Bill Hudson spoke with Moita , host of the Heavy Talk . In the interview, the guitarist, who has been in the business for 20 years, talked about his extended visit to Brazil. Hudson also discussed his participation in shows here and the reasons that led him to move to the USA to pursue a career in music. He was also very frank when talking about the time he struggled with alcoholism and his comeback.
Bill Hudson participated in the Mariutti team , Shamangra , with the band Firewind , at the invitation of vocalist Caio. Following that, he attended a show by former Helloween member Roland Grapow , in addition to seeing old friends and reminiscing about Brazil. According to him, "currently Brazilian bands are getting much more attention than they did 20 years ago."
Bill Hudson's start in music.
When asked if he still harbors resentment about the beginning of his career in Brazil, Bill responded, in a candid way, that the country's music scene during the time of Angra and Sepultura , in the late 90s, didn't leave much room for new bands. The audience was heavily influenced by the magazines of the time, and despite trying to put together some projects here with foreign musicians, things didn't work out. But he emphasizes that he loves Angra and Sepultura, and that what happened at the time wasn't the bands' fault. He affirms that he remains a fan and friend of all of them, including his first guitar teacher, Kiko Loureiro . Bill then decided to live in the United States and try to make a living with his guitar. A decision that proved to be correct, despite setbacks along the way.
The guitarist, who is already an American citizen, has been working abroad for a long time, collaborating with big names like Savatage , UDO , Circle II Circle, among many others. He recently toured Brazil with singer Doro at the 2023 Monsters Of Rock festival
The fight against alcoholism and overcoming it.
Bill recounted that at a certain point in his career, he began abusing alcohol on tour. He described incidents involving blackouts, destruction of hotel rooms, and threats that "if he didn't stop, he would be taken off the bus and left in the middle of the road."
The musician began to recover after a six-day blackout following the end of a tour. Upon returning home to Los Angeles, his wife kicked him out, and he went to a hotel across from a liquor store. Bill reported that the store closed around 3 a.m., and in a hangover episode, he woke up at 4 a.m. Since the store was closed and he had no way to buy alcohol, he decided to use the hotel treadmill to exercise. And that was it; a new door began to open for the musician.
Because alcohol was making him lose his shape, he started missing out on job opportunities. That's when he decided to seriously start exercising, improve his guitar skills, and focus on his career. Sobriety brought a new path to success for the guitarist.
NorthTale and the dream come true
After many years working as a hired musician in various bands, which afforded him a more comfortable life, around 2019 he decided to dust off his old dream: "to have a power metal band, in the style of Stratovarius and Angra".
Thus, the band NorthTale , a project that was initially intended to be solo, but ended up becoming a band thanks to the right choice of musicians, especially the Brazilian vocalist Guilherme Hirose , who brought the necessary interpretation to the songs.
The band recently released a live music video for the song "Shape Your Reality," and they have a tour scheduled to play in several countries, starting on March 14th in Birmingham and ending on April 13th in Berlin.
Bill will still participate in some shows with the queen of metal, Doro, who, according to him, always supported his own band and helped promote it. That's why Bill always goes on stage wearing a NorthTale t-shirt. In his words: "Doro was the best boss I ever had!"
Professional advice from Bill Hudson
According to him, a professional should be as concerned with their talent as with their appearance: "You don't need to be handsome, just dress for the stage, take care to look like a professional."
Concluding the interview, he advises: "Don't speak ill of your fellow musicians; people always remember who said it, not who was mentioned."
And most importantly: "Be an easy professional to work with; nobody likes temperamental musicians. Bands want you to promote them, not the other way around, and at that point, technique becomes less important."
Check out the full interview:
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