With a name as unique as his sound, Bilmuri has to have one of the quirkiest origin stories in music.
It’s pronounced just like the “Groundhog Day” actor, but with a unique spelling added to separate the band from any Google search confusion. “My friend and I were tossing around ideas in his backyard,” he recalls. “He said, ‘What if we called it Bill Murray?’ and I just laughed. That’s such a funny band name. But if we have a band named Bill Murray, no one’s ever going to be able to find it on the internet if I spell it the same.”
As the story of the name would suggest, Bilmuri—aka Jon Franck—doesn’t take himself too seriously offstage, but the groundbreaking artist’s vast range of musical blends makes him a serious artist by any means. It’s impossible to box him into a single specific genre. The Columbus, OH, native describes his sound as a blend of country, deathcore, ambient, and post-jazz—or as he jokingly calls it, “Y’all-ternative.”
“I’m whatever genre people think I am,” he says. “I just make stuff I enjoy, and whatever people want to call it, that’s fine.”
His songs like “Better Hell” and “Fluorideinthehardseltzerwater” have racked up over 10 million streams on Spotify, earning him a worldwide following that are glued in to his mix of weirdly wonderful music, allowing him to extend his current world tour to several more cities around the globe.
The singer’s stretch in popularity has come with a major shift in health and training priorities. which has allowed him to perform at peak levels night after night. Powerlifting, he says, became the precursor to developing a healthier lifestyle that extends to not only at home but on the road.
What began as basic strength training has turned into serious lifting, especially during the COVID lockdowns when Bilmuri pushed himself to squat 405 pounds and bench 315. “I can tell my kids at 60 that their old man hit a four-plate squat,” he says proudly. “I’m satisfied.”
Yet, with his success and worldwide fame, Bilmuri somehow doesn’t feel worthy enough to hit the some of the top powerlifting hubs in his own hometown, namely the iconic Westside Barbell Club. “I don’t think I’m cool enough to go out west,” he admits with a laugh.
However, fitness has now become about more than milestones; it’s a vital part of staying sharp on the road and delivering top-tier performances night after night. It’s why cutting back on drinking during his tour has rewarded him with more energized shows night after night.
“The best part of my day is going to the gym,” he says. “It went from dabbling in fitness to falling in love with it. It’s something I can’t go without—it’s essential for my mental health and staying healthy on tour.”
Bilmuri’s Fitness Journey: From P90X to Powerlifting 1RM
Bilmuri’s fitness journey started modestly like many people, with a DVD and a dream of getting shredded. “I just did P90X—all 90 days,” he recalls. “I did it through once, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is sick.’ Then I did it all the way through again and felt like I scratched the fitness itch.”
Around 2016, a powerlifting friend nudged him toward hitting the weights a bit more seriously. “My friend was a weightlifter and told me, ‘Dude, you could get way more bang for your buck if you started lifting weights.’ So I started dabbling.”
The COVID-19 shutdown was a turning point. With tours halted and shows canceled, Bilmuri found the stress of not being able to perform a bit hard on his mental health. But the downtime also allowed him the opportunity to refocus, namely by taking weight training more seriously. For a while, just a 45-pound weight on each side was the workout he needed, whether it was bench pressing or doing squats. But after implementing a periodization program crafted by his friend, the weight started to increase. His numbers progressed from 135 pounds to 185, then on to 225, and so forth. His confidence was increasing as fast as the weight on the bar.
“I kept with the periodization,” he says. “If I added a little weight every week, I could hit a solid goal. I did eight weeks of strict periodization my friend recommended, then started doing my own thing.”
His progress culminated in chasing a milestone that once seemed impossible: a 405-pound squat. “I was at 350 pounds and never thought I could do that much. That initial adrenaline rush got me hooked. I thought, ‘Let me see how far I can go.’ I wanted that four-plate squat—405—and made it my goal.”
Now at age 34 and riding a career upswing, Bilmuri’s lifting philosophy has shifted toward longevity rather than personal records. “I want to be lifting the way I do now when I’m 50 or 60. In my late 20s, early 30s, I chased heavier weights. Now it’s about longevity. Obviously, the body starts to decline physiologically, but I want to slow that decay as much as possible.”
