17 | Vulnerability in Creativity with Blake William

Through The Creative Door

In this episode of Through the Creative Door, host Alexis Naylor dives into the vibrant world of pop punk with singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Blake William. Blake shares insights into her creative process, the importance of nurturing a safe space for artistic expression, and her journey as an openly transgender artist. From discussing the challenges of overcoming self-doubt to reflecting on her own projects, Blake offers an honest and inspiring glimpse into her life in music. She also reveals her go-to tools for creating, offers valuable advice for aspiring musicians, and shares the special memento that keeps her motivated.

If you’d like to see more of, you can follow Blake on instagram; @ blakewilliamsau

This episode was recorded on 13 April 2024 on the lands of the Eora Peoples. We hope that this episode inspires you as a creative person and as a human being.

Thanks for listening, catch you on the next episode.

Psst! We are always on the lookout for creative people to share their story and inspire others. Have you got someone in mind who would love to have a chat? Get in contact with us via Instagram @throughthecreativedoor

Creative resources from Blake:

> Ultimate Guitar: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

> GarageBand

> Logic

Let’s get social:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/throughthecreativedoor/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ttcdpodcast

CREDITS

Created and Hosted by Alexis Naylor

Music by Alexis Naylor & Ruby Miguel

Edited and Produced by Ruby Miguel

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00:08 - Alexis (Host)

Hello, my name is Alexis Naylor and I am your host here at Through the Creative Door. On behalf of myself and my guests, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians on which this podcast is recorded and produced. May we pay our respects to all First Nations people and acknowledge Elders, past and present. On this podcast, I will be chatting to an array of creative guests, getting a glimpse into their worlds and having some honest and inspiring conversations along the way. I’m delighted to welcome you to Through the Creative Door.

Hello Blake, how are you going?

00:51 - Blake (Guest)

I'm not too bad, thanks. How are you doing?

00:53 - Alexis (Host)

I am amazing, also very chuffed, to be here chatting with you. Thank you so much for coming through the Creative Door. Well, I'm actually coming through your Creative Door because I'm in your amazing space

01:05 - Blake (Guest)

Yeah, thank you for having me. It's awesome. I'm super, super happy to be part of it.

01:11 - Alexis (Host)

So good. Can I just say your music is so goddamn catchy, it's earwormy. So earwormy.

01:19 - Blake (Guest)

Thank you, I'm sorry I do have to say this thing about Breathe, to give the compliment back. I was listening to Breathe this morning and it's been also in my head.

01:27 - Alexis (Host)

Oh, thank you. Yeah, I feel really chuffed. I got to work with a friend with that song and it was just I don't know. It's like what we do is nice to work with community and yeah, it's cool.

01:39 - Blake (Guest)

But the best things always come out of those sort of collabs.

01:42 - Alexis (Host)

Yeah, exactly, that's why I love what we do. Yeah, um, but back to you, because we're going to talk about you. Um, you, for those listening, you have this amazing, uh, body of work doing like pop punk, I mean. You were a very multi-talented bear, you, because, of course, I wouldn't be doing my job right if I hadn't stalked you. So I know that you can play lots of instruments Guitar was your first instrument, yes, but you can play drums and you're an amazing producer and you've got a phenomenal tone in your voice. But so I'm just so excited to chat with you. I feel a bit starstruck. So the format of the Through the Creative Door is and I sent you all these questions beforehand but what does a creative space mean to you?

02:42 - Blake (Guest)

I think for me it's a, and I might get a little bit sappy with this, I think it's a place where you can, a place where you can be vulnerable. Um, like this space that we're in today is my little makeshift uh recording studio, which is by all means nothing fancy, but I know that I'm safe in here. Um, I have all my animals around me, my wife around me, and I know that I just feel comfortable in here. And there are things like even just recently, there's some songs I've written where there's a line I'm like I don't think I should do that.

03:19

Maybe that's too far me, that's this, but maybe in another space I would feel less confident with that. But just being here, I'm like, no, you know what, I'm here, that's this, but maybe in another space I would feel less confident with that. But just being here, I'm like, no, you know what, I'm just going to take this chance and I'm very much I'm very much a homebody. So just kind of having a space, whether it be this or even just in my house, having that, to just sort of absorb myself in it, it really is helpful and allows me to sort of block out any extra noise, even if it's like internally there's voices like you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do this, being in a space that you're so comfortable with and you're so used to it. Just it lets you be more vulnerable and I really, I really appreciate that about the little space I've sort of built for myself.

04:07 - Alexis (Host)

Amazing, amazing. Speaking of bodies of work and, um, yeah, doing that reflection, have you a body of work or a piece of work that you're most proud of creating and do you want to share? Or can you share, like, how that came about?

