Exclusive Interview: Evan Williams Chats Bright World and Cloud Parade

Evan Williams has made a name for himself with the dynamic characters he’s brought to life in projects like Degrassi: The Next Generation, Awkward, Midnight at the Magnolia, and Versailles.

While he’s gained worldwide notoriety for the work he’s done on screen, Evan is also a gifted singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual creator who showed off a new side to his artistry in 2021.

Under the moniker Bright World, Evan transported listeners to a dream-like state with his debut album Cloud Parade.

Pop Culturalist had an in-depth conversation with Evan about Bright World, Cloud Parade, tapping into his vulnerability, and the importance of taking risks.

PC: Can you tell us about Cloud Parade and the inspiration behind the album?
Evan: I’ve been making music my whole life; it’s been a logical progression. This is my first full-length record. I spent about two years making it. I didn’t want to cut any corners. I also wasn’t trying to make it anything specific. I wanted the songs to be able to tell me what genre it was going to be, what the style was going to be, so I wasn’t trying to pigeonhole myself from the beginning. All the way through, I wanted Bright World to be organic and discover what the sound was going to be.

So, my inspiration with Cloud Parade was putting together a collection of songs that I’ve written over the past ten years during my travels as a professional actor. There are highs and lows, and stories from all over the place. I liked the rolling narrative of it. There’s this big arc that’s about coming of age and coming to terms with some of the deeper things that I’ve been struggling with like heartbreak, loss, and morality, and present circumstances of our world under late-stage predatory capitalism, and everything in between.

That’s why I called it Cloud Parade—I wanted the idea that the audience could escape and go into a bit of a dreamscape where they could actually experience themselves. The actual name Cloud Parade is a nod to a mentor of mine named Dave Zaboski. He’s a visionary artist. Whenever there was a day in Los Angeles where there were actual clouds, he would ask his little girl, “Is today the cloud parade?” If she said yes, they would go out, pack a lunch, and sit on a hill and watch the clouds and see what they could see.

I really love that image. I love the idea that they’re perceiving something that’s outside of themselves and letting the metaphor of whatever they see mean something to them. I wanted that for the songs. I wanted the audience to be able to hear them and reflect on themselves and their own lives and hearts.

PC: You shared on social media that there were times when you didn’t think this project would be released, and sometimes our deepest passions are wrapped in fear. How were you able to overcome those fears and bring this project to life?
Evan: It depends on the day. Some days, it’s just sheer will and stubborn obstinance, just pushing through the tough days. Another part is surrounding yourself with generous collaborators and people who keep you motivated. I definitely had that on this record.

Then, the main ingredient is getting clear on the “why?”. When you’re creating, the “what?” is always preceded by the “why?”. When I was clear that it was a gift that I was making, that I wasn’t trying to prove myself and I wasn’t trying to do good enough or absolve myself or confirm an identity, then it was easier for me to be free to create. There’s a certain amount of risk involved in the creative act, and then even more risk involved in the dissemination of that creation, like actually putting it out into the world. You throw it to the world, but that’s a necessary step because otherwise, people are never going to hear it

PC: We could tell that you’ve put a lot of thought into this project. What is the backstory behind the album cover?
Evan: The album cover is another piece of art that I am working on, which was another long-term labor of love. I really dove into these micro-projects during the pandemic because I had a lot of time indoors. I did the stop motion animated music video for “The Future Begins Today”, which took forever. When I finished, I figured, “Hey, why not do another project that’s going to take me hundreds and hundreds of hours and is micro-movements of millimeters?” [laughs]

It’s a linocut, which is a printmaking technique where you carve linoleum into, basically, a big stamp and then you roll it with ink and print it. It’s something that I learned how to do years ago on a small scale. I figured, “Hey, why not try to make something bigger than I’ve ever made before?” Like I said, art involves risk. It was a risk. It’s the kind of project where if you make mistake on it, that’s it—it’s there forever. I really like the idea of crafting something with my hands. I feel like everything we see on the internet is so digital these days. It’s easy to let images wash over you. You don’t even notice them, so I wanted to make something that was tactile and tangible.

I also held for a long time that my vision with Bright World is for it to be more than just music. That’s why I’ve been directing all of my own music videos. I’ve created all of the artwork and using it as a portal to contain all the different sources of expression that are flowing out of me. I figured, “Why not?” I’m not trying to follow any other model. I’m doing what feels natural to me.

