KELLER WILLIAMS
''LIVE, DISC ONE''
SEP 16, 2008
2007-2008
SCI FIDELITY
1/Same Ole'/10:55
2/Skitso/3:02
3/Casa Quetzal/9:21
4/Tribe/7:56
5/Breathe/10:49
6/Thin Mint/6:36
7/Look at Where We Are/Lauderdale, Moseley/5:23
8/Reinhardt Rag/Droll/3:15
9/Newness/5:23
Tracks By Williams, Except As Indicated
''LIVE, DISC TWO''
SEP 16, 2008
2007-2008
SCI FIDELITY
1/You Are What You Eat/15:49
2/Killer Waves/8:42
3/Lonesome Angel/Droll/5:27
4/Still Wishing to Course/Krummenacher, Lisher, Lowery, Molla, Pedersen, Segel/11:04
5/Temple Balls/Droll, Hanson/6:21
6/The Juggler/12:47
7/Play This/4:23
Tracks By Williams, Except As Indicated
Gibb Droll/Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Louis Gosain/Vocals
Dave Grippo/Saxophone
Jennifer Hartswick/Trumpet
Keith Moseley/Bass, Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Jeff Sipe/Cymbals, Drums, Drawing
Keller Williams/Bass, Guitar (Electric), Vocals, Guitar (8 String), Synth Guitar
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
Keller Williams is usually put in the category of "jam band," even though for the better part of his career he has performed alone, creating tape loops to accompany himself. The exceptions to this lonely journey include his albums Grass, a bluegrass collaboration with the Keels, and Dream, which features a raft of guest musicians. But Live is really the first true jam band effort from Williams in the sense that it actually is performed by a jam band, here credited as "Keller Williams with Moseley, Droll & Sipe." That's bassist Keith Moseley, guitarist Gibb Droll, and drummer Jeff Sipe, and this quartet is very much a jam band and very much in the tradition of jam band progenitor the Grateful Dead. That comes across on this album not only in the music, but also in the sprawling length: containing two CDs, each running more than an hour, plus a 90-minute DVD that doesn't overlap with any of the material on the CDs, this package runs more than three-and-a-half hours. Then, too, there are the visuals on the DVD, which is a professional, if rudimentary effort in video terms, taken directly from the feed used on a screen shown to patrons of the shows. There seem to be only a couple of cameras in use, and they tend to stay fixed on particular simple shots of the players, although psychedelic special visual effects, rather like the geometric patterns available on the average computer CD player, break things up. It's like a modern-day version of an old San Francisco light show. On the CDs and the DVD, the band plays extended songs with long, meandering solo passages. Now and then, Williams comes to the microphone to sing, rap, or indulge in vocalese, presenting his whimsical novelty lyrics in a croon reminiscent of Michael Franks. Occasionally, the music veers into '20s jazz ("Reinhardt Rag") or heavy metal passages, but for the most part the styles will sound very familiar to Deadheads, a mixture of country-rock and exploratory electric instrumental music. In case anyone might miss the point, Williams even throws in his version of the Dead's "The Other One" and "Don't Let Go," a regular part of the Jerry Garcia Band's repertoire. Williams is an engaging, pixie-like presence on this disc, especially the DVD portion, but that doesn't keep him from playing well and proving himself an able bandleader after so many years alone.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Keller Williams is literally a one-man jam band. His fascinating live shows feature him solo on-stage with a Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro looping unit, and he creates his backing loops in the moment, building and improvising as he goes on his custom-made ten-string guitar, and thanks to his equally as quirky, upbeat, and semi-surreal songs (which he frequently weaves into extended, half-improvised medleys) and his warm, friendly tenor singing voice, Williams is an utterly unique performer whose musical eccentricities don't keep him from being immediately accessible. A native of Virginia, Williams received his first guitar at the age of three, although he admits he didn't really learn to play it until he was in his early teens. He attended high school in his hometown of Fredericksburg, and began playing solo gigs when he was 17. He discovered the new age guitar genius of Michael Hedges a year or so later, and Hedges has been a lifelong influence on Williams' approach to the guitar.
Following a stint at college (he attended Virginia Wesleyan College in Virginia Beach from 1988 to 1991, majoring in theater) and frequent gigs in his hometown region, he self-released a debut album, Freek, in 1994. Williams relocated to Colorado the following year, and it was there where he met the members of the progressive bluegrass band String Cheese Incident at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Williams ended up touring with them as an opening act in 1997 and again in 1998, even filling in for a time as their bass player. A second solo album, Buzz, was released in 1996. Williams eventually signed to String Cheese Incident's label, SCI Fidelity, and released Spun in 1998. Incredibly prolific, Williams has released nearly an album a year ever since on SCI, all with one word titles. Breathe appeared in 1999, Loop in 2001, Laugh in 2002, Dance and Home in 2003, Stage in 2004, and the DVD Sight in 2005. Grass (credited to Keller & the Keels) appeared in 2006 and Dream in 2007. In December of 2007 he released his 12th CD, a compilation appropriately titled 12. Endlessly creative, innovative, and fun, Williams is a fascinating artist, and his somewhat wacky take on the world, coupled with his amazing and eccentric guitar talents, makes him a refreshing performer.
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