MuchMusic VJ Turned Bestselling Author Bill Welychka is Happy – and so Much More Than a Has-Been
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There’s a strong chance that any Canadian born between 1970 and 1995 would light up when asked if they have any fond memories of MuchMusic.
If you’re unfamiliar, MuchMusic was Canada’s answer to MTV. Launched as a cable channel in 1984 and billing itself as “The Nation’s Music Station,” the network quickly became a staple in the lives of teenagers and music lovers across the Great White North, beaming music videos, artist interviews, and uniquely Canadian content into living rooms nationwide.
For generations of music fanatics, MuchMusic was the driving force in Canadian popular culture, and one of its most prominent and recognizable faces was Bill Welychka.
A broadcaster and media personality with decades spent as a host on MuchMusic and its sister network MuchMoreMusic, Bill has over 5,000 interviews under his belt (and counting, as he points out) since first appearing on national airwaves in 1992, ranging from music legends like Madonna and Prince to film stars, athletes, and even royalty.
But the tables have turned: instead of asking probing questions to musicians and celebrities, Bill is now on the receiving end of questions about A Happy Has-Been, an autobiography full of stories and lessons learned from 35 years spent in the world of showbiz, published in partnership with FriesenPress. The book has been strategically released alongside a new MuchMusic documentary titled 299 Queen Street West. The film traces the rise and influence of the beloved network from the perspective of the VJs like Bill and is slated for wide release on the Crave streaming service in December.
We caught up with Bill during a break in his November book tour (and his day job at CKWS TV in Kingston) to delve into how his journey from being a face on the screen to becoming an author came to be. We also discuss what’s driving the current wave of MuchMusic nostalgia, the gratitude he feels for having the opportunity to tell his story, and get a glimpse into his hopes for the future as we celebrate 15 years of FriesenPress.
As a broadcaster and media personality currently celebrating 35 years in the industry, you’ve helped thousands of artists promote their work through interviews like this one. How does it feel to be on the other side of the microphone with the publication of this book?
I’m grateful and humbled by the fact that anybody wants to talk to me. I had no idea this book would generate interest. I’d been asked, “why don’t you write a book?” for decades, and it would go in one ear and out the other.
I really thought no one’s going to care — that is, until COVID. I talk about this in the book, but I started being asked to do a lot of podcast interviews about my career and life. And again, I was surprised that people remembered who I was — which helped inform the title, A Happy Has-Been. Once it got out through FriesenPress, part of me still thought, “oh no, what am I doing here? Will anyone care enough to read this?”
It’s been an overwhelming experience since August 3rd — the day the book was released. I’m blown away by the fact that I can go into a Chapters or Indigo [bookstore] and see my book on a shelf. It’s very weird, and I welcome any chance to talk about the book. It’s been a great experience and a lot of fun being on the other end of the microphone.
Tell me more about how your manuscript came together. How did it go from telling stories on podcasts to a now bestselling book?
The podcasters usually wanted to talk to me about MuchMusic or MuchMoreMusic or music trends. So [to prepare for those interviews] I started writing notes and remembrances in point form. I started elaborating on these points because I had forgotten about a lot of things until I started talking about them. Then all these stories started coming back; one day, I realized these writings were taking the form of a book.
Once I got through what turned out to be Chapters 4 or 5, I really got into it and I couldn’t wait to get home to start writing. I’ve been speaking with some authors about this since the book came out and they’ve said there’s a moment when writing a book — whether it’s an autobiography or a work of fiction — that after a while you don’t think about it. I experienced [that flow] a few times in the writing of (what I thought was) a finished manuscript.
It’s amazing — I kept on revising it and adding to it, moving things around until I thought it was perfect. But it wasn’t until the FriesenPress editor got their hands on it and sent it back that I guessed it wasn’t. [laughs] My editor really helped me sort things out in terms of grammar and focus, to really pare it down. And I haven’t had one complaint about grammar or anything in the whole release of the book, so I know that the editor did an amazing job. And you do need that outside perspective — whoever’s writing the book is way too close to it. Way too close.
People know you as more of an on-camera personality, but you also worked as a newspaper columnist as well. How did the opportunity with Whig Standard in Kingston come about, and what did you write about?
