We recently connected with Bill Arnold and have shared our conversation below.

Bill, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

No, absolutely not. Though my passion is writing and performing music, my family was and is the most important part of my life. I would not change that for all the fame and fortune in the universe. I’ve always been at least partially tied to music in one way or another, but when it was time to raise my family, that was my main objective. Now that they’ve grown into adults and have lives of their own, I have more time to devote to presenting my music. I do this as a solo performer, in any number of duo, trio, and beyond collaborations, and fronting the band One Ton Trolley.

It’s interesting that I’ve heard people in the music scene decry those of us who raised a family, crafted a career, and then came back to music later in life, as if we somehow cheated. I think that’s nonsense. I’ve also seen some of those people become so disenfranchised by the meat grinder that can be the music industry. It can completely rob some of their spirit to make music. After many years of grinding it out, they drop out of the music scene and lament having missed out on having a family, a home, a weekly paycheck, health insurance, etc. As far as I’m concerned, there is no shelf-life on the creation of art or the enjoyment of playing music. You do it when it’s right for you. That is what I have done, and in many ways, it’s my secret weapon. I craft my songs the way I want them, and not how a “label’ or local venue owner expect me to. It’s truly liberating. Because of that freedom, I believe I’m making the best music of my life and ENJOYING it!

Though I do play some cover songs here and there, my joy is derived from crafting new creations and presenting them to people who enjoy discovering new music. I genuinely cherish the friends (I don’t like the word “fans”) that come to my shows regularly and support what I love to do. I like to think that with some miles on me, I’m more capable of appreciating these moments.

Bill, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been playing guitar since the age of 10. I always loved “creating” new sounds. I’ve played music more or less since then in various configurations. There were the porch pickin’ years, the acoustic duo years, the bluegrass years, the rock band years, and now I’ve settled into the songwriter, band leader, music producer, jingle writer, session musician role that now seems inevitable. Music has always been a love, so it seldom feels like work. Indeed, I often feel guilty when immersed in some musical project or other because I mistakenly think work shouldn’t be fun. Well, if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Or so the saying goes.

I’ve recently come to grips with allowing myself to refer to my music as “art”. For some reason, I never considered that. It may be because there is so much behind the curtain sausage-making that is the final product an audience or listener will experience. The hours on Canva creating marketing graphics for multiple applications, scheduling and paying for recording studios and music production, budgeting for transportation, scheduling rehearsals, financing physical unit production, folding t-shirts and organizing other merch, trying to fit 4 or 5 people and gear into the most cost-effective travel arrangement. There’s just always something to kick you in the ass and distract you from the core of what you do; create music.

Lately, in addition to solo, duo, and band performances, I’ve enjoyed working with clients on jingles, voice-over spots, and adding instrumental session parts for other peoples recording projects. I take my contributions very seriously and have a high standard for the product I submit. I’m working on getting faster with these productions to increase the demand for those services. As I get more and more of these projects complete, I hope word of my work spreads and I can spend even more time helping people with their needs. I’m proud to say that I am becoming much more proficient with producing whole recorded spots by myself using some of the music production tools I’ve collected over the years. I produce these in my home studio and can see myself doing this for many years to come.

Of course, there’s nothing quite like presenting your music to a crowd. That remains my favorite part of all this, especially when it’s performing the songs I’ve written. I’m equally happy performing solo with an acoustic guitar to a small listening room crowd or with a full band to a raucous party crowd. I love it all, and I hope that my love for what I do shines through.

In addition to my music career, I also manage a small commercial metal wall panel contracting company with my brother. We’re proud to have been in business for 28 years and see no signs of hanging it up any time soon. I’ve gotta stay busy. And then, there’s my wife and amazing now-grown children. Seeing and spending time with them is the pinnacle of my life.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think non-creatives look at performers as those just having fun. Perhaps performers should not be compensated because they’re having too much fun doing what they do. It takes a lot of years to become proficient at an instrument. Songs don’t write themselves. Guitar strings don’t change themselves. Gas doesn’t magically appear in your gas tank. $20 spent on a local performer goes MUCH farther for that performer than $200 spent on a major national touring band.

Mostly, I wish the general public would fall in love again with new original local music. On any given night, one of the best songwriters you’ll ever hear is sitting on a stool playing his/her heart out to an empty room with $2 in the tip jar. On the other side of town, people are waiting to pay $40 to park for an arena show by a band from 40 years ago that they paid $300 per ticket for. I’m not knocking those folks. I just wish they could rediscover the magic of finding a new performer and making that performer their own. It’s also okay to go see tribute bands, but maybe once in awhile take a chance on something new that costs less than $20 and could change your life. Music can do that.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It sounds terrible, but making someone cry. Honestly though, the first time you witness one of your songs bring a stranger to tears, you can never be the same. When someone from the audience approaches you after a show to tell you how your song spoke to them, resonated with them and caused such emotions or memories of loved ones passed, or caused them to vividly recall moments in their life, man…….that’s what its all about for me. It’s a powerful drug.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://onetontrolley.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onetontrolley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onetontrolley
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCQp4jUAZaynesQ185feKlTA

Image Credits
Julia Cuddy Tim Meeks John Bayerl Allison Carpenter Steve Taylor