Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham, better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music. After releasing material under his own name, he adopted the "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" moniker for the majority of his output since 1998...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFolk Singer
Date of Birth24 December 1970
CityLouisville, KY
CountryUnited States of America
I need to go someplace faraway that doesn't have telephones and doesn't have a record player and doesn't have movie theaters and people walking down the street in order to not do anything.
I get a lot out of a show when I know that I don't know anyone in the audience and don't think the audience knows much about the music.
In an ideal world, records would be filed in record stores by title rather than by artist, as they are in video stores. I think it's better to identify with the work rather than the people who make the work. You can put your faith in a piece of work, but not in a group of people you don't know.
I do an opening, and then I go up to the high balcony in the back and watch the bulk of the play, but then I have to leave my seat about seven to 10 minutes before the end of that final big scene...and it's a bummer.
I think everybody works from a defensive position, for the most part, in the film industry.
What is normally called religion is what I would tend to call music - participating in music, listening to music, making records and singing.
As a kid you learn that there are thinkers and there are philosophers and there are theologian, and I'd hear little bits of the ideas that these people pursued or developed or created and I'd be really excited. Then I'll start to read it and I think, "Wait a minute, this is a rabbit hole. This isn't a gateway or a ticket to anything except itself."
Writing songs is a profession; so it's not an attempt to take things from my interactions with other people and for some reason give them to a total stranger to listen to. I find it offensive to hear other people do that.
People are looking for fame or a focus, and I can't provide that.
Too much emphasis is put on American roots music when people try and place me. You know, I grew up listening to punk.
To sing with other people and for other people, that's when you can really learn something about your voice. You can only learn so much if you create your own boundaries all the time. But then, other people can really teach you something. You know, if you're trying to sing with them, or if someone brings a style.
Sometimes we need to tell ourselves that we're not going to do certain things, just in order to stay sane.
It's O.K. to accept good fortune.
It's nice to be able to backtrack and not be embarrassed by the music you used to listen to.