The Williams Band

Greetings!

It's Monday, and that means I bring you an MP3 or die tryin', and I almost died tryin' this week. But I got it. And it's HOT OFF THE PRESSES. The track is courtesy of The Williams Band, which released its debut album just this past Friday. The tune is "Places I Pass Through"; stream and download it below!

- pghcitypaper.com

The Pittsburgh Scene has made another wonderful discovery - The Williams Band.

Their debut CD, Forty-Eight Hours at the Pink Flamingo, was named for the recording process that was masterfully completed in only two days. Produced by the skillful hands of Pittsburgh's Brandon Zebrowski and Josh Gerba, the album is a unique blend of southern twang, Americana grit and the stunning simplicity of acoustic folk rock.

The Williams Band evolved from a couple of junior high kids, Bryan Williams Kinney and Brian Williams Jump, who began playing together in 1994. Bassist, Jonny Southerland, joined the band five years later. In 2003, the band disassembled, with each of the members joining with various other projects, writing their own material and honing their skills. Years later, they have now reunited to perform under their current moniker and added the dexterous percussion stylings of Brett Staggs.

This was a unique interview in that none of the band members would speak about the project in the absence of any of the other bandmembers. With a bit of coordination, I managed to conduct an interview with all four gentlemen outside Club Cafe. This playful group of man-boys takes the 'business' end of music with a tongue in cheek approach.

Brian Jump formally trained at IUP and Duquesne studying classical guitar. His rich and tasty guitar licks flavor a versatility of sounds from David Gilmore's classic Pink Floyd to the new age 311 feel. Bryan Kinney's homespun style of folk-strum acoustic guitar, complete with story time lyrics gives a warm and honest look at everyday situations that appeal to the masses.

Jonny Southerland's pseudo-Appalachian style vocals flavor their eclectic sound. Add to that his slow southern style on the bass and you end up with what they refer to as roots rock. Jump introduced drummer, Brett Staggs, to the band after having been fans of his many other projects including, Long Time Darlings. Staggs began playing violin at the early age of four, as well as several other instruments. Today, he is an all-around musical dynamo.

“The magical hand of fate brought us all together,” states Staggs after joining the others in May of this year, “giving their collaborative effort a soft place to land.”

With each member a singer, the vocal layers harkens back to the high impact harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Their message is upbeat, their feel is laid back, and their goal is “just to have fun.” They all agreed that success is not about the money, but about entertaining.

The Williams Band played their first show together on May 27, 2011 at Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville. They went into the studio the following November, releasing their first recording on November 11, 2011.

The official album release show will take place at Club Cafe on February 3. The other acts include the equally talented Caleb Pogyor, and These Lions. This show is not to be missed. Pick up your copy of The Williams Band’s, Forty-Eight Hours at the Pink Flamingo now.

Check them out their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TheWilliamsBand, on iTunes, and YouTube. You can sample their sounds here on The Pittsburgh Scene's FREE music downloads.

- thepittsburghscene.com