William Hinson captured our hearts with his 2020 debut album Everything Will Be Okay - with tracks "George Harrison," "Self Love," "Normal Day" and more. The indie-pop singer cites influences like The Beatles, John Mayer, The 1975 and Hall & Oats - creating his own unique sound with soft acoustics, alluring melodies and upbeat tracks. Amongst coffee shop and moody tracks, William has also debuted up-beat tempos such as "Social Fitness," "Girly Pop," and "Kitchen Talk."
We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with William on what it's like to have released not one, but two albums in the last year, why he loves The Beatles' music so much, advice he has for aspiring musicians and more. Check out the interview below.
Bethany: Hi William, thank you so much for speaking with us today. We’re huge fans of yours and I personally have been listening to your music for three years now. How are you doing?
William Hinson: I’m great! Thanks for listening :)
Bethany: You just had two major collections of music debut within the last year - your sophomore album ‘Turn Your Frown Inside Out’ and your first ever live album ‘Live! At The Flat Iron.’ Can you tell us a little bit about both of those albums?
William: Absolutely! Both of them were a ton of work but I’m happy they are out. TYFIO kinda exists as my "covid album," although there are some songs on there I had before covid. Anytime anyone releases an album, they say "this album is way more introspective than my previous work – I really dove into who I was on it etc. etc." But yeah, anyways, I don’t know where I was going with that but I would say that TYFIO is way more introspective than my previous work – I really dove into who I was on it. It’s about me.
L!ATFI is the culmination of almost two years of work (certainly two years of planning), and really is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. I love the fact that these two records sorta overlap timeline wise – the three shows featured in L!ATFI were played during the making of TYFIO (with the final one being the TYFIO release show).
Bethany: What made you want to release a live album?
William: Live albums are cool! One of my best friends Matt Laird said after one of the Flat Iron shows "I’ve never really fallen in love with an artist until I took the deep dive on their live stuff." I really relate to that. I think it’s one thing to be an artist in the studio but it’s another to bring something fun to the live setting!!! Growing up I really became obsessed with Paul McCartney because of Wings Over America and John Mayer because of Where The Light Is. You can really connect with an artist in a deeper way through live records.
Bethany: I really love the fact that the first track on the live album and ‘Turn Your Frown Inside Out’ tie back to the beginning of your debut album, ‘Everything Will Be Okay.’ What was the reasoning behind that?
William: Well I think for starters, I would say that I really loveeeeee continuity across a catalog. When I die, I hope that people can view my catalog as like a 250 song album. I’m also a huge fan of The 1975 and I love that all of their records start with a song called "The 1975." All top of all of that, who doesn’t love mellotron flutes???
Bethany: I’ve watched some videos of you performing and you seem so energetic, silly and overall have great showmanship. You just look like you’re being yourself and you seem so comfortable performing on stage. Have you always portrayed yourself to be that way or did you have to become comfortable with that?
William: I’d be lying if I said I had always been as comfortable – it’s certainly a learned behavior. But playing shows helps you develop into who you are onstage. I would contribute my vibe onstage to the ~1000 shows I’ve played (mostly to people who aren’t listening).
Bethany: The performances on the live album are from different shows and different places. How did you decide which ones made the cut?
William: I love this question!!! To be honest, some of the decisions were really really easy and some were exceptionally hard to make, haha. For instance, there were several really good takes of "Self Love" – which is ultimately why there are three versions of that on the album. With takes that didn’t make the cut, there were a number of factors – how good the mix was, how good my energy was, was I brilliantly off-key, etc. There are some great alternate takes – I guess I’m holding onto those for the 50th Anniversary Boxset.
Bethany: The mix of each song is crystal clear and we obviously are in 2024 where we have the technology to make things sound as clear as possible. Did you have someone help you mix the album and what did you use for the mixing process?
William: Jeremy Chereskin at the Flat Iron mixed most of it – he’s a wizard! I had mixed all three shows myself simply for the purposes of attaching the audio to TikToks and Instagram Reels, but I approached Jeremy about helping mix because he mixes shows from that venue everyday. There are a couple of my mixes that made it onto the album – mostly because I think I just got used to hearing those takes as my mixes, haha.
Bethany: I noticed you and your band wear suits whenever you guys perform live. How was the decision for that made?
William: Wearing suits onstage is my absolute favorite thing to do. It just makes the show feel like an occasion. It started as an homage to four guys that were in this band a long time ago, I’m blanking on the name …. But then it just felt right. It doesn’t feel like a real show if I’m wearing anything else!
Bethany: You’ve obviously been a huge Beatles connoisseur your whole life, you have songs like "George Harrison" and "Paul McCartney." How were you introduced to the band and what kind of impact have they had on you?
William: My mom and dad were really good about introducing me to really good oldies – James Taylor, Earth, Wind, And Fire, Billy Joel, Carpenters – but The Beatles were an ever present part of my upbringing. Everyone asks me about The Beatles all the time – for obvious reasons – but honestly the reason I like them is because they are the best band, haha. Just the best band ever. We have everything because of them.
Bethany: I was introduced to The Beatles through my grandparents, my grandpa made me copies of Beatles compilation CDs he had and put them in a big CD case and titled it “Bethany’s Beatles Collection.” That’s a core memory for me because they’re my favorite band as well. What’s a special memory you have from your life that involves The Beatles?
William: I don’t remember a time before being a Beatles fan, so I sorta look at my fandom in stages. I was just a kid who loved a Beatle haircut. My friend and I would listen to the 1 album over and over again. I was in 1st grade at that point. Another stage I remember was when the 2009 remasters came out. I was 13 and at Target with my mom. She said "look William, new Beatles!" which was puzzling because they broke up in May of 1970, but we ended up getting Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper, and Revolver that night. Being a Beatles fan is a lifelong thing full of great memories. :)
Bethany: There’s a certain cover that’s featured on the live album that’s a pretty popular song - “California Gurls” by Katy Perry. How did you decide you wanted to include that?
William: I just really love our cover of that. Cole’s solo is amazing.
Bethany: One of my favorite newer songs from you is “St. Patrick’s Day” and I normally listen to it like five times a day. I also love the live version, but can you explain what that song is about?
William: That song came about because one of my best friends Josh Earls and I were writing and I told him some story about something around St. Paddy’s Day and he literally said “on St. Patrick’s Day, every year I ruin my life.” I think we wrote the song in like 15 minutes after that.
Bethany: So you’ve been in the music industry for a while now, what are some goals you’ve accomplished and want to achieve?
William: I am proud of the work that my team and I have been able to do since the Elevator Music EPs. I would love to tour more and write with artists I really love. :)
Bethany: What are some struggles that come with being an artist and how do you overcome them?
William: Being poor is a huge one, but that is addressed on "Funemployment," haha. I think just maintaining consistency can be hard when the job has become so much more than writing and releasing music!
Bethany: Is there any advice you’d like to offer aspiring musicians?
William: Keep going and try to be a genuine friend.
Bethany: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers and your fans?
William: I’ve got more music coming very soon! (but musicians always say that, don’t they?) So instead, I’ll relay one of my favorite Barry Goldwater quotes: "If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream."
Bethany: William, thank you again so much for interviewing with us - we absolutely love your music and truly respect you as an artist. We’re loving everything you’ve released so far and we can’t wait to continue supporting you in the future. I’m sure our paths will cross again at some point and good luck to you!
William: Thank you so much for having me!
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