VIVA Talk With Billy Bibby

Having recently left Catfish and The Bottlemen, the ex-lead guitarist has been busy to say the least. Billy Bibby has managed to form a new band, release new songs,  record an EP and start a tour with his new group and all in less than 18 months. VIVA gets the low-down with everything he’s been up to, including all the above as well as how the new group are getting on and everything you need to know about their current tour.

VIVA: Thank you for talking with us today Billy, this is the first time VIVA has done a feature on you and we’re excited to talk with you. Firstly, as an ex-member of Catfish and the Bottlemen, would you mind giving us a brief talk about how Catfish kick-started back when you with them?

BLLY: Yeah, I think we were just trying to get people into the music, we’re from Llandudno in North Wales and we mainly wanted to get out into the UK as much as we can and  build a foundation. We really didn’t reject many gigs at all, we just went straight into the deep end and it’s just the same as what I want to do now with my own band because these days the money is mainly made with live performances. Because of ITunes, Spotify and things online, the live performances are so much more important to bands these days. And that’s what we plan on doing.

VIVA: Are you excited to do it again with your new group?

BILLY: Yeah, I mean I’ve not been touring for about 18 months since I left catfish so im eager to get back on the road. I love being on tour so it’s what we’ll hopefully be doing as long as we can.

VIVA: We know that just before you left, you worked on Catfish’s 2014 album ‘Balcony’. In terms of lyrics and putting the song together, how did it work with Catfish in comparison to your new group?

BILLY: Of course, I actually recorded the album Balcony. With Catfish, it was different because the lead vocalist of Catfish, Ryan ‘Van’ McCann, would usually write up a song and bring it to the group, then each member would build their own musical parts around it. He’d bring the shell and we’d all put in our own musical aspects. Whereas with my band now, for the set we’ve got for the tour anyway, I pretty much wrote all the parts and then the lads learned their parts from there, but that’s only because we had a short period of time to get things sorted and ready for tour. (laughing) I eventually sent them the demos I recorded in my bedroom and they would put their own twist and stamp on it. But yeah it is definitely different in that respect.

VIVA: We’ve been having a look on your Soundcloud account and have been really enjoying the great stuff on there, especially your most recent single, ‘Waitin’ for you’, which has definitely received quite a bit more attention recently. Have you any plans in terms of releasing a new EP or album?

BILLY: Thank you, yeah there is actually an EP already recorded and it will be coming out in February, so it’s quite soon. We’ll be announcing that very shortly with the release date. So yeah, it’s just a few short weeks’ time until the EP will be out, just before we hit the bulk of the tour.

VIVA: Could you also tell us a bit about how you have formed your new band? Have you got a name yet or any ideas?

BILLY: Yeah we’re going under ‘Billy Bibby and the Wry Smiles’, which our bass player came up with. With the band, it was more by chance that a friend of a friend knew Simon Jones, the bass player from the Verve, who wanted to talk with me. When I spoke to him I mentioned that I was trying to get a band together and did he know any musicians. He actually has his own studio outside of Manchester so we sorted out some auditions took it from there. (Laughing) It really wasn’t too serious like X factor or anything. We had a few auditions and also had a little jam with some of the musicians until we just picked the ones that fit the bill.

VIVA: At the time, were you confident with your decisions when you picked your current members?

BILLY: Definitely, I was really impressed with the drummer as well as the bass player, both being really good and talented. I also have to say that with the guitarist we’ve got now, he is really amazing and I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else. We had another guitarist before him, who was picked at auditions and was also really good. Simon and I knew he was definitely the one, so he was in the original line-up. Unfortunately, a few weeks later he phoned me to say that he can’t fully commit due to being a uni, which is was fair enough. I appreciated that it was better for him to tell me then, rather than five months down the line when he realises he can’t continue. Then, our drummer said that he has a friend who is good on guitar, so he came in during the next practice lesson and I was shocked as he had literally learned the songs in one day. I couldn’t learn a song in one day and make them sound as good as he had. So he came in and I couldn’t believe he had learned the songs in just one day and it blew me away. (Laughing) I was just thinking that he’s definitely in the band if he wants it. As he did, we’ve been together a few months now and it’s great.

VIVA: Would you say you all have good chemistry?

BILLY: Yeah absolutely, there’s definitely chemistry there, we’ve only played four gigs but after each one we’ve had some great feedback and we’re getting better and better with each gig. Yeah I feel like there’s definitely something special between us.

VIVA: Lastly, could you give us some information about your current tour?

BILLY: We started last weekend on the 15th in Bradford and we finish on my birthday, 20th march, in Leeds. (Laughing) It will be a good way to end the tour and we’ll more than likely stay over in Leeds and have a few drinks but yeah, I’m probably most looking forward to that one. Also, if we make it that, it would mean that we’ve completed the tour. Having not toured for 18 months I’d be really pleased with that achievement.

Keep up to date with Billy Bibby on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.