Film & Music | TACOMA, WASHINGTON Interview with JOE FULER, Song-Writer
-As a child, what did you want to become (profession-wise)?
I am not totally sure actually. When I was younger, I really wanted to work in the front office of a Major League Baseball team and work my way up to being a GM. I really fought off being an artist because my mom said I reminded her of her grandpa, who was an artist and craftsman. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that I wanted to write lyrics and songs. I think it was the off-chance acquisition of a Bob Dylan album that really challenged how I thought about music and made those artistic tendencies rise up to the top. Other than that, I really had no other professional ambition to speak of at an early age.
-In which town did you grow up?
I grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington, which was a fishing town that became overrun by people with money during the ‘80s. When people in the area hear that I’m from Gig Harbor, they usually picture me as someone with a lot of cash, but it’s important to note to those people that I come from a fishing family.
-Do you think your background influences your current song-writing style? If so, what specific element in your background is most pervasive in influencing your current song-writing style?
This song in particular was very influenced by the region that I am from. The imagery of being on a ship out at sea and being away is something that many folk-writers have used over the years, and I’ve related to that imagery for obvious reasons. The song really comes from an emotional place that was partially brought on from a custody battle with my daughter’s mother. I’ve been working on an album idea loosely based on keeping a family together. I tend to use my grandparents as characters, because my grandpa would travel to Alaska every summer to work as a commercial fishermen. As I get older, I realize how hard that kind of life must have been. How does a relationship last when you miss out on the other person’s life? I don’t think anyone wants that separation, but within that separation, there is an opportunity to express how much you want those close to you to be there with you.
“I love listening to that type of song that brings you to a real place in or out of your life. I just want to be able to write those kinds of songs for someone else to hear. If a song gets an emotional or thoughtful reaction, then I’ve done my job.”
-What inspires you in the job of being a song-writer?
So far, I’ve been working for free. So, I wouldn’t call it a job; it’s more like a calling. Something inside of me is telling me to write and to sing what needs to be sung. My motivation is that I want to have a record of what I think and feel. That idea keeps me going: creating something to hand down through my family.
-Do you have any other creative ambitions or dreams to which you aspire?
It’s a great feeling to have someone become emotional or inspired by a song you wrote. It would be good to keep trying to make good songs. I love listening to that type of song that brings you to a real place in or out of your life. I just want to be able to write those kinds of songs for someone else to hear. If a song gets an emotional or thoughtful reaction, then I’ve done my job. And I can move on to writing the next one, I guess.
-Which basic elements of creativity did your family teach you?
My mother always said she wanted to write a book, but she never sat down and wrote it. That actually is a good motivation for me. She was a great artist, but she had to raise too many children to take time for herself. She taught us a lot about what it looks like to have someone care about you, and that is something I’ll forever be in debt to. Also, my oldest brother Bob is a writer and artist. He has worked and acted on the show Roseanne, and that was really inspiring for me. No matter what I do as an artist, I feel like I am on a constant uphill battle to catch up with them.
-Do you have a favorite photographer?
I know this is a rock photographer, but Anton Corbijn can make any ugly Irishman look great.