Behind the Scenes: My interview with billy b
For a few weeks I had been thinking about emailing billy b to see if he would be open to an interview for my Industry Experts Profiles series on Pierce Mattie’s blog. I am so nervous to contact people in the industry out of fear of them having that “I am better than you” mentality. I hate to feel like I am small and I know that people can be totally attitude-prone in this industry.
I have billy b in my top friends on MySpace and pay attention to his blog (to which I now subscribe). Last week he announced the launch of his paint brush collection and I posted about it. Why not? I think he is uber talented and I love to spread the word about great things.
So I fell out of my seat when I woke up the next day to find he posted a comment thanking me. I’m not sure at which point my feet came back down to the ground. Honestly. So I took a deep breath and emailed him back requesting an interview. He said yes, and I immediately emailed two of my wonderful girlfriends, Christina and Elke, simply stating “I’m going to throw up–billy b is going to let me interview him!”
I didn’t throw up…of course. ;)
I took my time to come up with questions that were thoughtful and hopefully not asked in every interview he has done. Simply because I didn’t want him to have to be a robot; I wanted his personality to shine through. And let me tell you–he has personality!
Once he sent them back he gave me his phone number to follow up and with my hands shaking, I gave him a call. I immediately felt at ease with him and many times the conversation went off of makeup to regular, real life things. I talked to him for about 90 minutes; the time flew by and I honestly felt like I was talking to someone I had known for years. Suddenly he wasn’t just this uber talented guy that I was so afraid to talk to, he was just Billy, someone who is as real and down to earth as well..yours truly. He’s not that guy who has to check his ego at the door, he has no ego and he is incredibly humble.
He’s invited me to be his guest at The American Beauty Tour when it comes to NYC in September. Due to the logistics involved with my children and my husband’s job, I’m not sure just yet if I can go, but you can bet that if it is a possibility I will be there no doubt!
So head over to my interview with billy b, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed doing it!!
xo Billy!
Tags: beauty, behind the scenes, billy-b, makeup-artistRelated Stories
POSTED IN: behind the scenes
8 opinions for Behind the Scenes: My interview with billy b
Christina
Jul 10, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Shannon - I commend you for a truly wonderful interview. Some interviews can be so boring, but you absolutely did a stupendous job. Of course it doesn’t hurt that billy b. is a completely fascinating subject, but you truly asked some great and thought provoking questions. ;) Best of luck to him for much continued success. It sure sounds like he is so deserving of all of the wonderful things that have come his way - I hope his parents are absolutely proud of him. Now, I am off to buy his brushes. I have a serious makeup brush fetish that needs feeding. :D
Emily
Jul 11, 2007 at 11:46 am
I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Billy speak. He is so energetic and uplifting! You should really try your hardest to check him out on The American Beauty Tour because I’m sure you would absolutely love it.
Keep up the great blogging and interviewing!
Shannon
Jul 11, 2007 at 11:51 am
Thanks Christina and Emily!
Christina when am I ever boring? lol ;)
Emily–I am crossing my fingers I can go! Also while in NYC I would try very hard to get access to meet Isaac Mizrahi (and probably pass out like a giddy little school girl). Meeting two of my favorite men in the same day–whoa!
Lara Spagnola
Jul 11, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I saw Billy B and The Makeup Show in New York and it changed the way I work!! and he’s so friendly and talented! Im definitely catching him on The American Beauty Tour in San Francisco on July 22nd, the first tour date! I hope everyone can make it–he is an inspiration to all.
Loriri hogg
Jul 11, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Hey…. I’m going to The American Beauty Tour in San Fran…. You should deff try to make it! Everybody’s talkin about it! You can email michael@thepowdergroup.com and he’ll fill you in with more info…. hope to see you there!!
BILLY B ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yoyosushi3 (thu)
Feb 28, 2008 at 3:57 am
That was a great interview! You asked him almost all the questions I wanted to know about! He’s so thorough and thoughtful with his answers, you can tell how passionate he is about make up!
Ashley Samantha
Feb 29, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Lucky you to get to meet and talk to Billy B! He’s so thoughtful and nice, I’m a fan of his based solely on what other people have to say - I have never heard a negative thing about the man, and he has such a huge following. I love your interview and I’m gonna’ bookmark it.
Ashley Samantha
Feb 29, 2008 at 8:03 pm
And can I just say that I love that he is from Mississippi? I didn’t know that before I read your interview! No wonder he is such a gentleman. We may be lacking in other arenas, but every man you meet from Mississippi will use the manners his mama (or grandmama) taught him.
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