Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Pomerleau.
Hi Bill, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Maine where six months winters lent themselves well to playing copious amounts of piano! My father was a life-long musician all throughout New England so I came up in a musical house. I started playing piano at six and by nine years old, was getting paid to play music on stage with my Dad. As my musical education continued, I became a vocalist, then a guitarist, and after graduating college many years later, I relocated to San Diego. After a few months of band gigging in North County, I met Roger Hunt, part owner of the Shout! House piano bar in the Gaslamp Quarter who helped train me into the “dueling pianos” concept. Within a few months, I became one of their full-time entertainers performing over a thousand shows for the Shout House in my nearly decade-long tenure.
These days, in the partially-post-COVID world, I’m doing a little bit of everything. Starting in 2019, I began regularly traveling to Quebec City, Canada to perform dueling piano shows at an amazing venue and concept named La Broche à Foin where we do shows that book out six months in advance. When I’m States-side, I’m a regular performer in a variety of groups all around San Diego—including the Cassie B Project, the Decadames, Lighting Drive (the Moonshine Flats and Moonshine Beach House Band), as well as occasionally performing solo shows and dueling shows with the Shout! House. Needless to say, I’m very grateful to continue being a full-time musician and I feel like we need the arts more than ever. I get the privilege of living every day in the present and am very humbled to play on some of the best stages in San Diego with some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met and in America’s finest city!
Alright, 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?
I’m not sure if life is supposed to be smooth but I’ve definitely had my ups and downs. Compared to some, I’ve had it smooth. Compared to others, not so smooth. I’m a believer that with adversity comes growth and I’ve tried to live life with open eyes and an open mind, and they’ve only opened further as I’ve gotten older. I suppose I can say that the road has been smooth enough for me and when the road got rough, I just tried to maintain the perspective that life is short and everything is temporary.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist. I also play bass and drums. I do session work on the side from professional studios like Pacific Beat and Studio West to remote recordings and tracking out of my home studio. In the last few years in particular, I’ve been a journeyman Audio Engineer working part-time in tracking and mixing audio–last year, I mixed Whitney Shay’s single “You’re Not Alone” as a tribute to first-responders during COVID and was assistant engineer on San Diego-based Elektric Voodoo’s last album release “Telescope.” Engineering has definitely taken a side step to live performance but is one of the most enjoyable crafts on the planet for someone like me.
I’m not sure if it sets me apart from most, but I choose to live and work passionately. I believe in making life easier for other people. In my line of work, it means showing up on time. Showing up prepared. Ready to work. Aaaaaand once you hit the stage, ready to have some fun! Two different sides of the same coin.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I love reading but I can’t narrow down any influences to a single read. So I’m all over the map on this one. My education is oddly enough in American History and Political Science, so my book list is full of non-fiction. My current book line-up includes The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon Wood, an invigorating biography of James K. Polk by Walter Borneman as well as a couple of Bob Woodward books and Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (I’m a huge culinary arts fan). As a musician, I thoroughly enjoyed Pat Pattison’s books on lyric writing and object writing. For personal growth, I found a lot of wisdom in Bob Proctor’s works about law of attraction and putting thoughts to action.
For podcasts, I’m a fan of American History Tellers, the Attack and Release Show (audio engineer podcast), and Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.billpomerleau.com
- Instagram: @deci_bill
Image Credits
Marc-André Talbot, Guillaume Lapierre, Patrick Samokhvalop
