Keller Williams has well-established himself in the bluegrass/jam band scene, and for good reason. The native Virginian virtuoso has been playing for over a half century. While he performs solo, and with a wide variety of musicians, the tour that brought him through Codfish Hollow in late June was a unique one to say the least. Billed as DeadPettyKellerGrass, Williams and a trio of other musicians play some of your favorite Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, and original Keller tunes with a bluegrass spin. While many of these songs are classics that I grew up listening to in my childhood home as the rhythm spilled from my parents’ stereo system, a stereo system which I was more than aware I was not allowed to play with, the arrangements this 4-piece bluegrass ensemble constructed brought a new life to songs I’ve heard dozens upon dozens of times. The atmosphere was hanging heavy in the hollow that night, and you could see the sweat falling from the limbs of the men on stage as they cut through their 2 sets, but that didn’t keep the crowds from moving and singing along to songs, I assume many also connect back to simpler times. I had the honor of sitting down with Keller just before he took the stage at Codfish for the first time to delve into everything from hockey stick guitars to Hee-Haw and R.E.M.
M: So, just a simple introduction to begin with. Who are you? Where do you call home, and how long have you been playing?
K: My name is Keller Williams. Fredericksburg, Virginia is where I call home, and I've been playing for 52 years.
M: As an artist myself, I know that sometimes there's not really an answer besides there's no other choice. But what initially got you into playing music?
Well, I'd have to say it was show on television called Hee Haw and it contained some gentlemen by the name of Buck Owens and Roy Clark, and they're picking and grinning. And I was, like, three, and I talked my parents into buying me a guitar, and then I just started pretending to play, you know, when I was three, and that was on this guitar that they got from, you know, Nickels.
And then that guitar kind of went to a hockey stick because it looked more like an electric and then I would take a piece of twine and make the strap on the hockey stick. I would leave a longer tail of twine to replicate the cable. And so skip ahead about seven years, I went to a class, I guess I was 10, and realized that I wasn't gonna make it in regular classes. A friend ended up showing me songs. And I think one of the first songs I ever played was Driver Eight, which is by REM. And there's a beautiful truck here with the driver eight on the license plate.
M: REM is about the top level band for Tiff for sure.
K: Oh, yeah.
M: I think that if she could get any band out here, that would be it. A couple of the members that play in The Baseball Project have played out here.
K: Oh, that's awesome. That's fantastic.
M: I've seen you perform in the past, both solo and with a backingband. Do you have a preference between the two?
K: The solo thing is, I call my day job, you know, I'm probably most comfortable with that. But at the end of the day, doing a project like this that bounces around from Grateful Dead to Tom Petty, and my songs then repeat. You know, it's like, that's what this gig is. And it's just an undeniable amount of fun that happens when we take liberties, just music and time together and, so I think the the idea from the beginning was always to play with humans, always be in a band. And then, by necessity, when it started it was a solo thing, and then it started to work, and I said you know, why fix it if it's not broken. So then once I was able to afford humans, I did, and I'm very lucky to be able to not have just one thing and get stagnant and have relationships go bad. It's better to have a couple really great groups you're with and do a couple shows, you know, a bunch of weekends every year, but, you know, keep the separation. It's always super special when it comes back together.
M: So do you think with a show like this, do you feel like you have more freedom to explore when you're playing?
K: Yes, absolutely. The solo stuff, you know, I can set up a loop and stuff, and I could go, Yeah, I can go there. But with, you know, with humans, there's a group consciousness that we can get into as a four-piece without drums. It's really quite interesting. And improvising, It's like what I do solo, you know, there's improvising involved, but it's not real improvising. Whereas, with this it's like a conversation, you're listening, and then you're putting in your ideas, and it goes with the conversation and moves and flows, and you can't really do that solo, you know.
M: Obviously, Codfish is unique, just in the fact that it's a barn next to a cow pasture. But what else makes it stand out? What was your initial impression of it?
K: Well, first of all, just coming up on a barn and walking into it with like, three rows of speakers being the main in the front, and then, you know, 20 feet back that delay, and then there's more back from that. You go outside and it's just a beautiful thing to have a place really take the sound seriously. And with the amount of people that have played here, and I had no idea really about this place until this gig was booked. And I think I get so excited to find gems like this and see so many of my heroes that have played here.
M: So outside of music, what inspires you on a daily basis, and has that inspiration changed as you've grown as a musician?
K: Well, I mean, what inspires me is really keeping my surrounding folks happy. I live two different lives, so it's a very unrealistic life on the weekend, and then it's impossible for that not to carry over. And usually I'm gone from Thursday to Sunday, usually home like Sunday night to Thursday morning. And it's really, really easy to let the weekend seep into the week. And it's, it's a tricky, tricky line you gotta cross. And my kids now are 17 and 20, so you know, I don't think there's any going back now, the damage has been done.
M: When it comes to writing a song, do you do a lot of sitting down and trying to come up with stuff, or does it usually come organically?
K: All the songs that I play all the time are ones that were written a long time ago that came organically. And then there's some songs that are what I call a self-imposed writing assignment, Because it's difficult to you know, I've been married for 27 years, and I've got dozens of songs about my wife. I love the shit out of her. But I don't know, the past three or four love songs I've written are great, and they're on a record, and they're fantastic, and I'm really proud of them, but I could never play them live. I wouldn't know them. I don't know the words. I just don't learn. So I write them and I record them, and unless they really hit me, I don't have any want or need to play them for some reason. And then they just go away.
M: Yeah, at least you have it recorded. Are there any bands or musicians you've been listening to that might be a surprise to people that you listen to?
K: Well, sure, let's start with surprise chef. They're a band out of Australia, instrumental. The Heliocentrics is another band that's reminiscent of like Medeski, Martin and Wood. Kind of super psychedelic trio with guitar and upright bass and it’s groovy. I love all kinds of dub reggae, like old school dub reggae. There's one I was thinking about the other day that I was trying to remember, if I ever got asked this question..The Hill Benders. That's what it is. I've been listening to a lot of The Hill Benders lately. Just definitely check them out.
M: Yeah, those are all three bands I haven't heard of. So good to have new ones. In closing, I know you're doing this tour? Are there any other big plans for this year that you have coming up?
K: Next week I'm playing with The Keels for a show with Larry and Jenny Keel, friends of mine that I got a couple records with and haven't played with at all this year. So that'll be fun. Looking forward to that. I really like the fall months. You know, I really, I really like when it gets out of the summer. But, yeah Bender Jamboree in Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to that, and then I'm looking forward to the red eye out of Vegas that night, not waking up in Vegas. It's kind of cool. I've never done that, and I'm excited. I think it's going to be awesome.
M: Well, that's all my questions. Thank you very much. I appreciate it
K: My pleasure. You're welcome.
