This interview was originally posted at the MySpace Wizard Rock Group.

On Saturday, March 25, I sat down with Brandon Blair, the mind behind Hollow Godric, to talk about his music, the Harry Potter series, and the phenomenon that is wizard rock.

Elizabeth Clements (EC): So hello and how are you today?
Hollow Godric (HG): I am doing very well. It’s a bit chilly outside, but there’s some snow left over, so I consider that a consolation.
EC: Ah, it’s chilly in the northeast as well, but there’s no more snow.
HG: The snow here is left over from last week, and I’m sure it will submit to spring before long. Still, it’s nice scenery.

EC: Excellent. I’m just figuring out where to start with the questions. How about you tell me about your songwriting process. Do you start with lyrics or music or do you work on both at the same time?
HG: All right, the songwriting process. Hrmm. It varies a bit from song to song, but I’d say it usually begins with the music. Usually just an idea I’ve stumbled upon or hummed to myself.

EC: Do you have a good idea of what story you want the lyrics to tell as you’re composing the music?
HG: Well, it either works one of two ways. Sometimes, I will actually sit down with the recording equipment and just start with the basic idea. Then I write alternate parts that sound good with the main one. It’s all very slapdash and a horrible way to go about songwriting, but there you have it. Then I’ll come up with a concept or idea and write lyrics over the music. Other times I’ll start with a concept or idea and texture a song around that. This is the preferred method, and one I like to use when I can. For instance, for my song ‘Portraits,’ I actually couldn’t come up with an idea so I called a good friend of mine, Nathie.
EC: Yes?
HG: He was actually away on a road trip, but his mother answered the phone. So I asked her what she loved best about the Harry Potter books. She said she liked the idea of pictures and paintings that moved, and how they were always alive doing things in the background. So I ran with that, and owe the product to her.

EC: Fantastic. Is songwriting something that you usually schedule or do you just let inspiration come when it wants?
HG: Oh, it’s very much erratic. You can imagine how frustrating it is when you sit down with the fancy that you’d like to write something and it just won’t happen. I’ll be in the middle of something random, and I’ll get that feeling, like something’s being channeled into my brain, so I have to sit down and at least try and get the idea out before it goes away. This is why I always record most of my songs in one sitting. Not one take, mind you. I’ll usually forego eating and other comforts for about 8 to 9 hours until it’s done.

EC: Art’s more important than dinner anyway. Do you play any other instruments aside from the guitar?
HG: Well, so far all the instruments on the songs you’ve heard are ones I’ve played myself. On some newer songs, you’ll begin hearing some drums from my friend Tyler Donaldson.

EC: Do you have a favorite instrument or one you really enjoy playing?
HG: Well, I’m a guitarist by trade, but ever since I received my first ocarina this last year I’ve invoked unspeakable amounts of joy from it.

EC: Ocarinas are great. I bought one last year too, but haven’t started learning how to play it…
HG: I was amazed at how simple it was! Once you learn to play a few notes, you’re going to see how simple my ocarina parts really are and I’ll be in trouble.

EC: [laughs] What instruments do you play?
HG: Hmm. Aside from the two aforementioned, I can do a very rudimentary form of drumming and play a bit of bass as well. I annoyed a great many people during middle school with my trombone, though it’s been said that my solo during ‘Scarborough faire’ elicited tears from the first three rows.

EC: Are there any instruments that you really want to learn to play?
HG: I want to learn to play the flute, actually, because I think it’d go very well with some of my very Celtic-esque songs. I also would like to learn the cello. Those close to me know it is my deepest desire to learn the bagpipes, in keeping with my Scottish heritage, though it’s also a great source of fear for them as well (especially the ones who were there during my years as a trombonist).
EC: Yes, I can imagine that learning the bagpipes is quite a painful process if only for those within earshot.

EC: Tell me about your first introduction to the wizard rock genre. How did you come to find it? Which band was it that you heard initially?
HG: I think it’s a pretty common story. While I was living in Monterey, California, a friend of mine sent me a link on the Internet. “Check this out, it’s a band that plays Harry Potter based music!” You can fill in the rest right there.

