Air-Ik (Born Erik Dee Fullmer on September 12th, 1968), is the Co-Founder and the former lead vocalist/guitarist of the Eccentric, Experimental, Gothic Metal band Willow Wisp, which achieved success in the underground Gothic/Metal scene in Los Angeles in the 90s and early 2000s. He left Willow Wisp in 2006 as he was battling with an alcohol and drug addiction that led him to spiral further into an abyss of nothingness. One day in late March of 2011, he woke up under a blistering Van Nuys sun in the parking lot of an AM/PM gas station hung over and wishing he was dead.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hey Air-Ik, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Great question! Well as a youth I was mostly interested in toys and cartoons but it was around 1978 and I was ten years old, I got one of the Kiss solo albums, I think Ace Frehley’s and that started it for me. I then bought AC/DC, Journey and a lot of those “12 Cassettes for a penny” promos that was popular in the late 70s and 80s. I would just choose albums with cool art work not even caring what the music sounded like or what genre the music was in. So I had everything from Men At Work to Iron Maiden to Culture Club and I loved it all. I think that’s how I developed my diverse style of songwriting. But it was seeing Ozzy Osbourne in concert in 1984 and his guitarist Jake E. Lee is what made me want play guitar and go into a career for music!
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Robert Smith of The Cure for sure!
Your latest song is 'Call Me'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I was already familiar with the original by Blondie from 1980. Who isn’t right? That’s a huge and timeless hit. But one night I was watching the new Showtime series American Gigolo and the theme song is the original version of Call Me. A lightbulb appeared on the top of my head and I knew the song was in D minor, one of my favorite keys to write and sing in and thought it might sound cool ‘slow and dark’. Luckily I had my acoustic guitar nearby and I worked it out a bit and what I was coming up with, I had to record it so I did. Nothing too unusual happened during the process. But I did something a little unusual for the guitars on the chorus. I wanted them to sound big and nasty and slightly dysfunctional so I took the high E and B string out of tune just slightly so when I attack the chords you get this beautifully ugly effect. Also the middle part of the original song, Debbie Harry sings in French I believe and sings the ‘ooo-oo-ooo’ but I couldn’t sing that part to where it sounded good so I just did the melody on the guitar and made that section instrumental.
What are you focusing on right now?
Right now I am focused on original music for my other project called Deathcryptopia. With that I collaborate with my dear friend and creative partner, Robert ‘Garrgoyle’ Garr who is a great horror writer. So with Deathcryptopia it’s a music project that is heavily story driven. A story about three demons who are at a battle to rule a place called ‘Deathcryptopia’ and humanity is caught in the middle and it’s not going to go well for them. This isn’t a good vs. evil story. It’s an Evil vs. Evil vs. Evil story. Robert is writing the story and adapting it into lyrics for each song that I write and perform the music for. We have two singles out now that was released in 2021. Songs ‘Death’ and ‘Furyous’ you can stream anywhere. I’m working on a full album and it’s going to be called ‘Daemonium Bellum’ and it’s to be released sometime in 2023.
What are you most proud of?
My sobriety. I struggled with addiction from age 17 to age 43 when I decided to change my life around. Now I work as an alcohol and drug counselor. I’m proud that I get to help others who are struggling where I once was. Everyone I try to help I see a little bit of my past in them and I see where they can be and where they can go in life and I try to help them achieve that. Not always a winning outcome but that is expected and it only makes me stronger and better as a counselor. When you do see the success someone has in their recovery it is very rewarding knowing you ran that race with them and they crossed their own finish line. I’m proud that I get to do that and I get to write and release music at my own pace and own enjoyment while sober!
What is the biggest challenge of being an artist?
Getting noticed in this new age of music distribution. Now that major record labels are, for the most part out of the picture and that we have distributors that for just a few bucks you can release your music on Spotify, iTunes etc. but it is severely crowded. I mean everyone and their grandma can put music out. A guy driving a garbage truck can pull over on his break and record a song on his phone and release it within minutes. I always say “anyone can be on iTunes but to your friends back home when they see you on iTunes they think you hit the big time and start asking to borrow money.” HA HA! There really isn’t any money in streaming unless you’re pulling in 300,000 streams a month. But the beauty of it all is that we have the opportunity to stream music and make our own decisions to listen to what we want to listen to. I stream music to see what’s out there and if I come across something I like I check to see if they have physical music to buy like vinyl, CD or even cassette. No more record labels or radio stations choosing the music for you. Now people create playlists and that’s kind of like the modern day terrestrial radio station but with more freedom and diversity. So much talent out there to discover at your fingertips!
How do you structure your day?
As much as I’d like to say it’s structured, it’s not too much. I mean it’s not unstructured but it’s more just very manageable if that makes any sense. I do my counseling job during the day and some evenings and to unwind I put on a record and read a comic book. Other days when I’m inspired I grab the guitar and just start writing whatever comes out.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
I’d say collecting vinyl and CDs has become quite the hobby since 2019. I mean I’ve always had records growing up but there was a time when I just got too comfortable just streaming music and new releases from my favorite bands but I felt like I was missing something. In 2019 a client I helped, as a thank you he gave me a Kiss record out of his collection because he knew I was a fan. So I bought a record player and since then I’ve amassed huge record and CD and now cassette collection. Good investment too, because records I bought a couple of years ago for $25 or $40 are now worth between $50 and $100 or more. I also draw comic book style and cartoon style art but I haven’t really drawn anything in a while so if I start up again I will be really rusty. But I really enjoy expressing myself creatively through music. I also read and collect comic books and read Spider-Man, Batman and Spawn monthly!
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Yeah I don’t really sing in the shower but I have hummed whatever song was stuck in my head at the time. I really don’t remember which songs though HA HA!
What are your plans for the future?
Well I try not to plan too much for the future since we’re not promised tomorrow but I do have ideas where I want to end up and what I want to do but in order to assure that happens I need to take care of today. What we do today will shape the day after should that day arrive. I just want to keep creating and never lose my passion for that. I’m 54 years old but I have the spirit of a 20 year old. I still get excited for new things. New music. New everything. I still revisit the past and get a lot out of that as well. I know people who are in their 20s and 30s and they act like they’re in their 50s and 60s. They just checked out on everything that makes life fun. I will NEVER allow myself to get that way. Life is short but it’s more rewarding if you live it right!