Billy Howerdel performs at Baltimore Soundstage on July 9, 2022. (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle released his debut solo album, What Normal Was, in June via Alchemy Recordings/Rise Records/BMG. He’s on tour, and Katherine Gaines photographed his show at Baltimore Soundstage recently!
The following copy has been adapted from press materials provided by Speakeasy PR.
On July 9 at Baltimore Soundstage, Billy Howerdel played a short set that drew mostly from his album, What Normal Was.
Not long ago, Billy released a video for “Poison Flowers,” with the Rizz (from VOWWS)-directed clip offering both an aural and visual preview of the 10-song, self-produced collection. Billy performed the song live in the middle of his set at Baltimore Soundsage.
“This is me stepping back into my early teen self and making the record I would’ve made if I had the means and the knowledge when I first picked up a guitar — just in 2022,” Billy said. “It’s that moment as a kid when you hear a record, close your eyes, and go somewhere else. That was the time I found my lane, so to speak.”
Watch the official music video for “Poison Flowers” by Billy Howerdel on YouTube:
New Jersey-born and Los Angeles-based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Billy Howerdel has quietly asserted himself as an alternative music auteur whose knack for massive hooks believes a keen emotional understanding and sonic acuity. Devoting his life to music after witnessing Pink Floyd live, he acted as something of a behind-the-scenes journeyman, working as an in-demand touring and studio tech for the likes of David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, and Nine Inch Nails. Striking up a friendship with Maynard James Keenan when Tool opened for Fishbone (for whom Billy served as a tech), he occupied a room in a North Hollywood cottage with Maynard. Billy founded A Perfect Circle with Maynard in 1999.
On his 2022 proper full-length solo debut, What Normal Was [Alchemy Recordings/Rise Records/BMG], he inhabits a space that’s reverent of his past, present, and future all at once. After all of these years, songs, and shows, Billy is ready to introduce himself.
Here are some photos of Billy Howerdel performing at Baltimore Soundstage on July 9, 2022. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Katherine Gaines.
