Pages tagged “keller williams”

What would it be like to share your name with a well known realty company? Especially one that was formed 13 years after you were born? Maybe you'd just thank your lucky stars that you don't share a name with a musician who's a favorite on adult-contemporary radio across the country. Or with a pop singer who's nearly as well known for his arrests as he is for any of his hit singles.

ANYWAY...

This summer, fans will have the opportunity to ask Keller Williams this question in person, as he tours cross country (occasionally with the Yonder Mountain String Band), hitting venues and festivals and ticking them off his list one by one. He'll also release a digital version of his Feb. 8, 2006 performance at Grateful Grass on April 29, and all the proceeds will go to The Rex Foundation, an organization started by the Grateful Dead.

REX tracklist:

1. One More Saturday Night
2. Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo
3. Eyes Of The World
4. Candyman
5. Loose Lucy
6. Black Peter
7. St. Stephen
8. Casey Jones
9. Brown Eyed Women
10. Bird Song
11. Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain

Dates:

May
23 - Cumberland, Md @ Delfest
24 - Asheville, N.C. @ Asheville Music Jamboree

June
6 - Enterprise, Ala. @ BAMAJAM
7 - Lawrence, Kansas @ Wakarusa
8 - Lawrence, Kansas @ Wakarusa
25 - Glen Allen, Va. @ Innsbrook*
26 - Norfolk, Va. @ Norva*
27 - Cary, N.C. @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre*
28 - Myrtle Beach, S.C. @ House of Blues*
29 - Ashburn, Va. @ Loudon Summer Concert Series*

July:
1 - Milwaukee Wis. @ Summerfest, Marcus Amphitheatre
2 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ Egyptian Room*
4 - Rothbury, Mich. @ Rothbury Festival+
5-6 - Berkeley, Calif. @ High Sierra Music Festival+
12 - Mountaintop, W.V. @ All Good Festival Marvin's+
17 - North Plains, Ore. @ String Summit
18 - North Plains, Ore. @ String Summit+
22 - Seattle, Wash. @ Marymoor*
30 - Flagstaff, Ariz. @ Pine Mountain*
31 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Twilight Concert Series*

August:
1 - Boulder, Colo. @ Fox Theatre
2 - Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks*
31 - Ledges, Ohio @ Gratefulfest Nelson * w/ Yonder Mountain String
+ w/ Moseley, Droll, and Sipe

Related links:
KellerWilliams.net
Keller Williams on MySpace
RothburyFestival.com

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Above photo, L-R: Yonder Mountain's Adam Aijala, Flecktone Victor Wooten, Béla Fleck and Keller Williams

Set aside for a moment any preconceived notions you might have about jambands. I'll admit, when I first saw the dreadlocks, hacky sacks and bra-burning, bandanna-wearing hippies, I was a bit anxious. But as I made my way to the front of the crowd amidst sweaty Marley-T-shirt-clad twentysomethings, the music of the Acoustic Planet Tour—featuring Keller Williams, Yonder Mountain String Band and Bèla Fleck & the Flecktones—started to reel in my straight-laced, non-granola self. I started to dance.

Keller Williams, dressed so casually he forgot his shoes, opened the night with an eight-minute introduction to his wide-ranging musical abilities. Grooving across the stage, he loops his acoustic guitar, then his bass and finally a triangle which he, theatrically, makes every bit as enjoyable as any other instrument he plays. Ignoring the rain drops, fans gravitate toward the foot of the stage, and my new dancing friends enter the psychedelic realm Williams’ music creates. During his most popular song of the night, “Freaker by the Speaker,” Williams welcomes Bèla Fleck to the loudest applause of the night. During Williams’ final number, the members of Yonder Mountain String Band trickle onstage one by one, and Williams and Fleck take a bow and discreetly vacate the stage. It’s the smoothest transition I’ve ever seen: no fifteen minute set changes, no time to grab another beer and cool off—just a barrage of music and dancing.

Cranking out bluegrass music for a new generation, YMSB is comprised of mandolin player Jeff Austin, bassist Ben Kaufmann, banjo player Dave Johnston and guitarist Adam Aijala. Austin sings lead on most of the songs, but all join in at times, giving the audience a sampling of the band’s Rocky Mountain sound. The Nashville crowd warmly receives songs like “Peace of Mind” and “Deep Pockets,” welcoming the direction in which YMSB steers traditional bluegrass. Flecktones percussionist Future Man—named for his unmatched skills on his one-of-a-kind electric Synthaxe Drumitar—drifts casually to the stage, and another impeccable transition occurs, as members of the Flecktones, and finally ringleader Bèla Fleck, appear and YMSB slowly leaves the stage.

Ten-minute-plus instrumentals are a staple of jambands, and tonight is no exception. I always thought the lulls and repetition were strategically placed to give the hippies a chance to put on their dancing brakes for a few minutes. But Jeff Coffin’s sax stylings coupled with Fleck’s banjo picking and Future Man’s occasionally mind-blowing Drumitar playing place this jazzgrass-fusion showcase of virtuosity far from any boring jam scenarios I’ve encountered in the past.

It’s the encore, though, that leaves everyone speechless. With Kaufmann and Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten trading off on bass and a flute/banjo showdown between Coffin and Fleck, the encore also includes a gospel tune, a Keller Williams original (“Gallivanting”) and a rap by Wooten, doing his part to promote the Left and encourage voting in the upcoming election.

At eclectic show’s end, the entire cast of the Acoustic Planet Tour gives a final wave. They’ve left the crowd with no doubt—tonight’s phenomenon of instrumental genius isn’t about to be limited to a musical genre.

Keller Williams is redefining the term “one-man band.” He began 11 years ago in the bars and restaurants of Fredericksburg, Va., as a singer/songwriter. Today, his innovative live use of digitally recorded and looped sounds—whether tearing up a guitar solo or banging out a beat on plastic tubes—finds him performing to larger crowds each time he returns to a particular town. Williams’ sound is masterfully documented on his latest release, the double-live album, Stage.

“I was looking for different avenues to go down to make the show more interesting, at least for myself,” Williams says of his unique live approach, on a rare night off from the studio, his nearly non-stop tour and his very own radio show. “I guess what led me to it was probably just boredom, and wanting more of a dance vibe.”

The improvisational nature of his live performances has earned him acceptance from the growing jamband scene, including tours with The String Cheese Incident and Dave Matthews, frequent appearances at summer festivals like Bonnaroo and a pair of Jammy Award nominations.

“I’ve been included in the jamband scene, and I’m grateful about that. They’re music lovers, like me—I’ve always considered myself a music lover first, a musician second and a songwriter third. So I can jump from one genre to another, and they appreciate that. I very rarely use a set list.”