How long have you been in the music industry?

B: My Grandfather played for the troops back in Manitoba in 1943.

E: Since I picked up a pen and started writing songs.


How did you get involved in music?

B: I had no choice.

E: Music becomes a way of life when it is one of the few things that truly bring you happiness.


How do you describe your sound?

B: Like a weeping willow. Like cool mountain air. Like the wide, open seas.

E: Like summer rain. Like a wilting flower; like a thunder and lightning storm.


Can you recall your first live performance? What was that like?

B: The first time I ever played in front of people was at a café. A strange girl cried, I never looked back.

E: Fort Langley Hall with my teenage psych band The Polished Rocks. Misfits, confused and letting go.


What can people expect when you are performing?

B: Wasted love songs.

E: To feel.


Do you have any pre-performance rituals?

B: Alcohol. Cigarettes.

E: Whiskey. A smoke; even if I quit drinking and smoking.


Can you name one of your best moments performing at Guilt & Co?

B: Elliot’s birthday singing Willie Nelson & Roger Miller’s ‘Old Friends’ with a bunch of our close friends.

E: My favorite moments have always been with the amazing guests we bring in each week.


What are your thoughts on Vancouver’s Folk music scene?

B: Have you heard of Khingfisher?

E: There really is no publicly known scene. That makes for a struggle for some of the greatest North American songwriters that make up our small community such as Khingfisher, Rob Butterfield, and Ben Rogers.


How do you choose your musical repertoire?

B: See Elliot’s Answer.

E: The people around you and the moments in your life chose it for you.


What have been and continue to be the best aspects of your career as a musician?

B: Every time I write a song I am proud of. And watching our community grow and flourish due of the vision of mi hermano, Elliot C. Way.

E: The support and dedication that I get from working with such a brilliant man as Bob Sumner. (Also my band The Wild North).


What’s the best part about performing in Gastown?

B: The Staff at Guilt & Co, second to none. And the [Steam] Clock.

E: The Staff at Guilt, the Christmas lights and the trees.

What do you do when you are not performing?

B: Book shows, write, life.

E: Write.


What are some of your favourite Gastown spots?

B: Guilt & Co. Are there other establishments in Gastown?

E: Guilt & Co. Six Acres has a good whiskey collection, and Ok Boot Corral.


Who are your favourite musicians?

B: Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Khingfisher, Phil Saylor Wisor, and Willy Tea Taylor.

E: Townes Van Zandt. Are there any other songwriters? Oh yeah, The Boss.


How do you describe yourself as a person apart from being a musician?

B: I can’t separate the two.

E: See above.


In your opinion, what are the top three songs of all time?

B: You’re going to have to ask me on my death bed.

E: Impossible question because I am always discovering the greatest song of all time.


If you could collaborate with any musician in the world, who would it be?

B: Great question. We are going to go with alive or dead. I’d say Levon Helm, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris.

E: Erik P.H. Nielsen, John Sponarski, Nathan Shubert, and Leon Power. We’d call ourselves The Wild North.


If you were stranded in an island, what is the one thing you need to have with you?

B: A woman.

E: A guitar. My Dog. True Love.


What do you love the most about being in the music scene?

B: Watching people you love grow.

E: The friendship.


What is one piece of advice you would give to those aspiring to become a musician?

B: In the words of Bill Hicks, ‘Play from your F***ing Heart’

E: Don’t become something you are not.

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Check out Bob & Elliot, playing live at Guilt & Company’s “Resurrection of Folk” nights. Visit Guilt & Company’s events calendar for more live show listings.