What instruments do you play?

Oh good Lord. I used to have this written down somewhere. Trumpet, a bunch of different percussion instruments, cello, violin, tuba, clarinet, flute, baritone saxophone, guitar, bass, piano, accordion and the harmonica. I just picked up the harpsichord. I haven’t played a majority of the instruments in five or six years, but I’m pretty fluent in cello, guitar, singing, piano and drums especially.

How did you learn to play?

I taught myself. I play 19 instruments, and I’ve taught myself every instrument that I know just from being in private school and being super bored. Between classes, I would go to the band room and pick up a different instrument and try to teach myself to play it.

How many bands have you played in?

Oh God. At one point, I was in six bands at the same time. I was in that band for two or three years, and then I was in a hardcore band called Life After. I started as the drummer and singer in that band, but then we kicked out the lead vocalist so I become the drummer, singer and screamer. And then Fraser actually came in and started drumming and I just became the lead vocalist. I went through five or six different band changes, and by the end I was doing guitar and lead vocals for one or two shows. We had to quit because I was so bad at it.

I took quite a hiatus from the music scene a couple of years ago. When I came back into music, I started accompanying people. I had kind of a reputation from when I was younger for being musically inclined; people knew I played a lot of instruments. Right now, I just have two full-time bands: Bring Fire, the Illustrated – my metalcore band – and then some side stuff with my brother Reuben. It’s everything from acoustic folk rock to metalcore where I can’t get much heavier.

When is your next show?

Actually, I just received a call from Reuben. Him and I are opening for Jimmy Eat World on Tuesday, May 31 at the university’s Mac Hall.

When did you first start playing music?

I started doing music when I was in junior high, and I used to do percussion for big bands and orchestras. I couldn’t read music, but for some reason the band instructor was trying to teach me how to play snare drum music because there’s no notes. Then I went to William Aberhart High School, and because I couldn’t read any music the band teacher demoted me to playing the triangle because he had no confidence in me. That was the biggest blow ever.

What is it about music that is so engaging for you?

When I was younger, it was the only way I had to express myself. Nothing else was really understood. My parents thought I was such a weirdo when I was a kid because I used to do the most random shit to get attention. I used to perform with an entire orchestra of 200 people and I’d be the only kid wearing a pink bandana around my face. I always tried to stick out when I was a kid, and that was the only real way that I found that was actually positive and encouraging and actually got across to people and didn’t just seem like I was intentionally looking for attention.

How many tattoos do you have?

I think I’ve got 75 now.

Are the tattoos related in theme?

Somewhat. I’m colour-blind, so I don’t typically get coloured tattoos. I have one full-coloured traditional Japanese piece. My knuckles face me, so that I can read them. All of my tattoos are so that I can see them. I guess the general theme is that one side is based around my Native spirituality, and one side is based around the Asian persuasion of my spirituality. If I ever got a tattoo on the left side, I would get one on the right, so I never had one side heavier than the other. I think I’m OCD for symmetry.

Who have you accompanied?

I’ve done accompaniment for a ridiculous amount of people. Typically, when I accompany other people, I do background vocals, light percussion and cello. But it’s difficult when you don’t read music. I went on tour with Lauren Mann as her cellist, backup vocalist and guitarist. I’ve played with Katelyn Steinwand. She asked me to be her drummer for some show, and then every practice she would ask if I knew a cello player. After about 10 practices I was like: “Fine. Rent me a cello. I’ll be your cello player.” And she went out and rented me a cello from Long and McQuade, and that’s how I started playing cello. I’ve worked with Forest Tate Fraser and Francis Cheer. I play on a consistent basis with my brother, Reuben Bullock. I’ve done a lot of studio cello work with Chris Gheran. It’s just all over the place.

How was learning to accompany instead of lead?

It was such a blow to my ego. It really humbled me out, because I was so used to being the front man of the band. But when I came back into music, I took the approach of taking a bunch of steps back and trying to make the other people sound nice. That’s really complemented the way I write music now; it’s a lot more subtle, as opposed to being very abrupt and in your face. That’s the only reason that I still play music and I’m still half decent at music is because I came back and took a bunch of steps back and no longer wanted to do that up front thing. And then the Illustrated happened. I’m the front man of a metalcore band and can’t get much less subtle. I’ve been back into the music scene for a couple of years now, and everything’s kind of taking off.

How did you acquire your first name?

That’s a story in itself; there’s so much fucking detail in it. Long story short, when I was younger I kind of got mixed up with the wrong crowd. I more or less just ran away from life for about seven months. I ran away from Lethbridge and made it 1,700 kilometres north, primarily by foot. After about 1,000 kilometres of that trip, the name was actually given to me by a man close to Grand Prairie. There’s a strange story with that too: Apparently while I was walking, my older brother started writing a book called Dearest Distance. I had no communication with my family for a few months. He had no idea that name had been given to me. When I got back to Calgary, there was an I Saw You ad that said: “Dearest Distance, I miss your friendship, I hope you’re doing OK.” It was really bizarre. I cut it out, and went to show my older brother. He pulls out this leather-bound book that he’s been writing, and it says Dearest Distance across the front. Just this crazy synchronicity. Then I started playing acoustic music, and my stage name was “Dearest Distance.” I legally changed my name to Distance, and when another band member joined he thought it was egotistical to have that as the band name. It just sounds like I’m the band. That band is now Bring Fire.

How was it transitioning from the acoustic folk-rock back into the metalcore scene?

