William Mimnaugh (stage name wiL) is a contemporary roots artist who makes his home on Vancouver Island, Canada. Known for his fiery live show, enigmatic stage presence and mad skill with an acoustic guitar, the 48 year old front man (he usually tours as a duo with his drummer Keith Gallant)  is also known for penning songs like ‘Roam’ flagship anthem to Travel Alberta’s award winning international media campaign called ‘Remember to Breathe‘. 

Not one for school, his youth consisted of skateboarding and holing himself up in his room listening to everything from Chet Atkins to ACDC but It wasn’t until 1998, after hearing the flagrant use of an overdrive pedal on an acoustic guitar in Neutral Milk Hotels ‘In an Aeroplane over the Sea, an album and song that stunned his musical senses, that wiL really started refining and defining both his sound and his style. 

But it took nearly fifteen years, with a few failed attempts in the process for the artist to figure out how to take that sound that he managed to deliver live night after night and capture it on a record. None of these though, does the songwriter blame on anyone – just a learning curve. In fact, WiL is first to maintain the key is to take your failures and use them as tools to improve, to be accountable. “That is really how I go about my life – f**k up move forward”. If you can do that it’s half the battle, maybe more than half. I’m a late bloomer and I am OK with that. More than OK. 

And so, armed with this bit of worldly wisdom, he set about writing his forthcoming album ‘Gold Mine’, a deeply personal record of self reflection, redemption and discovery. Written, recorded and entirely self produced at his home studio, the album is coming to fruition at different times while working as an agricultural fence builder (the kind that keeps cows and horses from roaming around freely) performing live and releasing the occasional cover song.