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I am definitely looking at band possibilities right now. I kind of exhausted all my ideas on this record, as far as collaborations go, but there are always things that I'd like to do, like jump into an established band.
-Keller Williams on The Future |
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Photo by C. Taylor Crothers
But what if Keller had access to any musician he wanted? What if Keller made an album of songs written with other musicians in mind? Sounds like a dream, right?
Keller's brand new record, Dream (available February 6 on SCI Fidelity) is an ambitious project of epic proportions. The list of musicians appearing on the project reads like a musical honor roll: Bela Fleck, Bobby Read, Bob Weir, Charlie Hunter, Derrek Phillips, Fareed Haque, Fleming McWilliams, Jeff Sipe, John Molo, John Scofield, Martin Sexton, Michael Franti, Modereko, Samir Chatterjee, Sanjay Mishra, Steve Kimock, The String Cheese Incident and Victor Wooten.
The scope of this project was such that it took three years from conception to reality, during which time Keller cranked out a concert DVD (Sight) a live album (Stage), and a bluegrass album with The Keels called Grass.
The busy touring lives of all the musicians involved, including Keller, at times made for some interesting recording sessions. Michael Franti recorded his rap section for the reggae-tinged "Ninja of Love" in the back of a tour bus. Keller says that the song was made up with Franti in mind. "What I wanted to do was try to write a song based on the hip-hop mentality. He's definitely not solely a hip-hop artist. He's all about the reggae and the funk and staying positive. I was trying to dive into a combination of reggae and the confidence of hip-hop [culture]. Rappers are always talking about themselves and Michael doesn't really go there and say how cool he is. That's kind of where I was going with 'Ninja,' trying to really magnify confidence. I don't really have that kind of confidence. It was kind of like digging out words to get that sort of mentality, without coming across as conceited or pompous."
Keller Williams |
Humor is always present in Keller's music and allows him to get away with the schoolboy sexual humor that crops up in his work like the suggestive "Restraint" that recalls ALO's "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down" in its playfully flirtatious lyrics. It's the purest kind of a love song, written for his wife, and it shows the range of Keller's music. One minute Keller is a funny guy with a guitar, the next he's some kind of mad scientist genius type who can control sounds with his hands, at least while using his prized Theremin.
Like his music, Keller's career path is utterly unique. While most bands splinter into assorted solo projects, the one-man-jam-band may soon form a band.
"I am definitely looking at band possibilities right now," Keller says. "I kind of exhausted all my ideas on this record, as far as collaborations go, but there are always things that I'd like to do, like jump into an established band. We have one festival booked in Illinois in the summer called Summer Camp. A couple other festivals are still kinda teetering on possibilities. I've got a lineup kinda picked out. I've got some rehearsal dates, but I want to wait until it's a real definite before I start name-dropping."
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