Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Blair.
Billy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I knew what I wanted to do at the age of 5 after discovering a KISS record at a Wilco in El Paso back in the day. That’s when I wanted a band of my own. After that, it was Sesame Street. Then came Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the James Bond movies. That’s when I wanted to be in movies.
By the time I was in middle school, that’s when the push came to be in a band for sure. After watching a Motley Crue video, I was sold into being a rock star. Me and two other guys decided we were going to start a band. And we did. It was called Shadow Demon.
And we were across from glam metal and thrash metal. It didn’t go anywhere but I was determined. There were many bands after that. Some reached success level. Tours with bigger bands, guitar endorsements, songs on the radio and many, many parties.
Long story short, I finally got the band that is functioning, that is signed, and has songs on the radio and is touring. That band is JUNK.
And as for the acting; I started dabbling into that in the mid 90’s. I finally just said I want to act. So I took theater at Richland College and took other classes form independent teachers and learned all the fundamental aspects of acting. From that point on, I did a lot of independent films and got me an agent. It took a while but I finally landed a big commercial that started everything. It was a Joe’s Crab Shack commercial. After that, I started booking movies. Jonah Hex, Machete, Machete Kills, The Last Stand and on and on.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not really. It took a long freakin’ time to get something. Musically it took two decades. And even when I did get something it disappeared on me just like that. it always seems you’re there, but then it goes away and you’re back at the start. It’s a tough shitty business.
Even in the movie business. I had a few years of a snowball effect of landing role after role. then it dried up. Then you’d get a couple of small independent films and dries up again after that. Then you get a real big one and it dries up after that. It’s quite frustrating if you ask me.
JUNK – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m in a band called JUNK. I play guitar and sing. I’m proud that I can do my own music and get it out there and do something with it. I think we’re very catchy. We’ve been played on the radio many many times. I think we’re different than a lot of bands that are out there. We have a reverse sound and the bass player and I alternate on the lead vocals, so it’s not the same sounding song over and over again.
My other company is my production company. Right now it’s Blair Entertainment. I produce the film along with starring in them. Right now, I’m on the second project that I produced and am very proud of it. It’s called CHEROKEE CREEK. It sets away from all the other-other indy to blockbuster films out there. It’s ultra low budget but we deliver on all points. it is funny, scary and suspense all in one. I’m ready for my next film.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
In the band, opening up for some of the biggest band around. The feeling when you’re on stage in front of 1600 to 15,000 people. And then selling a ton of merchandise after that. That’s a win!
And in movies, booking big blockbuster films. The red carpet. After parties and rubbing shoulders with some of the big names in the biz. Plus the residuals, haha.
Pricing:
- JUNK CD $5. You can get in iTunes, Spotify, zombiesharkrecords.com or any other music outlet
- Blood Sombrero $10. You can get that on iTunes, Walmart.com, Barnes, and Nobel, movie trading company.
Contact Info:
- Website: billyblair.com
- Instagram: junktx
- Facebook: facebook.com/junktx
- Twitter: twitter@junktx1
- Other: cheerokeecreek@facebook
Image Credit:
Steve Riley, Todd Jenkins, Xlcr Moon, Alex Mcvey
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