Billy Holmes

Sisters can be good for lots of things. Forging notes to teachers for late homework. Last minute style advice when Mom insists pleated pants are perfect. For Hamilton native singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Holmes, his sister was good for introducing him to playing music in the first place. "She told me that playing guitar would be cool," says Holmes. "It stuck."

The impressionable middle schooler soon took wholeheartedly to playing and soon found himself in a "quirky" rock set dubbed The Chunky Marshmallows. And if ever an author needed more flawless foreshadowing, The Chunky Marshmallows are just that. As it would turn out, Holmes' entire educational career was coupled with extensive involvement in as many bands as he had textbooks, most notably during his university days at Queen's in Kingston, Ontario. "Being at university was jam packed with playing in bands," recalls Holmes. "I ended up learning how to play bass because it seemed that every band needed a bass player. Everyone wanted to start a band up there. There was a lot of great collaboration."

Holmes punctuated his formative musical years with an extended stay in Glasgow, Scotland for six months, delving fully into the area's unique local rock scene and starting a band, Wildlife, while at it. "Glasgow as a city and music scene is very supportive, though initially it's tough to be an outsider."

Now, quote-unquote home, efforts have turned to writing and recording for both band and solo efforts – the latter being something the humble Holmes shares equal reluctance and excitement over. "When you're solo, you're hesitant to give your stuff," cites Holmes. "I'm a pretty shy person, but I love music so much and have to make it. Constantly."

Audiences can expect moody medleys of all sorts from Holmes. His recent release, A Magic Wombat is entirely self-recorded and produced, demonstrative of his broad reaching talent and scope. Regarding his influences, Holmes tends to keep it within his family of friends – and with friends like his (read: the entire Put On Your Drinking Cap Records roster)– it is easy to understand why. "I've always been inspired and influenced by friends more so than big-name acts. I like to see my friends making music and it's easy to feed from and contribute to that."

His coveted role as guitarist for the band The Deviance is something that – since the band's inception in 2003 – takes Holmes to a new musical junction alongside bandmates Andrew Eckart, Brian Gibson, Steve McKay and Andy Richardson. The self-dubbed post-apocolyptic-literary-prog -core meeting of the minds base their musical musings on choice cuts from common high school English department requirements. The rock-operas have included both The Chrysalids and now, Lord of the Flies, rendering each live performance and resulting recording both winsome and musically charged by each member, Holmes included.