04:27 - Blake (Guest)

um, I think it's the typical artist thing to say the latest thing I've or the next thing I have coming is my favorite, but I I don't know, I think, like the two that come to mind again, maybe recency bias but the latest single I've put out um, at the time of recording this, was Renegade, which I put out in January, I believe earlier this year, and it was as you mentioned earlier. I've been doing pop punk. That's basically what I was raised on. It's what I've shaped my songwriting around, my production around, and while I am really happy with all the songs I've done in the past and how they've sounded, this one was just like I intentionally wanted it to be basic musically, like melodically, just four chords. Lyrically, like it's still something really important and I mean it really means a lot to me. But I just wanted it to be simple, straightforward and I feel like I nailed it with that that I'm just like like all it's weird, all this extra hard work goes into making something sound like it's less work, if that makes sense, like. There's definitely songs I've done before where I've, like um, overanalyzed too much and I'm still happy with the song but it might be a little bit messy or just bits and pieces here, whereas this one it ended up just being like not perfect, but for what I wanted. It was exactly what I wanted and I was super happy with that.

05:55

And then the other one that comes to mind is um, a song I released a few years ago now I think it was during during the COVID times. Lockdown times called Anymore, and it was the first time I'd ever worked with loops. So like I use Logic Pro for all my production and there's a massive loop library there that just takes up a shit ton of space on my hard drive. But I never touched it and I was just like I wonder what stuff's in here and like I I can't say I'm uh super fluent in EDM or anything, but I I do enjoy some, like if I hear like house music or just some types of EDM, like I quite enjoy that.

06:34

And I was like I wonder if there's a way just to sort of implement that. And I just found this loop that was really catchy, very EDM, very like house music, edm, very like house music. But I just kind of put like big drums to it, big guitars to it and wrote this chorus melody that was fairly simple but it like I went into falsetto, which I'd never done before, and just kind of like all over the place, but I think that's uh. I kind of have, uh, the extreme on both ends. I have Renegade, where I just want to be as simple as possible. I love how that turned out. And then I have Anymore which I wanted to play around with and experiment with and I still like I'll listen to it now sometimes and be like okay, no, I am still, I am so happy with that, almost like reassure myself like was I just kind of caught up in in the moment, but like no, I still enjoy that, I'm still happy with how that went yeah.

07:28 - Alexis (Host)

Now getting real personal here. Has there been something personally or like yeah, through your career or like something that has challenged your creativity, and how do you think you were able to overcome that?

07:47 - Blake (Guest)

I think the biggest thing has probably been like, I'm quite openly transgender and I came out 2021 I believe it was and after that I still was doing music, I was recording stuff, I was writing stuff, but it wasn't, it wasn't as frequent, uh, I wasn't doing as much and it was kind of, I guess, a bit of the voice in my head like you have to completely change or you can't do the same thing or or whatever, whatever dumb thought it may be. Again, apologies for my lovely dogs in the background, but, um, yeah, like I have a friend, I have a, I have a friend who's also transgender. She's an artist herself, and both of us met after both coming out and sort of restarting our careers or rejuvenating, whatever it is. And it was funny we both we realized we both had that same mentality of like, damn, am I not gonna be able to do music anymore, I'm not gonna be able to do this.

08:50

And then I think a big influence for me, um, even before coming out, was, um, Laura Jane Grace of Against Me, um, an amazing punk band from Chicago, and seeing that she embraced her true self, like she was able to be who she truly was, but then also she didn't compromise herself as a musician, like she still sang the same way, she still performed the same way. She was just, she was who she wanted to be, and I think that really helped of like, okay, I don't need to, I guess, fabricate someone else or whatnot, like I can still just perform like I always perform I'll. I mean, now I'll dress how I want to dress and obviously identify how I do. But, um, but yeah, I think a mix of a mix of seeing her and how she refused to, I guess, give in to that, um, that pressure any preconceived.

09:51

Yeah, exactly yeah and then, um, even once I'd already started doing things again, um, that good friend of mine her name is Noctica, you should definitely check out her stuff um, but, um, having having that talk and both sort of realizing, like, once you get into it, like yeah, I can still do this, like no one's. It's no one but the, the voice in your head that's saying you need to change this, we need to do this. So I think that was a that was a bit of a thing to overcome, but then it was it's such a little thing that felt like such a big thing. So once you overcome that, it's like oh this, what was I so worried about? But at the time it feels like a monumental thing that you've got to overcome. So, yeah, I think that's probably probably the biggest thin

10:37 - Alexis (Host)

Thank you so much for sharing. Okay, so we're going to talk about like this is so random, but I love it. Is there any object or thing that you can't live without when you're creating, like sentimental or like just like a tool that you just like can't creative without?

