Interview with Willis Earl Beal, 2012
This feature interview was first published on an Australian events site called Everguide, which no longer exists, before Beal’s 2013 Australian tour.
Willis Earl Beal is a hard man to get a hold of. On this third attempt, his voice comes through down the line casual as he politely explains he’s just been on a road trip with his wife. All is forgiven once he gets talking, he has a voice that at first appears removed from the formalities but soon reveals itself to just be very carefully considered. “I’ve seen a lot of the United States, but I’ve never been on a road trip, never as an adult where it’s me in the driver's seat, it’s just like a book that I’ve read,” details Beal before taking me through his itinerary. Would that book happen to be On The Road by Kerouac? “Yes it is, I guess that book is probably the Bible for us ramblers and gamblers” Beal reasons. It is almost a shame to have to turn the conversation onto his music, the purpose of the interview.
Beal would much rather talk about other things too. For those not familiar with his backstory, it is almost a shame to reveal it, only because it would distract from the artist he is. There was a time in Willis Earl Beal’s life that he was down on his luck, which involved living homeless for a period. Then by chance, Found Magazine came across one of the flyers he had put up around the New Mexico city of Albuquerque and before he knew it, his music was released to the masses. However, the fairytale ends there as Beal explains. “I don’t really feel I was discovered because of my music at all. I’ve finally had a chance to create the music I want to create. Actually I’m in the process of doing that now; I’m working on the new record. To me (the new record) is the sound that I wanted. I could never have accomplished that sound on my own because I didn’t have enough money. Now the music that got released, that is something that I am extremely embarrassed about. I never really intended for the ‘mass’ to hear it. I wanted a few people to listen to it, and at best think it was kind of interesting. The fact that it got released as my debut record is something difficult to fight against. I feel illegitimate, you know?”
Now that is a damn shame. Listening to Beal’s debut record Acousmatic Sorcery doesn’t expose anything to feel embarrassed about. Bias aside, the record is masterful in its simplicity. Whether it is the jagged guitar picking on ‘Bright Copper Noon’ that sounds like a cheap mobile over a baby’s crib or Beal’s equally damaged sounding voice on track ‘Take Me Away’, I’m not sure. I just know I feel for Beal trying to direct attention to his music against the wave of hype around his backstory. Beal goes on to make plain his place in the music industry, “A lot has been made of my backstory. It is not my music that they are interested in, because they haven’t heard my music. My ‘music’ was a couple of home recordings I made in 2007 that I don’t really care about. So it has been difficult for me to really take any of this seriously.” Beal is clearly speaking about people involved in the music industry, most likely people who would want to ‘market’ him. Which sounds just as empty as it must feel like, not to mention all the festival booklets that describe Beal as the ‘former homeless’ musician from Chicago…
One does feel a certain amount of trepidation to speak to someone like Willis Earl Beal without causing offense. Though, while the music industry has its unfortunate aspects, it’s not all a battle for the musician. “When I perform live I can perform new music” counters Beal “Or if they are songs from the record I get to perform them completely different.” Talk of his new record gets him more animated, “I’m definitely excited about it because it perfectly represents my vision. Now that my backstory is old news, I feel like people will kind of have that in the back of their minds, and ok, but soon that backstory will merge with my new music until I will finally be able to talk about it and not feel like a jackass.”
With the record industry being in the state it is at the moment, it would be easy to attach a personal story to a musician and hope to generate interest. Beal is certainly that interesting artist but the subsequent identity crisis is not surprising. “Like right now,” Beal admits, “I feel totally invalid. I’m at festivals with the likes of Bjork. I was even next to Stevie Wonder at one point. It’s not because of some false modesty. It’s just that nothing I’m proud of has been released. The fact that I’m being invited to these festivals is kind of like ‘Well, why?’ Is it because I am some sort of curiosity?”
That’s an uneasy question to answer and Beal doesn’t expect one. He further admits to being glad to not be working night jobs to make ends meet, but is having no one really know who he is worth the price? This is Beal’s current frustration and I can only hope his new album offers the respite he is seeking. Thinking about it more, I can only conclude that as a fan of folk and soul music I was probably always going to like Willis Earl Beal anyway, so I am grateful for whatever means it took to come across him. The question still stands though, if I were to walk past Beal busking in the street, would I recognise his talent? I like the think so.
“It is an intimate thing”, says Beal on his live shows, “The way I like to explain it to people is, it is like a one man show at the theatre, like your drunken Uncle standing by the radio and singing songs and dancing. I have a bottle of Jack on the stage, which I drink from. It’s not a prop, I drink Jack Daniels anyway but it’s really just to relax me because I’m so goddamn nervous.” To imagine Beal as a night watchman (one of his jobs prior to being a full-time musician) is akin to thinking of a Lion in a Zoo. How must it feel to know you have all this creative energy with no platform to expel it? Beal is more matter of fact about his life, “It used to be my goal to be able to perform in front of crowds, until I realised how taxing it is, spiritually, emotionally and physically. These days, I don’t like it very much. The goal at this point is to continue to do music in the way that I’ve recorded it on this recent record. In a solitary way, and release records without ever really being seen. On the other hand, I’m glad that I’ve been given the chance to perform in front of people. It feels pretentious though, and I’m a pretentious person, but it feels more pretentious to stand there, elevated over everybody trying to convey something.”
Beal cites Cat Power, Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits as examples of musicians who create music and still maintain a steady following of fans, without needing to be commercial musicians. Beal just finished a tour with Cat Power and a career like hers doesn’t seem far out of reach at all for him. “Nothing against Lady Gaga but if she’s playing somewhere, you’ll know about it even if you don’t like her. I’d like to be the kind of artist that people come to see because they like me and follow me” Beal imagines.
I am tempted to turn Beal into a romantic figure. An — ‘all or nothing’ for music kind of guy — to help all his Australian shows sell out. It’s a nice thought, but it’s not true, and creating a false idol doesn’t seem to be what Beal is about, as he details in the final moments of our phone call. “Sometimes people think I’m a little ungrateful,” says Beal measuredly, “It’s not that I’m ungrateful. I have to be able to look in the mirror and say ‘Ok, are you serious about this? Is this something that you represent? Are you telling the truth, or are you a charlatan or a liar?’ The answer is different every time you know?” I don’t know actually, but I get the feeling I need to know. I think I’m going to need to listen to Beal’s new record with a bottle of Jack Daniels.
