Our Guest: John Williams

John Williams has played with the likes of country blues artists Willie Nelson and Conway Twitty.  He has also had his music used in countless video productions.  John is attributed with contributing to projects for NPR,  BigTex Video, Franklin-Covey, Working Horse Winery, GearHead Pictures, Quova, Showa University (Tokyo), The State of Alabama, QSR Magazine, University of Michigan, and WGBH. 

Currently, John can be found playing solo acoustic guitar around the Seattle/Tacoma/Puget Sound area. The music is a mix of traditional and modern acoustic instrumentals borrowing heavily from country blues and early southern “delta blues”.  If you are in the area, catch this jewel of a player hidden within the boundries of the state of Washington!

Who are your major influences and how did your family background affect your music?

My immediate family was not especially musical. A few aunts played piano in church but that wasn’t all that exciting to me. I grew up in the south (Florida) and there was a lot of country music playing on the radio so that naturally soaked in.

Who stands out most in your playing?

Duane Allman was the first guy I listened to where I thought I could
actually play like that. I didn’t turn to Chet (Atkins) until much later,
and that led to guys like Pat Donahue and Tommy Emmanuel. That’s who I want to sound like when playing solo guitar. The old blues guys like Lonnie Johnson are who I’d like to feel like.

How long did it take you to develop your own style?

Haha, still not all the way there yet. I played in a lot of cover bands
back in the day; had to be good at sounding like other people and copping styles. I did a little studio work too but it wasn’t until the mid 80s that I got my first multitrack cassette machine. That’s when the journey really started.

How long did it take you to go from playing the notes to playing music?

The real epiphany, and something that still blows me away, was when I
realized that there was such a thing as improvisation – making it up as
you go. My first lessons dealt with reading notes and basic chords. The
first garage bands we mostly learned covers from sheet music. It wasn’t
until I’d played in kid bands for a year or two that I figured out it was
possible to play stuff that came out of your head. It would have really
been great had some of my early “teachers” pointed this out.

How did you matriculate so quickly to playing with such big names as
Willie Nelson and Conway Twitty?

From about age 12 I started making money playing so I was never required
to go out and get an after-school job. I played all the time. We lived
in Texas when I was in high school and the liquor laws were such that kids
could get into bars to play but, of course, not drink, so I was playing in
clubs when I was 15.

Back then (early 70s) you could work a lot and meet a lot of people. All
through high school my usual schedule was six nights a week in a club,
Saturday and Sunday afternoon brunch gigs, and sometimes doing recording
sessions when I could squeeze them in. This was playing all kinds of
music.

There were a lot of booking agents back then and my name got around as
being a good utility player. I could walk into almost any situation and
quickly start making music. Booking agents liked to have guys like that
on call. I’ve never been a stellar player or any sort of star but I do
try to make everyone sound good. The gigs with the “big names” were just
like all the other work I was doing at the time – learn the tunes, do the
shows.

Were you primarily a road or studio musician for the big names you played
with?

For some reason that I can’t recall, my real desire back then was to play
live. This was before recording gear was easy to get so there wasn’t the
opportunity to record near as much as there is today. I was only vaguely
aware of that part of the industry and it didn’t seem like that was where
the action was.

Who did you like playing with most and why?

Music became a full time job when I finally got out of high school. I was
playing for an Elvis impersonator in a pretty big backing band. Two shows
a night plus dance sets. There was tremendous pressure to learn complex
charts very quickly, to always be professional, and to always make the
“star” look great. The people I was playing with had a lot of experience
and were very, very knowledgeable about that sort of thing. The learning
curve was very steep but it was really satisfying. That’s where I learned
to cut through the BS and deliver.

Did playing in support roles help or hinder your creativity and the
development of your own style?

When I play solo I still fall into a mode of trying to deliver a
structured show and not attracting too much attention. I’m still trying
to accompany someone and in that role I sometimes forget to put my own
personality into it. There’s no question that everyone has a personal
style but the real trick is letting it out and sharing it.

How long have you spent on the road?

Off and on perhaps 10 years. I still travel a little but am usually home
every night.

Are you considering a tour?

Not at this time. Really trying to release more music.

Do you have any new musical goals, pursuits or interests?

Still trying to get better at the solo stuff. I’d also really like to
improve my show, make it more entertaining, more smiling and personality.

What motivates you musically?

It still gravitate to playing for crowds. I’m not outgoing at all but I
have some inexplicable drive to put music out to a big room full of
people.

Where do your fresh ideas come from?

The really good ones just hit you out of nowhere. It’s a race to get them
down before they pass on by. It takes a lot of time to work out the stale
ideas.

How many original songs do you have in your repertoire?

I don’t do any covers any more. Solo guitar, especially blues with a lot
of improvisation, is an endless list of ideas that are at different stages
of being usable.

Do you play the other instruments on your recordings or are you strictly a
guitarist?

I played bass and keyboards on both Hand Picked and Long Ride Home.

Do you typically market yourself as a solo act or do you play with others
just as well?

A solo act is much more agile. It’s also a lot more scary but I’m getting
a lot of satisfaction from it at the moment.

Do you have a band or do you have aspirations of putting one together?

There are people I play with regularly, very good players, but nothing is
formal. It is very hard to find the time to do the rehearsals and build a
show.

Are you shy about singing or just prefer being an instrumentalist?

Most folks prefer that I don’t sing.

Did you ever try writing lyrics?

Traditional blues lyrics are clever and funny and I’m really entertained
by that. I’ve dabbled but since I don’t sing it’s hard to go too far with
it.