11:04 - Blake (Guest)

I mean my brain went to the obvious of guitar, laptop, microphone, but, um, I don't know. Like I'm looking around my little space now I just kind of have little trinkets of like collected stuff over the years, like I just have so much stuff everywhere. But I think one thing that's really cool and honestly I haven't even really thought about it until right now. But, um, I have a ticket from the first ever like proper concert I went to, which was ACDC, and I was like 10 years old, so that's awesome and I think like I don't even notice it's there most of the time, it's just there. But I think it's really cool having that to just sort of be like that's the first time being like, oh shit, I want to do this and now I'm definitely not on that scale yet. Hopefully one day. But like yeah, it's. I guess subconsciously it's a little reminder of like keep pushing, you're all well, you're almost there, in a way amazing.

12:07 - Alexis (Host)

I love it. Who bought you that ticket? Who went with you?

12:11 - Blake (Guest)

um, I think that was my dad and my uncle. Um, my uncle passed away a few years ago and he was always a massive ACDC fan. So, especially looking back in hindsight, that was a really special thing to be a part of and, um, yeah, it was just amazing. I still remember having because I think the only concert I'd been to before was maybe the Wiggles growing up which hey don't, I'm not knocking, I'm not knocking.

12:37

I'm not knocking, but I'd say like not that I, not that child me, regretted that, but it wasn't necessarily my choice. Whereas this was, this was your choice. This was my. I'm going to ACDC, but I just remember having earplugs. I think I got given earplugs because like, oh, it's going to be loud, it's going to be loud. And then the second it started I was just like, no, don't need that. Which is, maybe I should have stuck with earplugs for all those years and many, many, many gigs. But here we are.

13:01 - Alexis (Host)

You can still hear, you're fine.

13:06 - Blake (Guest)

I can hear I might need a hearing test, but I can hear I might need a hearing test, but I can hear.

13:11 - Alexis (Host)

Tomato, tomato. Yeah, if you had a chance to give another creative a nugget of advice or a bit of wisdom.

13:22 - Blake (Guest)

what would that be? Oof See, I find that so hard because I feel like I'm the one still wanting and needing advice.

13:31 - Alexis (Host)

Well, you could flip it and be like if someone wanted to do what you do.

13:36 - Blake (Guest)

I think I have just from recent times. I think I have a good one. Like 12 months ago my goal was I want to play shows again. I haven't played since COVID. Even then I wasn't doing too much like some sort of background gigs. But I want to be playing with bands that I love or venues that I love, and I pretty much just for all intents and purposes, just went, fuck it and just emailed every single venue, every single promoter, and majority of them I never heard from. Some of them were just like oh, you know, not really I want to blah, blah, blah. But then there's the ones that did stick gig back, I guess, which was at um Crowbar in Sydney, one of my absolute favourite venues, favorite places to be. So that was insane. And then to this day I'm still, just, still, just emailing people until either they tell me to stop or just, or they'll just be like just give her a gig, just just give her a gig. See what happens.

14:37

And I mean for the most part, most part it's worked out and like, from that I have sort of met more people from that community or that I was talking about and have networked more. And I'm the most socially awkward, shy person like. When I'm on stage I feel quite comfortable. It's almost like another character in a way. I can just sort of like turn that up for half an hour 45 minutes, but when I'm off stage I'm super anti-social, like.

15:07 - Alexis (Host)

You mentioned before that you like being at home.

15:13 - Blake (Guest)

Yes, very much a homebody. I'd say I've improved over the last year. I think finding this community has really helped that, like having like-minded people that I'm like, oh, I'm actually excited to, you know, go hang out with someone or go to a show with someone or whatnot. But yeah, usually I'm just super anti-social, but I've just sort of it started with forcing myself to like okay, I want to network with people, I want to, I want to find people I can work with and eventually that turns into becoming friends with people and it just has made the whole thing a lot easier. So, long story, short email people until they tell you to shut up.

15:52 - Alexis (Host)

That is the best quote, the best advice yeah

15:56 - Blake (Host)

I'm glad I'll put that on a shirt.

15:58 - Alexis (Host)

Amazing. Well, you're going to put it on a post-it note later.

16:00 - Blake (Guest)

Yes, I'll remember it.

16:05 - Alexis (Host)

I've got some extra questions. Yes, knowing that you have delved into like production and obviously you, like you were saying before about you know learning different instruments do you have any advice of whether it be software or or like resources for learning instruments? Or, if someone wanted to do what you do, what resources would you suggest?

16:32 - Blake (Guest)

Like I'd have for guitar and vocal. In terms of instruments, I'd say they're my main ones. I did start with tutors and start with lessons, like when I was really young. I think I started guitar when I was like six years old and I just sort of got to a point with that where not that I didn't need lessons like I know there's still a million more things I could do but I was just comfortable at a point where I could help myself progress. And there's some great websites like Ultimate Guitar I've used, which has like chords and tabs and stuff. But even over the last few years I think they've started introducing like videos and tutorials and stuff like that.