That was interesting too. It was very abrupt. I have friends in a band called Fall City Fall here in Calgary, and they knew me from when I was in a hardcore band when I was 18 or 19. They were looking for somebody because their vocalist couldn’t come out on tour. Somehow my name came up, and they asked me to tour with them as their lead vocalist. I had three days to prepare and learn their entire album. I hadn’t screamed in years. I jumped in face first with that, and went on a three-week tour with them from Manitoba to Vancouver Island and back.

When I came back, the word had been spread amongst the hardcore scene in Calgary that I was the one that went out and did that. The Illustrated was looking for a front man. They asked me to come out and audition, and I completely botched my first audition with them. It was ridiculously bad. But they knew me from before though, so they gave me a second chance. I went back, practised the shit out of their music, and got back into it.

How is it playing in the same city as your brother? Has there been any musical competition?

Not really at all. I did my own solo singer-songwriter thing mostly at open mics. Other than that, I’ve never really pursued a solo acoustic career. Bring Fire would be the main competition if any competition to Reuben’s music, but we’re still in completely different scenes. We appeal more to the all-ages kind of crowd, and he’s a little bit bigger which is surprising.

I actually taught Reuben how to play guitar and sing. Both of my brothers started playing music before me. The story goes that Reuben bought a drum set when we were really young, and he left for a week. While he was gone, I would break into his room and play drums. When he came back, he thought I was better than him at playing drums, so he quit. My oldest brother used to play a little bit of guitar, showed me one chord, then I started doing my own songwriting stuff. He quit playing music for a long time too.

Since, maybe a year after I started that first band, my brothers started writing their own songs and getting into it that way. I remember when I was 16 or 17, Reuben came up to me and asked: “Can you teach me how to play ‘Sweet Home Alabama’? I’m going on a camping trip and I really want to bring a guitar.” I didn’t know how to play anybody else’s music or read notes, but I figured it out and showed him how to do it.

It’s crazy how he’s taken off. I almost say that Reuben is like my little protégé. But he’s taken it to another level. He’s doing really well in the Calgary music scene. I just kind of disappeared off the face of the Earth, and now I’m coming back. I’m hoping soon I might get to some kind of status where people can recognize my music.

How have you been paying the bills during your music career?

What bills? I just recently acquired having to pay bills. I was living really transiently for a couple of years. I was working in tattoo shops across Canada as a piercing artist and sometimes manager. But when it comes to music, I’ve never had a bunch of equipment. I’m just recently come to the point where I can afford some of the instruments that I can play. I have a cello, a guitar, a keyboard and now a harpsichord. I’ve done so much random freelance work to get money. I’d never held down a consistent job until I managed a tattoo shop for nine months. Then I quit there, and now I’m working as a youth worker in homeless youth shelters. That’s not exactly the best paying job. My youth work pays for the insurance on my motorcycle.

How have reactions been to changing your name?

It’s been terrible. It’s difficult, especially with my extended family. My parents no longer call me by my birth name at all. Both my brothers are getting really good at it. But then there are people that I haven’t seen in a long time, and they don’t get reminded enough. It really comes down to a respect issue. There’s a lot of stuff around it, because people don’t know the story behind it. But it’s slowly getting better.

When did you start getting inked?

When I was 17. I lied about my age. Technically speaking, I’m a year older in Lethbridge. It’s my claim to fame.

What was your first one?

The heart above my heart. It’s a Sudanese symbol, and it means the importance of learning from your past.

How many have been getting on average since?

It’s sporadic. When I moved to Toronto, I moved into Kensington Market in a tattoo shop, and I think I got 20 tattoos over two-and-a-half months.

Do have a favourite tattoo?

The medicine wheel on my hand, for sure. I went to Alternative High, and a lot of my spirituality comes from the Native tradition. It’s on my hand, and people notice it. It’s got me out of a lot of tricky situations with other Native people. Lethbridge, for instance, when people think about mugging me, I’m like ‘Check it out. We’re all good here.’ That, and the hawk feather on my head. Those two are the most sentimental to me.

What do tattoos represent to you?

A lot. When I was younger, I was super convinced that I had a memory loss problem, and I saw that movie Memento, so I started collecting tattoos to remind me of certain things. I used to have dates and such on my hands. I got ‘Serenity’ and ‘Remember’ on my knuckles. They’re like stamps on a passport. Everywhere I’ve gone, all the artists and shops I’ve worked at, and all the kind of memories I’ve accumulated are not forgotten because they’re on my body. It’s more or less documenting my travels. There’s this one girl at one of the homeless youth shelters that’s fascinated with my tattoos. Every time they have to go to sleep, I have to stay behind so that I can tell her a tattoo story to put her to sleep. I tell her one a day. I’m going to run out in a couple of months. There’s definitely a story behind every one, and I never run out of stories to tell about them. I have hundreds upon hundreds of hours of tattooing on me.

How long do you think it will take before your body is covered?

It’s getting pretty close. But the more I look, the more optimistic I get. I’ve still got tons of blank space. My elbows aren’t done yet. I’ve still got my kneecaps.

Do you ever get negative reactions to your tattoos?

All the time. Mostly with old people, before I open my mouth. It’s the whole don’t judge a book by its cover kind of thing. I get a lot of people that stereotype under the traditional point of view. That carries on until people hear that I’m coherent and articulate and I could politely speak for myself. It helps a lot as a youth worker for kids to see a fully tattooed guy that’s actually doing something with himself. It’s definitely a conversation piece.