You Can’t Take the Ohio Out of Bilmuri
Though Bilmuri calls Columbus home, he knows the Music City is never far away. “I’m a short plane ride from Nashville, and there are two direct flights every day,” he says. “Anytime I have writing sessions set up with songwriters, I’m like, I’ll be down there tomorrow, get some songs, then come back and enjoy Columbus.’”
Columbus, famous for hosting the Arnold Classic and boasting a thriving gym culture, offers Bilmuri plenty of places to hone his powerlifting craft. He admits he’s still surprised he hasn’t made it out to the legendary Westside Barbell Club, home to Louis Simmons. “We’ve got some great gyms here,” he says. “I usually have two or three memberships because I love changing the scenery now and then. There are some sweet mom-and-pop gyms around here. In other cities, it’s a lot more chains.”
Another local connection comes in the form of IFBB Pro and social media sensation Sam Sulek, who has been a key inspiration for Bilmuri’s training approach. “He’s from Ohio,” Bilmuri says with a smile. While Bilmuri has tried journaling his workouts, he quickly gave it up. Instead, Sulek’s simplified outlook helped him find a style that fit his goals. “Weightlifting can be math if you want it to be, and I don’t,” he says. “I want to enjoy myself and have fun. That’s the fun part for me—pushing myself intuitively, making this something I can keep doing even when I’m 60, without burning out.”
Ironically, for an artist surrounded by music all day, the gym is where Bilmuri shuts it off completely during his 90-plus minute sessions. “I go monk mode—no headphones, I’m just living in the moment,” he says. “The gym feels like a way to cleanse my hearing palette. After listening to music seven or eight hours a day, it all starts to sound like mush. You need to give yourself a break to come back with clarity.”
Bilmuri: Giving It 100 Percent Onstage
More proof of Bilmuri’s lighthearted approach to the music business comes with his latest album, American Motor Sports, which might lead audiences to think he has a passion for fast cars. However, when he reveals that the album cover actually features his lawn mower, the concert merch tells a different story.
“It’s literally the most disappointing answer of all time,” he says. “Every time I tell a car guy this, I see the disappointment wash over their faces…But the merch is great—shout out to Frankie Mish.”
When it comes to showtime, describing a Bilmuri concert can be difficult. There’s zero chance of trying to classify his music to one style. It’s a wild blend—part alternative, part death metal, and now an added touch of country. Throughout his career, he’s performed at WARP festivals and collaborated with country stars including Dylan Marlowe and Mitchell Tenpenny. The country influence came from his friend and fellow artist Hardy.
“What’s really interesting, is that a lot of country guys come from metal backgrounds,” Bilmuri says. “They grew up listening to both metal and country, so it’s cool for me to provide a sandbox where they can play metal—a side they probably can’t explore in their solo or country projects. I think that’s satisfying for them.”
You might leave a show unsure of what you just heard, but there’s one concert guarantee. Bilmuri will pour every ounce of energy into his performance, from the first note to the encore. “If I feel like I had something more to give when I walk off stage, I didn’t do it right,” he admits. “I genuinely try to expend every bit of energy I have and be completely exhausted when I get off stage. To me, those are the best shows.”
Delivering that intensity has meant a lifestyle overhaul. Gone are the pre-show beers and late-night McDonald’s runs. Waking up hungover and fatigued no longer fit the image of a rising artist who needs to be at his best. Since his last tour, Bilmuri has cut out drinking and prioritized quality rest.
“This last tour,” he says, “I really took care of what I ate and treated recovery—including sleep—seriously. It was one of the best tours. I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had on tour.”
Of course, the occasional post-concert cheeseburger can sometimes slip in as a guilty pleasure. “The worst,” he laughs, “is when you wonder if that burger was really worth sweating my ass off on stage and feeling nauseous because my body’s still processing.”
The occasional binge is why Bilmuri considers himself a work in progress. “I’ll probably have to learn this 800 more times,” he says. “But the more it happens, the more responsible I become. The difference between the early days and now is huge.”