17:14

It's really weird. I feel like I'm the last of the generation before like YouTube learning, like I obviously grew up with YouTube but I had in-person physical lessons which like people who completely teach themselves or learn online, like that's amazing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I will say there is. There is something still valuable on that, like one-on-one connection. Um, like, I still remember a lot of my early guitar lessons in those formative years but, um, yeah, I'd say I'd say whatever works best honestly, like even now I'll if there's a song I hear that I want to cover or I want to learn that riff or something like I'll just try and teach myself by ear. If I can't do that, I'll look up the tab or look up the chords. So like, obviously you don't need me to say it, but there's a million and one ways that you can learn nowadays.

18:15

But, um, one thing specific to me, I think, when people ask about production, I use a software called Logic Pro. Um, it's kind of Pro Tools has always kind of been considered the industry standard, at least that's what I was always told. But, um, logic Pro, I've always preferred just a bit more, bit more songwriter, creative, friendly, and basically I started by playing around with GarageBand. I was like oh, what do these inputs do? What do these EQs do? What's a compressor? Blah, blah, blah.

18:45

And then, it just happened to be by chance, our school was offering a course. I think it was like a week course we could go to outside of school where you learn about songwriting and production, which was amazing and the instructor there was using Logic. So I was like, what is this? And because it looks just like GarageBand, but like on steroids pretty much and I went home, um, got logic maybe not straight away I had to convince a parent to let me buy it, but, um, but eventually got logic and I sort of took what I'd learned in GarageBand into this but then was like, oh, I can go further with this.

19:26

It purely just became trial and error, like I listened to not all the time, but I have gone back and listened to recordings I've done when I was like 13 or 14. And at the time I was like this is amazing, this is so cool. I listen. Now I'm like, oh, that was terrible, which I'm sure everyone does but objectively this was production, objectively this was terrible.

19:48

And I just kind of like just taught myself more. I um like found like Logic has amazing plugins built in, but I found like external plugins I could buy, that really sort of helps the sound that I want. And then, if it does get there, there have been some things where I'm like, oh, I want to do this one thing, but I can't quite get there myself, so I'll watch a YouTube video on it and then that'll open up another door of like oh, what's this? And yeah, it just kind of goes nuts from there. But from my personal experience and whatever I've said to anyone who's interested in production, if you can start with GarageBand, if you've already played around with it when you were younger or whatnot, give Logic a go, because it's just GarageBand on steroids. And as long as you're, as long as you have the interest and wanting to put the work and time in, like it's so great for just it's just a wealth of knowledge.

20:48 - Alexis (Host)

Amazing.

20:50 - Blake (Guest)

I notice I have very long winded answers.

20:52 - Alexis (Host)

No, I love it. It's so great. That's what I want. Okay, one last question. If you could have anyone come on this podcast and answer these questions, any kind of creative who would it be and why?

21:09 - Blake (Guest)

I think for me it would have to be someone that I idolize, because I have many like musicians and producers I look up to that, like I could listen to them talk for hours just about their process, about what they do, just the little minutiae of everything. I have two that come to mind and they're sort of linked because they've worked together a long time.

21:30

Um, Luke Hemmings from Five Seconds of Summer so Five SOS has always been, uh, well, pretty much since they've been a thing, I have been my favorite band. They became my biggest influences because they I'm originally from Penrith, they're from like the Richmond Hill sort of area, and I always saw them as like the hometown band, and just seeing them succeed to this day has always pushed me to be like shit, if they did it from friggin Windsor, like I can do it. Maybe I'm still trying, but maybe. And then John Feldman, who produced their first two records. He's done some stuff recently, but he is just, uh, an absolute icon in pop, punk, alternative rock. Um, I'd say, from like 2013 to 2017 or 18, like all of my favourite albums, all my favourite records, came from him.

22:24 - Alexis (Host)

I love it. Oh, Blake Williams, what an absolute pleasure it's been chatting with you. Thank you so much for coming on to Through the Creative Door.

22:32 - Blake (Guest)

That's all right, thank you, it's been such a joy. Thank you so much. This has been amazing.

22:43 - Alexis (Host)

Thanks for tuning in for another episode of Through the Creative Door. If you enjoy our episodes and find value in them, consider supporting us by making a donation. Just visit buymeacoffeecom forward slash through the creative door or via the link in our Instagram bio where you can choose an amount and even write us a little message. Every little bit helps and we truly appreciate all of your support. But if you can't donate, no worries, you can still help us out by sharing our podcast with your friends and family and leaving a review on your favourite platform. Thanks so much for being part of our community. We'll catch you on the next platform. Thanks so much for being part of our community. We'll catch you on the next episode. Bye.