Who is Billye?
Originally an extraterrestrial being from the planet, Kepler 22b, Billye Louise Sands spawned here on Earth on October 19, 1991 in Macon, GA. Raised in an exceptionally artistic family, it was only natural that Billye, too, would work in the arts someday. Growing up, Billye was into everything - acting in a school play here, performing in a piano recital there, exercising her photography skills in between, and skateboarding everywhere else - the list goes on and on.
At the age of six, Nickelodeon’s Director’s Lab took up the bulk of Billye’s attention. The game allowed for the user to make music, sound effects, titles, cartoons, and films for their own visual production. Besides Director’s Lab, her childhood consisted of playing the Nintendo 64 and the Playstation 2. The games Donkey Kong 64 and Kingdom Hearts would leave a particular mark on Billye’s mind and would unknowingly drive Billye’s future. Having spent so many hours playing, it was at this stage that Billye’s subconscious decided to take on the responsibility of being a Media Alchemist. However, Billye’s subconscious would have to wait about fifteen years before this responsibility would be recognized by her conscious.
After high school, Billye decided that stability was the most important aspect of her career. Therefore, she chose the safe option and went to a normal, four-year university. Specifically, she attended the prestigious Mercer University. While there, Billye went through several degree changes. First there was Computer Science, then there was Business, and finally, there was Business Information Systems. This degree combined the business aspects (accounting, marketing, economics, etc.) with those of computer science (I.T., Java programming, etc.). Sounds like the ideal degree to have, right? WRONG! Billye thought that this degree would make its holder invincible and have the ability to unlock many doors! Which it would have, if depression, A.D.D., and anxiety would not have been in the way…
Fast forward four years. Even though she won’t admit it, Billye would have her little brother, David, to thank for saving both her life and her career. Around this time, David was searching for colleges. Thus, the family took a little weekend vacation to Winter Park, Florida. Their eyes gazed upon the glorious land of Full Sail University for the first time. David and the rest of her family were intrigued, but Billye was fascinated the most of all. “Where was this school my whole life?” Billye asked her dad. It was at this moment that Billye’s subconscious and conscious finally met with one another and said, “We’re home!” Billye was finally honest with her most wanted needs. She needed to be there. She wanted to be there.
Soon after the school tour, Billye withdrew from Mercer University, never to return again, and transferred to Full Sail University. Her major was Music Production. As far as a career goes, she wants to create the music and/or sound effects intended for video games.
“I love the fact that I can combine both my technical mind and my creative mind and have them work together,” she says. “There is absolutely nothing else that gives me more joy than the creation of new and exciting things. Sometimes, I feel as if I’m having too much fun!"
Post graduating from Full Sail in the fall of 2016, Billye did not want to move to LA or New York - popular destinations for those wanting to break into the music industry. As usual, she took the unconventional route and moved to Chengdu, China in April 2017. There she taught English to the native Chinese for almost 3 years, and it was through teaching she acquired her first long-term paid audio gig. “I was hired on board to be the audio lead for Easy Peasy English. We were building an app so that Chinese children could learn English. I was in charge of creating the music, sound effects, and voice-overs. Mistakes were made, but it was truly a learning experience!”
Other experiences Billye had while in China include, but are not limited to:
1) becoming Chengdu's very first Pride Queen (Chengdu Pride, June 2017),
2) having her voice featured as a voice-over in an airport in southeast China,
3) Learning intermediary Chinese,
4) climbing the Great Wall of China, and
5) creating life long friendships and networking with people from all over the globe!
Since returning to the United States in August 2019, Billye has been working as a freelance producer, songwriter, composer, and voice-over artist. She is always open to new experiences, and is finally back to doing what she intended - audio for video games. She is currently working as the audio lead for Stride Star Studios, an indie game developing company. “I have to manage a whole team now, plus integrate all audio assets using the audio middleware program Wwise, a skill I never fully developed before. Everyday is a new challenge, but I'm resilient and I am ready to see this through!!!"