Phase Two

Juice Music Article 1-16-07
by Joe Lawler

Des Moines resident Pat Williams, 29, has toured the world with Slipknot and co-founded the DJ group Sound Proof Coalition. But when we talked, he was in Austin, Texas, enjoying a day off with the Disney teen group the Cheetah Girls.

Williams works as an audio software engineer using ProTools, a music-production program, at concerts for the aforementioned acts along with the Black Eyed Peas and Fergie's solo shows.

Williams started using ProTools about seven years ago when he downloaded the free version of the program online. The program can be used for anything from providing a click track - essentially a metronome - to adding full musical accompaniment.

"Some acts use them for everything, like Disney Ice shows," Williams said. "A lot of bigger bands are using it. It's not taking anything away from their shows - they're just adding things they couldn't do live or adding some harmony vocals. Mostly it's odds and ends."

Williams first used ProTools to work on his own music, which he makes and performs under the name Phase Two. He began doing work with bands around town and hooked up with Slipknot through his roommate, longtime friend and Sound Proof Coalition co-founder Sid Wilson, AKA DJ Starscream. Williams broke himself in on some really intense shows, making concerts with the Cheetah Girls seem like a cakewalk.

"With Slipknot it could get pretty hectic," Williams said. "With the Cheetah Girls I just sit on a chair by the side of the stage. There's no running or being worried stuff will get hit with a baseball bat."

When not on the road, Williams does DJ work as Phase Two a name he adopted as a teenager after seeing graffiti on a bridge in Urbandale.

"There was this thing that said 'