Life tends to give us what we want\u2026but never how we expect it.<\/p>\n
Witness phenomenal Vancouver, B.C. singer\/songwriter Billy The Kid. Culled from the same passionate ambrosia that spawned musical greats such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg and Elvis Costello, this golden throat has been accosting the world of music for years with her refined craftsmanship, bold musical talent, extraordinary songs and overt beauty\u2014aesthetically and aurally\u2014epitomized on latest EP The Lost Cause (Lost Records).<\/p>\n
As The Kid will admit however, while initial goals of success were envisioned as a collective, Life had other plans in store. Recognizing her innate abilities, it prodded her towards independence and therefore greatness.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents put me in piano lessons at eight. I hated it,\u201d she notes, admitting that despite a sour introduction to music compounded by her difficult early life as a foster child who left home at 12, creativity quickly took over her life. \u201cI\u2019ve been playing solo for as long as I can remember. I started learning to play guitar in the corridors of my high school and my first show was around 16 years old. I had a band but any time the band couldn\u2019t show up, I\u2019d still take the gig. Any chance to play, I\u2019d take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grasping those opportunities eventually thrust Billy The Kid into many unexpected spotlights. From punk rocker to pianist, folk crooner and eventually label owner (founding Lost Records in order to support poignant underground music), all of these experiences culminate in the striking and powerful experience that is The Lost Cause, a call-to-arms for individual thinking, personal pride and refusal to relent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always liked all sorts of music and I\u2019ve always played all sorts of music,\u201d she notes about her musical diversity. \u201cI grew up in punk but always loved roots and folk. Songs, really. Any song with a story or a life of it\u2019s own were always my favourites. I\u2019ll still put out rock music and write songs on pianos because at the end of the day, they\u2019re all songs, aren\u2019t they? That\u2019s the thing about The Lost Cause and those whom adhere to it. It\u2019s about finding your own way regardless of what others may think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contextually, The Lost Cause is founded on The Kid\u2019s desire to stay rooted, natural and sincere. Compelled by her struggles as a genuine artist constantly confronted by masked jackals both personally and professionally, The Kid never finds herself with a lack of inspiration, deeming The Lost Cause to be culled from one particular emotion:<\/p>\n
\u201cHonesty,\u201d she declares bluntly. \u201cI write a lot about hard times. There seems to be a lot of inspiration for that these days. There is a lot of music out there that is made to make money. It doesn\u2019t really stand up for much. I strive to stand up for what I believe in; don\u2019t really care about what musicians are \u2019supposed to do\u2019 in order to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope is that this thirst for honesty is what attracts our supporters,\u201d she continues. \u201cPeople are smart. They know they\u2019re being advertised to and music is just the soundtrack to the pop star commodity which takes away all credibility. I\u2019m independent through and through. I believe in throwing out the map and finding my own way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Considering that The Lost Cause was produced by Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace, Kelly Clarkson, Hillary Duff, Avril Lavigne) and boasts a vast array of legendary talent including pianist Garth Hudson (The Band, Bob Dylan), drummer Randy Cooke (Ringo Starr\/Dave Stewart), guitarist Ben Peeler (Jacob Dylan\/The Wallflowers) and harmonica player Stan Behrens (Ruth Brown, The Four Tops) it\u2019s safe to say that Billy The Kid was never off course.<\/p>\n
In fact, amassing accolades faster than one can keep count, The Lost Cause is becoming a blueprint of its own for heartfelt music: attaining the Number One position on Much Loud\u2019s charts, The Kid being hand-picked to perform as a part of the legendary Warped Tour, featured Indie Spotlight\/Folk Music Spotlight on iTunes Canada, an MSN Sympatico Indiscover Featured Artist, nominated for XM Radio\u2019s The Verge Artist of the Year, holding the top two positions on Earshot\u2019s college listings, radio and television support, winner of three Georgia Straight Reader\u2019s Choice Awards and more. The Lost Cause has certainly found itself at the top of the musical Mecca.<\/p>\n
Still, with The Kid\u2019s congenital musicality, professionalism and spirit comes a healthy dose of humility. Gracious, she is thankful for The Lost Cause\u2019s distinctions yet refuses to let them throw her off balance. Instead, they prompt her to sets sights even stronger on the ultimate goal: creating the music in whatever fashion Life has in store.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main goal always has been and always will be to just keep on keeping on,\u201d she smiles. \u201cI\u2019m here to spread the Gospel of The Lost Cause; make music for whomever will lend their ears to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
———————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n
If we’ve met, you’ll know that I have the words \u201cGIVE BACK\u201d and \u201cLOST!\u201d tattooed on me.<\/p>\n
Anyone that doesn\u2019t know me is prone to ask the meaning of these words, forever inscribed into my body. \u201cGIVE BACK\u201d speaks for itself, but \u201cLOST!\u201d\u2026 well, that\u2019s another story\u2026<\/p>\n
When I was 14 I started playing in bands. I picked up guitar at 12, 4 years after my parents put me in piano lessons and I instantly began creating my own music. Eventually I\u2019d end up behind a drum set because no I knew could play them and even further down the road I\u2019d teach myself harmonica while driving around in my 15 passenger van (The \u201cLost\u201d Bus).<\/p>\n
Music. I was in it for the long haul before I even knew it. How was I to know it would become my life? It\u2019s nothing you can prepare yourself for. All I ever felt like I knew was that at 12, 18 and even 24 years old it was the binding force that got me out of bed, carried me through my days and got me through those tough nights.<\/p>\n
At 18 I got together with a group of friends and we started calling ourselves Billy the Kid and the Lost Boys. It was a name that seemed to convey the spirit of the project and our manifesto; at the time we were living under a credo of quotes and mantras that read like a time line and became the soundtrack of our lives. It was our way of surviving amidst the mishaps of independence, by throwing out the maps that resulted in a conventional lifestyle and embracing a fierce determination to find our way (even if others deemed it to be a \u201cLost\u201d Cause).<\/p>\n
Little did I know that the term \u201cLost\u201d would consume not only my vocabulary but my adopted way of life: There\u2019s Lost Records, the label I started to put out our second album that now houses 9 acts and 12 releases and operates as a collective of friends running under the motto \u201cKids in Bands Helping Kids in Bands\u201d. There\u2019s the Lostice, or Lost Office, where I\u2019ve spent years booking not only my own projects but any friend who needed a helping hand, as well as promoting new musical endeavors and preaching the gospel of the Lost Cause. There\u2019s the Lost Bus, which has taken me a great number of miles beyond what I expected it would and now, there\u2019s the Lost Youth Music Society.<\/p>\n
Once I began embracing the path that I had chosen, as random and sometimes meandering as it may seem, it dawned on me that perhaps to be a so-called \u201cLost Cause\u201d isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing. I began meeting kids across the country who felt the same way I did\u2026they believed that we could find our own way and change the definition of \u201cLost\u201d. Now, if you\u2019re down with the Cause, you\u2019re LOST! and it\u2019s a darn good thing.<\/p>\n
It was with the help of these exceptional people, the crew who are down with the Lost Cause and my amazing family, that I began to realize it was now my turn to give back. I\u2019ve been so fortunate during my time on this planet that I\u2019ve always felt as if there\u2019s got to be something MORE that I can do. So, we\u2019ve started a charity that is going to GIVE BACK, using the power of music to inspire and enhance the lives of kids who might not be as fortunate as we are right now. With the help of donations, music lessons, instruments and a scholarship program we\u2019ll find the Lost Causes out there and help them to find their own way. Remember, it\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n
Forever LOST!<\/p>\n
Billy Pettinger<\/p>\n
The Lost Cause is a way of life that started with “Fun Is Number One” and ended with “Give Back”.<\/p>\n
The Lost Cause reads like a timeline of how we found our own way and, in doing so, realized it is now OUR TURN to GIVE BACK.<\/p>\n
By donating to the Lost Cause you’re helping us to create a scholarship for foster kids who seek post-secondary education as a means of “Finding Their Own Way”, give guitars to schools in low rent areas and donate to programs helping street kids and drug affected youth.<\/p>\n
1. Fun Is Number One
\n2. We’re the Kids and Nothing Can Touch Us
\n3. Our Lives Are An Endless Summer
\n4. Go Team
\n5. Hanging Out, Being Sweet and Getting Stoked
\n6. Throw Out Your Map and You Will Find A Way
\n7. D.I.Y Pimpin
\n8. If That’s The Worst Of Your Problems…
\n9. Sometimes You’ve Got to Get Lost Just to Wind Up Someplace New
\n10. If You Follow All Your Dreams, You Might Get Lost
\n11. You’ve Got Nothing to Lose When You’re Already Lost
\n12. Don’t Ever Forget Where You Came From
\n13. Give Back
\n14. Forgive Everyone, Including Yourself
\n15. Believe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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