interview: william fitzsimmons
The tortured artist is a rather common cliché, though usually associated with unrequited love, insomnia and excessive drug use, than actual mental health issues.
As both a psychotherapist and musician, William Fitzsimmons is putting the two together. An intensely personal songwriter, he shares experiences such as familial disintegration during his youth, his divorce from his wife and his own battles with mental illness. But his latest offering, Gold in the Shadow, is an arc shaped from regeneration rather than the darker aspects of some of his previous work, though he has fortunately found willing ears for both.
‘I readily accept that there will be people that will love and connect with this type of thing because they believe there’s value in insight, they believe there’s value in chasing down ghosts from the past, things like that. And there’s some people who will think it’s absolute bullshit because why would you sing about bad shit all the time?
‘I see that division as just the way that things are and to me, I want to write songs for people that are willing to be open to those thoughts and dark things.
‘There’s room for all of it fortunately but I’m actually surprised that there’s as many people as there are willing to digest this type of music. It’s kind of interesting and exciting and maybe it means that even with all the stigmatisation in the field, that people are still kind of hungry for understanding those deeper things.’
Fitzsimmons’s “side project” as a psychotherapist isn’t the only unique thing about him. His love of music was cultivated early, with both of his parents being blind musicians, as was the honesty that he brings to his own songs.
‘It’s how my mother always taught us to be, to be honest even if it is a bit painful and that’s probably one of the things that led me to getting into psychology and counselling and everything. There, the only way is absolute disclosure and vulnerability so when it came to music, it just felt like it was the natural thing to do.
‘When I took this on, [my parents] were pretty proud and knowing that they…kind of influenced me in that direction…they’re happy with it.
‘They don’t quite understand it to a degree…there are certain things that I tell them that are little points of success or thought, like if I say to my mother, I was on this big TV show, she’ll say, I’ve never heard of that show. It’s just kind of funny, it keeps you humble. My dad would be more impressed if I was trained in classical music. Overall though, I think they’re pretty proud.’
Having sung with local darling, Julia Stone, on ‘Let You Break’ on his latest album, Fitzsimmons is hoping to make his way to our shores sooner rather than later. And between his kind nature and unwavering sincerity, audiences here are sure to welcome him just as warmly.
Gold in the Shadow is now available through Nettwerk/Shock!