About 10 years ago — a year after moving to Kingston and working at CKWS TV (a Global affiliate) — the Whig asked me to write a monthly column about my life. And again, it was one of those things where it was like, “I don’t know, guys, do you think anyone’s going to care about what I have to say every month?” I thought it might last four or five weeks; the thing lasted about five years.
I used those writings almost as a springboard — along with the notes I was generating for the podcasts — for the chapters that would eventually end up in the book. I remember often referring back to a lot of those old columns for certain things that I knew I’d written about, but I’d forgotten details or dates or times or even how I presented an idea. Those columns proved vital. Writing the book wasn’t easy, but the process would’ve been a lot more difficult without those columns that I had sitting in a file in my desk.
You’re currently in the middle of a book tour; what’s been your experience of connecting with fans in person?
I’ve heard the best comments. I’ve heard comments that made my week just from talking to people. Again, I’m blown away, humbled, and gratified that someone would make an effort to drive to a Chapters or Indigo and in some cases wait in line for me to sign the book and tell me what some of my interviews and work meant to them over the years. I’ll wake up the happiest person in the world the next day, just because these comments make you feel so good.
For the book tour, I still have a full-time job in television so I just do book events on the weekends. I’ve been to Barrie, Peterborough, Ottawa, and then home here in Kingston at the Indigo.
At this point that we’re talking, I’ll be in Welland and Ancaster this weekend, and following that Belleville at the Indigo. But next April, it resumes in 2024 with the 401 West corridor: Windsor, London, and Chatham are being booked for April. So, the book tour continues. There’s been some moments where I’ve had to buy something in the store to read while no one was there [laughs], but eventually someone comes in and we’ll take pictures. I’ve been documenting it and putting up some of the highlights on my YouTube channel. [I get] the most wonderful feelings from these events.
Do you feel like you’re in that mode from back in the day, of hitting the road when you’re out meeting people and meeting your fans?
That was sort of a neat parallel — there’s an element of that travelling to connect, not with the viewer or the record buyer, but the reader.
One of the interesting things has been getting it in the hands of some of the artists that I talk about in the book. That’s been fun. The foreword was written by Paul [Langlois, of the Tragically Hip], so I gave him a copy and I’ll be seeing him next week. I ran into Rob Baker from the Hip a few weeks ago and I almost didn’t want to talk to him because I didn’t want him to say, “why did Paul write the foreword and not me?” He didn’t ask that, but that would’ve been an awkward conversation.
He can get the next one.
Maybe he can do one for the second edition. But yes — the travelling's been fun! In December, I’m closing up shop and just sleeping for a week straight. It’s been a little exhausting, but I’m loving it and I cannot complain. One person coming up and wanting a picture and wanting me to sign their book is beautiful.
The funny thing is, I’ve been doing these MuchMusic documentary screenings and bringing books to sell, but people are coming up to me with the book they already purchased and wanting me to sign it. Or at the Indigo — people are coming in with a book that they might’ve got through FriesenPress or Amazon and they’re bringing it to the bookstore already well-read.
You teed me up for this perfectly, but MuchMusic seems to be having a bit of a moment lately, between your book and the 299 Queen Street West documentary that’s getting a wide release on Crave in Canada next month.
The timing has been so interesting: the doc is touring Canada and the book is out. They’re two separate projects, but they really overlap quite a bit. And I mentioned the podcasts during COVID really spurred the writing, but so did that interview for the documentary. That brought up some memories that I had to jot down.
Thing about FriesenPress is, I knew I wanted the book out in 2023 because it marks my 35th year of being in television, and I knew the doc would be coming out this year as well. I sort of thought, “well, if the doc is going to come out this year, I think I should have the book out.” FriesenPress was the only publisher that could make a book release by the end of summer. This was a conversation happening back in January. I did speak with other publishers who wanted to do it next year, 2024, and part of the big decision with going with FriesenPress was the fact that they said they can have it out by the end of summer, and it was out by August 3rd.
The book release has gone nicely with the release of the documentary, and I’ll be doing that documentary screening in Hamilton this weekend as well — with books in hand.
The first time I brought some books was to the Ottawa screening last weekend. They were also selling merch for the screening — T-shirts and tote bags and lots of cool things — and I didn’t want to bother them. And so the theater owner set me up away from their merch and the doc people were like, “get over here and put your books here!” It worked out great because people were coming over to say hi to me and then buy a t-shirt, or people would buy a t-shirt and then come over and say hi to me and look at the book. It works out well for everybody involved.
