Band of the Week: Interview - Wil Maring - Page 2

Tell us about the process you underwent to write The Calling.

Most of the songs came out of that period after I’d come back from Germany and we got a farm here in Illinois. That is when it became apparent my husband didn’t want to be in music anymore. We were at a crossroads and each chose a path.

It was a very rough time for me, but a lot of times you have a lot of inspiration or at least have a lot to say when you come out of those periods. The hardest part of making this album wasn’t the writing. That came gradually. The hard part was recording it with my husband and the (band members from Shady Mix) and knowing this would be the last project we’d record together.

Tensions were very high at that time…It was difficult. My husband had been my main [musical] partner for 17 years or so.

So he played a large role in this album?

He was the engineer, he played on it, we recorded it in our house….

It’s amazing to me that the two of you had the strength to put the album together.

I had to do it. I felt this record had to be finished. And once he starts something, he’s the kind of person who sees it through to completion. I felt pretty lost for a while, though. A lot of people tried to help me, encourage me, tell me I could make it….I didn’t believe it myself, so it took a while to gain that self confidence back.

Has it gotten easier to move ahead since the album was recorded?

I still feel a little lost with the recording stuff. In the meantime, I’ve met a lot of nice people. Robert knows a lot of people; he knows how to record stuff. We are trying to pick up and continue.

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