The imagery of the album is a deer surrounded by these clouds in this sunburst. The deer is representative of this fragile, ephemeral nature that we find in the wild. When you see a deer in the wind, there’s a frozen moment where it sees you and you see it, and it’s like suspended in time. I was trying to recreate that burst, that bright moment when we have this relationship with something that’s like you blink, and you miss it. It’s there and it’s gone again.

That ephemeral nature really suited this project because a deer doesn’t have big teeth. It doesn’t have defenses. It’s magical because of its vulnerability. I was trying, with this music, to be more vulnerable than I ever have. I felt like there was a certain kinship there. It’s sort of the spirit animal for this record. I knew I wanted to use an animal, and the deer came really strongly to me. I’m pleased with it. I’m pleased to have spent hundreds of hours gilding this image. It’s another way to honor the work that I put into this record. One thing mirrors the other.

PC: You can tell from this album, it’s a cohesive journey from start to finish. Having spent ten years writing these songs, what was that writing process like? Did that change over time? I imagine that in ten years, you have probably written hundreds of songs. What was that process like selecting what made the album?
Evan: It was hard, man. I don’t have a ton of experience as a professional recording artist. I didn’t really know what was expected. When my producer said, “Why don’t you send me some songs and we’ll start to narrow down a list,” I set him one file with thirty-five songs and another file with thirty-five starts. He was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.”

It was hard to narrow it down because I play mostly by ear. I’m sprouting new seeds for songs all the time. The ones that stick around are the ones that actually have emotional resonance to me. The songs I remember are the ones that mean something to me, so it’s hard to winnow away, “Well, this one makes it, and then this one doesn’t.” But in the end, it was like, as you mentioned, the arc that we were trying to craft that really helped us know narrow in on particular songs.

And yeah, my songwriting has changed over the years, but it’s always had the same genus. It always started with the instrument. It always started with the intervals of the different chords. It’s about playing around on the instrument to try to identify a feeling that’s already inside me. I’ll find the chords, and I’ll start free-associating a melody. Then, lyrics will start to crystallize. In a way, I’ll discover what the song is about. That grows out of the seed of the feeling. I’m really trying to decipher what’s already there.

Sometimes, some of my songs don’t make any sense at all until the final stages, where like one lyric will change. I’ll realize, “Oh my God. This is what I’m talking about.” It’s a process of discovery. It’s always been that way. The things I want to sing about, the feelings I have, have grown and changed, and that’s part of growing up. That’s what’s exciting about music, too, because it changes as you change if you allow it to.

PC: With this being your debut album, did anything surprise you about the process of putting it together? What was the biggest takeaway? You’re also an actor yourself, what did you learn from this experience that you now apply to your craft as an actor?
Evan: As an actor, you’re part of a big machine and time is money. If you’re lucky, you might get a few takes. If you mess it up, you can do it over again (to a certain extent), but then you got to move, move, move. You’re a small piece in a big machine.

As a musician, when you’re in the recording studio, no one is telling you when it’s good enough. No one is saying, “We got it.” As an artist, it was hard for me to know when we got it because my training as an actor was always like, “If we can go again, I’ll go again.” There’s always more to explore—it’s a bottomless well. That was the biggest learning curve.

Also, I learned how to shoot from the hip and identify whether an idea is really a good idea or if it’s just fear of knowing what the idea is going to be. I gradually became less precious about it while being more courageous with it. I’m excited to continue more in that direction with the next music that I make. I’m planning to make more music and learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what my own natural process is.

PC: This is going to be a strange question, just given the fact that the album is a cohesive body of work, but if you had to pick one song off Cloud Parade that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Evan: Oh man, that’s hard because on any given day, that answer could change. But I think the final song on the record, which is “Rodeo”. It probably encapsulates me as an artist the most because it’s a mission statement. It’s talking about what my motivations are. I wrote it for my grandmother, who was very ill. It was actually the last song that she heard before she passed away. I’m saying to her in the song, “Don’t worry about me. Don’t worry about us. We’re going to go do the thing.” I’m speaking for myself, but I’m also speaking for anybody with a beating heart who wants to encounter the fullness of life, thick or thin.

That’s really part of why I’m an artist, too; it’s that pursuit of that thing that rings. It’s not necessarily the mountaintop moment; it’s the stance. It’s the way that we can face life and face it with open arms, the ups and downs, as opposed to trying to win or as opposed to trying to mitigate suffering. It’s a generative way of being that is inclusive, and that you don’t have to be any sort of person. In fact, it celebrates differences and celebrates the idiosyncratic beauty that we have as humans. It’s opposite to how we can be bred to be efficient consumers—it’s the opposite of that. There’s a line in my song “I’m Not Alone” where I say, “Your money ain’t no good. We’re spending time”—that’s how I want to be living my life. I’m hoping that that ethos is what’s ringing true about this music as well.

