Local 913, Episode 86: Bill Deasy

Bill Deasy returns with a solo album after a successful reunion with his band, The Gathering Field, in 2014. Deasy’s explanation for why he made a record on his on versus another Gathering Field is simple:
“I realized I was writing a bunch of songs. I talked to Dave Brown in The Gathering Field; he has to do all the work with engineering and producing the albums. Dave had a big project at work, so it was a practical thing. He couldn’t really quickly do a record. I’m at a point [with songwriting] where if I don’t do it now, I don’t know if I’ll ever do it! I talked to The Gathering Field and got their blessing. It was just logistical, but it could have been a Gathering Field record.”
Deasy teamed up to produce the album with Jake Hanner, drummer for the band Donora. Since Hanner is such a versatile producer, you might think working with him changed Deasy’s approach to making an album:
“It’s more like he HEARS me. Jake really tapped into what I do. He felt what I was doing and built it from there. All these things that can get buried in a rock record, he did not let get buried. My voice and my guitar led the whole thing in a unique and fresh way that was very distinct to him. I learned early to suspend judgement. There would times where I would think ‘Aw wait! That beat is so bizarre! Why would you do that, Jake?’ Then I would listen three times and realize ‘Oh! You did that because it’s kind of what I’m playing!’ That makes it awesome."
Bill Deasy’s new solo album Timeless Things will be out on November 25th. For more information, visit billdeasy.com.