interview JORGE PEREZCHICA
I’m always jumping around and it’s kind of my way to express myself. The lyrics and the music that’s written is straight out of my diary, you know, it’s a really intimate moment. — Bishop Briggs
JORGE: You were born in London, moved to Tokyo at age four with your family and then grew up in Hong Kong from the age of 10-18. What was your childhood experience like before you moving to Los Angeles?
BISHOP BRIGGS: It wasn’t until I moved to LA that I found out it was a very weird upbringing, but I think it’s all about what’s being played in your living room. And I was really lucky my parents were always playing Motown music and Otis Redding, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. So it really inspired me to pursue music.
JORGE: Did signing come natural to you?
BISHOP BRIGGS: Well, thankfully when I was four, which is when I started doing karaoke, I was so fearless. Then of course as I got older, I became very insecure and scared, but I tried to never let it stop me and I just tried to put my all into every performance.
JORGE: You attended the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, what did you gain the most from that experience?
BISHOP BRIGGS: That was where I first got really introduced to performing other people’s songs. I was really lucky for my final project, I got to sing “Piece of My Heart” by Janice Joplin and that’s when I finally felt like myself. I jumped around on stage. I was screaming, I was on my knees and that’s how I perform now. So, it was a great introduction to all of that.
JORGE: Can you tell us about the lyrics and music video to “Wild Horses?”
BISHOP BRIGGS: Wild Horses was written during a really dark time in my life, you know. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be free or happy and could I have both and that’s what the song is about. To be able to write such a dark song and then have it in a commercial was such a huge dream come true. And then as far as the music video, it was about creating this mystical world and these different characters, these different facets of my personality.
JORGE: What was your experience like performing at Coachella?
BISHOP BRIGGS: Oh my gosh. It’s so surreal to be here and experiencing this. I’ve always dreamed of playing here. We’re really lucky we got to play the Gobi Stage after Jack Garratt, which I can’t even believe and we get to do it all over again this weekend. So I’m really excited. And then today I got to go out on stage with Banks & Steelz, which was so much fun. So it’s truly been a dream come true. This whole thing.
JORGE: What is something about you that fans may be surprised to know?
BISHOP BRIGGS: I do talk a lot on twitter and I talk a lot on Snapchat and I talk a lot on Instagram. So I don’t know if I’ve done a good job at keeping any form of mystique. Something people would be surprised to know about me is that I play Sims, the video game. Which basically means I create houses and families and careers in an online version — it means I’m the coolest person in the world.