PC: As the world begins to open up in 2022, do you think we’ll see you on the road performing these songs and in a live venue setting?
Evan: Man, I hope so. It’s tough right now because the world is still upside down. To do the Bright World music justice, the way that I made it in the studio, it had tons of session musicians. I’m looping my voice multiple times. I’ve got backup singers, so to do the whole thing would require a very big touring band, and that architecture of an experience would be quite an undertaking. We’d have to know a little bit more about what the realities of touring are and how that’s all going to shake out.

But it’s part of my dream. The first step of making something real is to dream it, so I can see it. I can see it in my head, and it would be awesome. I don’t know whether it’s going to be for this record or the next one…it depends. We’ll see, but I’m open to it.

PC: You’ve also teased in other interviews and on social media that you have a lot of exciting things in the work. Is there any that you can chat about at this time?
Evan: I have a piece of visual art that I’m going to be releasing shortly that is related to the record, which I’m really excited about. As far as acting-wise, I have a holiday romantic comedy that I’m in on CBS, which is called Christmas Takes Flight.

Next year, I’ve got a couple of movies that are slated—one is called Blonde and it’s for Netflix. It’s about Marilyn Monroe, and it’s going to be beautiful. I’m really excited about that one. I have a couple of other ones. I also have a short film that I wrote and directed which I’ll be releasing next year as well.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Evan: Wow. Nils Frahm. Maybe people who actually know me wouldn’t be surprised by that, but he’s this ambient, experimental, classical musician. His music is amazing, especially when I’m carving my linocut or doing my little things. I love to put it on. It’s meditative and lets me go away.

PC: First album you bought?
Evan: It was a Now! compilation. I think they’re up to twenty-nine now. [laughs] I bought Now! 3. I bought two albums that day—it was that and Puff Daddy & the Family’s No Way Out. I bought that home and started pumping that record. I loved it.

PC: First concert you attended?
Evan: The first concert I ever attended was a punk rock concert with my brother in Calgary, Alberta. It was a band called Slick Shoes—I was a megafan of theirs. They asked at one point, “Who knows all the lyrics to our songs?” I was like, “I do!” They brought me up on stage and I got to sing a song with them. Then, I crowd surfed. It was my first concert ever and I crowd surfed. I was thirteen.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Evan: Wow, that’s really hard. There’ve been so many albums. I don’t want to give you a throwaway answer. It has to be Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut album. When they came out, their sound was so fresh. I remember my buddy sent me the first song. It was this marriage of these island rhythms with a pop-punk aesthetic and really clever lyrics.

I had never heard so many disparate genres mashed together so successfully before. It made me realize, “Oh, you’re allowed to do anything with music. You’re allowed to do anything you want. The only thing that matters is that it’s authentic to you.” I listened to that record so much on repeat. That was huge.

The other thing I learned that really changed the course of my musical life is when I learned that none of the Beatles knew how to read music. I had this inferiority complex my whole life because I play by ear; I’m not really a classically trained instrumentalist. I always thought, “Oh man, to be a real musician, you have to go to Julliard or you have to know what you’re doing.” When I learned the Beatles didn’t know how to read music that unlocked a whole lifetime potential for me. I realized that, again, it’s about authenticity. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Evan: There’s a place in Toronto called Mac Hall. It’s a pretty old venue. It’s all wood on the inside. It’s beautiful. But since it’s wood, when you play loud music in it, the whole place reverberates. I’ve seen shows there where the whole place is literally rocking. It’s like you’re inside some big acoustic speaker. It’s so cool. I remember being there thinking how cool it would be to play there. Plus, it’s back in Canada, where I’m from. It would be a homecoming of some sorts.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Evan: My ukulele. I take this thing everywhere with me. Honestly, four out of nine songs on the new record are ukulele-based, which is rare.

I realized how much easier it is to travel with a ukulele. I’d been lugging a guitar around everywhere—even on set. Once I picked up the ukulele, I thought, “Wow, this is so much better.” I have a little travel bag. I take my uke everywhere. You don’t have to plug it in. It’s just nice.

To keep up with Evan, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music. Pick up or stream Cloud Parade today.