EC: Did you immediately think to yourself, “Hey, I want to do something like this, too!” or was the decision to start your own wizard rock project something that came much later?
HG: I never actually thought about starting anything like that initially. I enjoyed HatP for at least a year and a half before that idea popped into my head. Of course, at first I wanted to make a Wizard death metal band named ‘Cruciatus.’ Unfortunately, everyone got landed with Hollow Godric.
EC: Hey, there’s still a chance for Cruciatus!
HG: This is true. I’ve already got a few song ideas. Still, how would that work out live? Half HG and half Cruciatus? I pale to think. “This one’s a bit louder.”
EC: I’m sure you could manage something, and the crowd, of course, would enjoy.
HG: A band in Deatheater robes jumping around to ripping tunes is almost irresistible to my imagination. I think I’ve already unleashed enough horrors into this world, however.
EC: Maybe you’ll get a powerful response from this interview and simply have no choice.

EC: So, you’re also a member of another band.
HG: Well, in a manner of speaking. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it’s more of a ‘project’ these days. You’re speaking of Kidstellar?
EC: I am.
HG: Ah. Kidstellar is a solo project left over from the days I used to play around Dallas, Texas with our band.
EC: It sounds quite a bit like Hollow Godric.
HG: I would never recommend it to anyone, honestly. It’s very tawdry, and doesn’t fall into any musical category I can think of.
EC: Well I can scratch this part of the interview if you want! [laughs]
HG: By all means, keep it in. Warn as many as possible.

EC: So are you no longer in Dallas then?
HG: No, though I still consider it my hometown. Work takes me to a great many places these days. Kidstellar is a labor of love, in all honesty, and it’s still me writing and singing the songs, which is why it sounds a bit like Hollow Godric, if not a bit dustier. Who else would cover a song from the musical Popeye?
EC: [laughs]
HG: I’m about to move to Japan, actually.
EC: Really? that’s quite a ways away.
HG: That’s what the man at the counter said, too. I argued for half an hour about driving my car there (as to avoid any shipping charges) but he wouldn’t let me.
EC: What kind of work do you do?
HG: I work with languages, chiefly. It’s a very interesting and fascinating job, and that’s about all I’ll bore you with.

EC: You mentioned rerecording some of your songs for a CD release. Do you have a hopeful release date for the album or is it relatively “up in the air?”
HG: This is going to sound ridiculous (and it is), but as I mentioned, my computer has gone to the great scrapheap in the sky, and I’ve had to resort to breaking into muggle houses and using their computers to record. I actually used an iBook for “Portraits,” and I had so much fun I’ve decided to get one. So, once I get the new computer, recording will resume at breakneck speed, and I’d give a ballpark estimate of June.
EC: Awesome!

EC: With the release of the CD do you hope to give a live performance somewhere to give it a launch?
HG: It’s a definite possibility. I’ll have to work it around the schedule my job has given me, but flying back and kicking it off (though expensive) would be a source of great fun for me, and a chance to get all the guys together and play music again. I also told Elizabeth (the wizard rock Goddess) that I would in fact have no objections about participating in a wizard rock festival, if ever one were to occur. Then again, as sleepy as my music is, I’d probably do better in a bedside radio than on stage.
EC: Your music is a valuable part of the wizard rock community! the varying genres are what give it more excitement, I think.
HG: Well thank you, I appreciate the support. It’s been in good supply lately, and really makes my day. I agree that the different genres really speak to the expansive nature of wizard rock.

EC: Are there any other artistic things you do for fun, like painting or drawing or writing fiction or poetry?
HG: Most definitely. I can’t paint worth anything, though I tried when I was younger. I love cartooning, and try to get that in when I can (Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield were personal favorites as a kid), and I love writing almost as much as life itself. Poetry I try from time to time, though I like it better with music, and don’t think I’m any good at it. I love witty or random poetry, and practice that as much as I can.

EC: Which of your songs are you most proud of? Do you have a personal favorite?
HG: It really varies with my mood. To be honest, these songs you’re hearing are some of the most honest and heartfelt melodies I’ve done (in contrast to a lot of my younger efforts) even if they’re expressed through the medium of Wizard Rock. When I finish a song (8 hours later) and listen to it, I know I’ve put out something honest when I laugh and ask myself, “Who did this song?” I honestly think music just happens and the person who’s making it has little to do with it. But to answer your question, I really like “The Trainride” a lot.
EC: Awesome
HG: The funny thing is… after making “Portraits,” I realized how many times I have referenced “Portraits” in my other songs. I’ll have to hope either A) no one notices, or B) they think it’s all intertwining as some sort of deep concept I have yet to make up.
EC: Knowing Harry Potter fans, I’m sure B is more likely.

