Local artist profile: Bill Barber

This week we speak to award winning blues prodigy Bill Barber.

What motivated you to become a musician?

To be honest, that was never really a conscious decision. My dad pretty much exclusively listened to blues in the house, so it took a while for me to realise that any other kind of music existed.

I’ve been playing guitar for as long as I can remember but it didn’t really turn into a real potential life path till I hit my teens.

I’m the kind of person who gets obsessed with things I’m passionate about. I’m lucky this one never left.

Can you describe your musical style? How did you develop it?

As a kid I was fixated on blues, especially country and delta blues. It was kind of sheltering in a strange way. I played nothing but songs that I learnt from mentors and blues standards at my gigs till I was about 17.

After that, the internet helped me discover a lot of different styles and genres of music and I got hooked on enough of them to try my hand.

Around that time I started playing electric guitar a whole lot more – I’d never really paid attention to electric up to that point.

Starting a band also helped me branch out a lot.

These days I put it somewhere in the middle of blues, soul, rock and country.

Why did you choose the guitar as your principal instrument?

Guitar was the only instrument apart from the harmonica that I was ever really taken by. I don’t do well understanding nuances and details of situations unless it’s with music.

A guitar solo was the first thing I could understand that I didn’t have to worry that it didn’t mean what it was saying, or there wasn’t any kind of cue I wasn’t picking up on.

Which musicians inspire you and why?

Everyone I’ve heard play has inspired me or taught me in some way. Pretty much everything creative I’ve done and every lesson I’ve learnt musically I have the Victorian blues scene to thank.

It’s a small but extremely tight knit and supportive community. People like Chris Wilson, Geoff Achison, Lloyd Spiegel, Fiona Boyes and Chain were all giants to me as a kid and absolutely still are.

What have you been working on lately?

I have a lot of songs written and I’m more than ready to put some things out. However, being a full-time professional musician in a global pandemic has put some strain on all of that. There will be something in the near future. Pinkie promise.

What are some highlights you have from your career so far?

I’ve been extremely lucky in my career so far that there have been plenty of amazing things happen. I’ve had the opportunity to travel far more than I ever would if I wasn’t a musician and play in front of some incredible crowds. I’m just grateful for all of that up to this point.

How has your practice been affected by COVID?

I still play at home a whole lot but I’d be lying if I said my creativity wasn’t affected. Art has to imitate life, if not much happens then not much happens.

Do you have any tentative gigs lined up?

That’s a tricky question at this point, but you’ll find all updates on my socials @billbarbermusic.