April Featured Artist, Bill Minnery

April’s Featured Artist is Bill Minnery, a musician from Brantford. Bill’s musical background ranges from early 1940s to Eminem, but he loves playing progressive metal more than anything. His bands frequently play at local establishments, including: Frankie’s Tavern, Two Doors Down, Manny’s Place, and Harmony Square.

Bill has been hooked on playing guitar ever since seeing Marty McFly play his Johnny B. Good guitar solo in Back to the Future and after seeing “the king of guitar”, Eddie van Halen,  play for the first time. Bill also credits his mom, Joan Minnery, for helping him to pursue his artistic pursuits by buying him his first guitar and encouraging his love of music. Bill adds, “My mom buying me my first electric guitar changed my entire life from then on. I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive mother when it comes to any of my musical pursuits.” Bill is also thankful for the leadership of his first guitar teacher, Dave McWilliams. “He taught me for years and there is no better teacher to learn from. The guy literally knew everything about the guitar.”

Guitars, songwriting and showmanship are all tools of the trade for any musician and Bills says you need these three things to be at least a little bit successful.  When asked what he enjoys most about his creative projects, Bill says being able to be on stage and express himself musically takes the cake. “I love looking out into the crowd and seeing people react to what I am giving.”

Growing up in Brantford, Bill says you’re never far from where you need to go. He is especially inspired by local artists: Tyler Wilson, Jeffrey Harding, Jeff Copoc, Rusty James, Les Posan, Dave Griffin, Bad Reed, Jamie Reinhart, Kidd Dreadd, Kwami, and Kristen Bezemer. Bill adds, “I look up to all of these musicians and admire their talents.”

The pandemic has been disruptive for the live music industry, so Bill is excited for upcoming gigs with both his bands in the coming weeks. Bill joins Joan and their band SIVLE in St. Thomas at Whiskey Rocks on Saturday, May 7^th. The other band Bill is in is a hard-rock horror metal band named Semetary Spawn, which is based out of Hamilton and run by Mike Trebilcock, a Juno award-winning songwriter from The Killjoys.

Follow Bill on Instagram @billminn117 to keep up to date with local performances. You can also check out his bands @trillband3, @sivleization and @semetaryspawn.