EC: Which wizard rock bands do you really enjoy, other than your own?
HG: Well, I don’t want to give you the impression that I don’t like this or that band because I don’t mention them, so realize this is an ‘off-the-top-of-my-head’ list. After I was introduced to Draco and the Malfoys (through the wizard rock community, actually) I began listening to them a lot. I can’t get over how funny their stuff is, and even the smallest subtleties in their songs crack me up on my way to work on many occasions. I would say I listen to them the most, and I also occasionally click through the bands on the ‘list’ and just see what people have put out. I enjoy all of it, but to be honest, I still listen to so much muggle music that I haven’t chosen any other favorites yet. The concepts all the bands have chosen are great though, and I think Wizard Rock is one of the coolest things to exist.
EC: Don’t we all!
HG: Well in a world were a lot of music is designed to have you think this way or teach you that this or that is important or what image you should uphold, Wizard Rock extols the values of literature and good old fashioned fun.

EC: On your MySpace you call yourself the “Bard of the Wizarding World.” Was bardic music something you’ve always been a fan of or was it just the type of music that came to you when you decided to start Hollow Godric?
HG: Well, that’s mostly a joke, but I do really enjoy a lot of the old Scottish ballads (though they’re hardly bardic). Still, I think one of the most important figures in my musical development was Glenn Yarbrough, the bard from the old ‘The Hobbit’ cartoon.

EC: Are there any Celtic/bardic bands that you listen to that you would recommend to your fans?
HG: Well, I’m just now finding some really interesting ones, but some of Clannad’s older stuff is pretty neat. I’m big on soundtracks that just have very Celtic sounds, like the ever-popular Braveheart soundtrack. My musical tastes are far too broad for my own good, and Celtic music is something I don’t know enough about to really make a recommendation.

EC: All right, fair enough, and honest. Let’s talk about Harry Potter, the series, for a bit since it’s obvious that we’re both fans. Which of the books is your favorite?
HG: I think “The Prisoner of Azkaban” is probably my favorite. Most of what’s dear to me about the series has to do with the hearthy nature of Hogwarts and the steadfast wisdom and safety offered by one Albus Dumbledore. I think it’s the feasts and such that really engraved the books into my mind.

EC: Is there a Hogwarts house that you consider yourself “in” or one that you prefer?
HG: Well, I always thought Ravenclaw was pretty noteworthy, and blue is my favorite color, but I’m not smart enough to tell you the truth, and they’d just stick me in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I’d be happy with any of them.

EC: Wouldn’t we all! Do you have a favorite character or characters?
HG: Oh, the Weasley twins, all the way.

EC: If you could have one magical object mentioned in the books in your real life what would it be?
HG: This is a cruel, cruel question. I think the pensieve would be something very useful, since I love creating fond memories. Reliving them to the fullest extent of the word would be interesting.

EC: Okay, for my final question, and this one’s a bit cruel too, what would you like to happen in book 7?
HG: Well, to be honest, I want to see Harry get his rear back to Hogwarts. You’re a great guy Harry, but for someone who’s destined to do battle with the Dark Lord for the fate of the world, you didn’t really put much effort into your studies. Now that the Order of the Phoenix has been close to decimated, you’re gonna go it alone? Tsk, tsk. Also, I want to find out that Dumbledore has somehow hoodwinked us all. As far as I can tell, book 6 taught us that sometimes your faith in some people is folly, period.

EC: Indeed. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
HG: I’ll give you the most important thing I took from the books, and something that’s very obtrusive in all my songs: “Recognize the importance of good friends. Once you have them, never let them go, for anything, even when you think you know what’s best. Alone, we’re nothing.”

HG: Now that my long-winded nature has been exposed, I’ll be hard pressed to find a willing participant in conversation.
EC: Oh, you were a joy. Thanks so much for your time.
HG: Hey, thank you for supporting the greatest community I’ve had the honor of being a part of.

You can check out Hollow Godric on MySpace (http://www.MySpace.com/godrichollow) or at the band’s website (http://www.hollowgodric.com).