Considering the resurgence, why do you think MuchMusic continues to linger on in Canadian culture the way it has?
Everyone’s got a theory about why this doc is so important. The fascination with MuchMusic and what happened back in the nineties fascinates me.
My theory is you need a good 10, 15 years away from something to miss it and to regard it as cool. Music trends are like that — in the eighties, the seventies weren’t cool, but the sixties were. The decade before is never cool. You need that time away from it to respect it, love it, and miss it. I think what happened with MuchMusic is we haven’t had it in such a long time. There’s a generation or two that have only heard about it from their parents maybe, or they’re seeing old clips on YouTube and think, “this doesn’t exist on TV anymore, anywhere. How cool is this?”
There’s also just a general regard of MuchMusic as really having made a huge dent in Canadian pop culture and the music industry. And in terms of broadcasting what we [at Much] did and what Citytv and Chum did for broadcasting and bringing new ideas to how things are presented, I just think it’s about time it got its due.
The best part about these screenings for me (besides meeting people who have beautiful things to say) is seeing people that I haven’t seen in 20 years. I know the Canadian premiere screening in Toronto had an amazing after-party. It was a reunion for a lot of people. It was beautiful. We all shared stories, and everyone had heard about the book — which, I don’t know how, because I haven’t kept in touch with a lot of them on social media!
Did you learn any promotional or marketing strategies from any of the artists you spoke to over the years that you applied to the marketing of this book?
Not necessarily anything specific, but this experience has reaffirmed the importance of interviews to me.
If you have something to sell — whether it’s a record, a song, a movie, or a book — you have to get the word out. Companies used to have publicists to help put you in touch with the radio stations, TV stations, and whoever, but record company budgets have been slashed. They hire independent publicists to do that now.
But it all starts with an interview and then it snowballs and momentum builds. When you put out a book, it’s integral to talk about it and get people interested in it. Being on the receiving end of promoting other people’s work, I knew full well that I had to do a lot of interviews. You just can’t be like Robert De Niro and say no to interviews.
I haven’t said no to a single one. I’ve even helped people — one girl wanted to start a podcast and I was her first interview. She said, “you made it easy. This was fun. Hopefully every other one will be as good as this one.” So I said, “never forget your first.”
The book is about lessons learned in a career in showbiz; did you learn any lessons in the writing and publishing of this book that you’ll take with you?
I tell this to people in interviews, but I’m so grateful that I’ve had a chance to tell my story. Not a lot of people get that chance, but everyone has a story to tell.
To me, first responders, doctors, researchers, teachers, and volunteers are the people that we should be idolizing and putting up on pedestals, not only celebrities. In a lot of ways, I don’t think people have ever thought about who they idolize and elevate. When I say so at my public appearances, it gets a huge response from the crowd. That message, about the importance of elevating and celebrating the stories of the people around us, is getting out. And it’s not hard to do — it could be a coworker or a family member. I think it takes someone who has interviewed and spent time with people like Mick Jagger or David Bowie or Prince or Madonna to see the other side.
People also say they feel good after they’ve read the book. There was another reader who said she felt good about the planet again after finishing the book. And that blew me away. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that people still have compassion in them and people inherently want to do good and will do good.
We’re celebrating 15 years in the publishing industry, and look forward to at least 15 more. What do you hope the future brings for Bill Welychka — in writing or otherwise?
Well, I’m getting married at some point — maybe next year. I put it off this year because of the book and all that work. 2024 will be a lot less busy. Besides my full-time job and travelling for the book appearances, this year there’s been the interviews, the doc screenings, Queen’s Gaels football games… but every single one of those things are great reasons to get up in the morning. I cannot complain.
But overall, just continuing to be happy. I remind people the important part of the book title is the word “happy.” It’s a weird headspace to get into — for someone to “be happy” — but I know what that word means now. And so I hope to continue to be happy and grateful. I’m grateful that there’s a team like FriesenPress out there willing to help people as they’ve helped me. And happy anniversary, FriesenPress!
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A Happy Has-Been is available now.
Visit billwelychka.ca to learn more.
Follow Bill Welychka on Facebook and Instagram.
