This is the first of a series of interviews, that I will conduct with some of the DOPEST artists, DJs, and entrepreneurs in the industry. ENJOY!!!Yoooo Willy, whats good man?
I'm sure you get this a lot, but where did you name come from?
- My name came... from my mom & dad! It is, sort of unbelievably, my real name. Makes getting my paychecks easier... haha.
Where are you from? And who do you represent?
- I've lived in a bunch of places, but I represent Chicago. I was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. I also lived in Providence, RI and Boston, MA for many years before moving to Chicago. The Chi is the first place I've lived since I left my parents' house as a kid that feels like home to me. There are so many artists doing amazing work here and it's an honor to rep them, rep myself, Chicago, and the Midwest. To me, artists from the Midwest are perennially slept on when they're some of the best people to work with. CHIP THE RIP I SEE YOU!
I'm a huge fan of Fly By Night Vol. 1 Mixtape, def some ILL shit i must say... Who are your influences? And how do you think they helped shape your sound into what it is today?
- Thanks! My biggest conscious influences are my friends who are also musicians - hearing what they make or what they're into and learning from it is one of the fastest ways for me to progress what I do. Historically, my influences come from metal, rave music and rap... kind of across the board but it's true! I was a metalhead kid in middle school, a raver in high school, and a rap fan throughout college. After that it all just kind of blended together and I stopped categorizing so much. That's a really basic way to put it, but it summarizes me in a lot of ways...
How does it feel to be considered apart of "The Movement" going on in Chicago right now?
- I couldn't be more proud to be part of the "New Chicago" sound. There's nothing like it sonically, and more importantly, I've never seen such a talented and SUPPORTIVE group of young hungry artists anywhere else. We're ALL making moves in one way or another, and we're ALL looking to help out each other however we can. Not to mention it's great when you can hang out with your friends and be working at the same time.
You were featured in URB Magazines: Next 100, along with Chip Tha Ripper, Kid Cudi, Million $ Mano, Mic Terror, and many more... Is this your biggest publication thus far? And how did this help your career?
- URB was definitely big for me! People know the "Next 100" brand and it says a lot about any artist who can achieve that. Looking at the history of artists who have been named Next 100, there are a ton of hugely successful people. It puts the pressure on (in a good way) and definitely opened some doors for me to people who hadn't heard my name before.
As many people may know, Lollapalooza is a HUGE music festival that takes place in Chicago every summer, how was it to be apart of that? And can you share with us any crazy stories?
- Being a part of Lollapalooza was amazing. I was playing very early on the first day of the festival, so I didn't really expect many people to be there. By the time I was finished, though, there was a big crowd going completely crazy - and this was at 1PM! Other than that, me and a couple boys kind of went nuts with the free swag, we were out for everything! I think we ended up with like 2 pairs of jeans each, 2 pairs of headphones each, a pair of shoes each, some free bags, shirts, coffee, sunglasses... it was off the hook and way too much to carry! And of course I didn't really need almost any of it. I can't turn down anything that's free!
You also are thee DJ for one of Chicago's newest & brightest artists, Mic Terror. How did that relationship start? And how has it progressed since you two linked up?
- I met Mic Terror when I booked him for a show, actually. I had only heard a couple of his songs and didn't really know what to expect. He opened up the show with "HIIOOO" and I started flipping out. We kept in touch after that, and after a while it just made sense for us to work together. I think we have a mutual admiration - I think he's one of the best rappers in Chicago right now. We work well together, and we've started doing some out of town gigs - I'd only expect that to grow in the future. We're working hard and the live show is crazy - you hear that, booking agents?!
For those who do not know what your Fly By Night party is like, can you give a description of the madness, that is now one of the DOPEST parties thrown only once a month?
- Fly By Night is something I look forward to every month. It's a party I've been throwing for over a year now in Chicago. Basically it's a place for me to bring in some of my friends from out of town to perform along with me and a few other Chicago locals. I think we've become a known quantity at this point in Chicago and our crowd is awesome. I really try to make it like the best house party you've ever been to - we get dirty, we get wild, everything is a little sloppy, hopefully you end up hooking up with the person you've been eyeing all night... and it's pretty much the best music you've ever heard. I want to bring back the excitement I had about music when I was 15 instead of the jaded asshole I am now! Haha!
I have recently seen your linking up with Scion, the car company... Can you tell us a little about that situation?
- I've worked with Scion in a couple different ways - they've sponsored my Fly By Night party in the past which has been great for me. But more exciting is that I recently got a chance to do an interview and submit a mix for their streaming Scion Radio station. The Rub from NYC curates one of their channels and were awesome enough to let me ramble on air and make a juke mix for them. You cancheck it out here or open iTunes and copy this into your browser there:http://pri.kts-af.net/redir/
index.pls?esid= 9a90cabf4baaed468711c7cae63b6b b9&url_no=1&client_id= 7&uid= 68efed4d03ec7e45fd3978262c1071 80&clicksrc=xml (it's only streaming, Scion doesn't allow the shows to be downloaded unfortunately.)
And whats in the future for Willy Joy? What can your fans, myself included, look forward to?
- Expect a lot of new music! Remixes for Hollywood Holt, Dev79, Bin Laden Blowin Up and more are on the way, along with a ton of original tunes. A lot of shows too - coming to your town soon so come out and party!
**Special Thank You to Willy Joy... Check His Myspace Page below & Download Fly By Night Vol. 1!**
1 comment:
yesssss!
Willy Joy is my dude.
We gota go up and see Kunal and go hit the nightlife for sure!
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