the flames. I try to let it just be what it will be. But once there is something solid formed I begin revising and shaping it. Early on in my songwriting, I didn’t revise as much and the songs suffered because of it. I was a lazy songwriter. I thought I was being organic by letting things flow out and leaving them as they were. But I realize now I was just being lazy. If I’d have put the work in they would have been better songs. I’m asking myself through the process, “What don’t I love about this song?” If there is anything I don’t love I revise it. If I can’t revise it I might dump the whole song or just table it and come back to it later. Out of every 50 ideas, I might only end up shaping 2 or 3 into a song and then I might not even ever record it because I don’t love it.

Who or what has had the biggest influence on you as a songwriter?

I love films. I also really love what has developed in the realm of television. TV is almost more cinematic these days than movies. So I think perhaps the cinematic nature of my songs is a big carry over from my love of movies. I like the challenge of developing a character or characters in a story.

As far as songwriters go I could name all the classics that I really love. I love Hank Williams Sr. I love all the Texas songwriters like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Townes Van Zandt. Bob Dylan’s early albums have had a big impact on me. I love the idea of a man and a guitar alone with nothing but the song. But I also really admire modern songwriters like Jason Isbell and John Moreland. Chris Cornell was a major influence on me. Soundgarden was amazing. I also love Tom Petty, Metallica, Social Distortion, and Public Enemy. I’ve explored a lot of different genres of music in my life and they’re all in there jockeying for position. There are too many to name.

If you could only listen to five albums for the rest of your life, what would they be?

I’m planning to be alive for a while so I’m going to cheat and choose some box sets.

The Complete Hank Williams

Bob Dylan The Complete Album Collection Vol One

Willie Nelson One Hell of a Ride

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Complete Studio Albums Vol 1 & 2

For the person who is just beginning their journey of songwriting, what advice would you give them?

First I’d say don’t listen to me because I’m still trying to figure it out. I don’t feel like I can give advice. Instead, I might offer a few things I wish I’d have done differently or sooner. I wish I would have learned more music theory. I’d liked to have learned the science of songwriting without getting too hemmed in by the rules. I also wish I would have stopped caring what people thought early on. For a long time in my songwriting journey, I tried to write songs that I thought people wanted to hear. This is a huge mistake. When your focus becomes what you think people want, your focus is no longer on the song. I believe your priority has to be the art and not the audience. People’s opinions change like the wind. It’s really stupid to pursue their approval. Most people don’t even know what’s good until someone tells them they should like it. So I wish I would have written the songs that I wanted to hear instead. I’ve done that for the past few years and it’s resulted in much better art. I also wish I would have worked harder on revising my songs. My obsession with revision has developed over the past few years. I realize now that so many of the songs I wrote earlier in my journey could have been so much stronger if I’d have worked harder on them. My approach was more about finishing the song rather than writing a great song. If I could do it over I’d slow down and work harder.

Your most recent album just came out. Where can we find it? 

Yes! My new record is called “A Genealogy or Ghosts”. It’s a concept album. It explores the triumphs and tragedies passed on from one generation to the next. All the songs have that common theme. It’s available wherever you stream from digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, or where you purchase your digital music such as on iTunes.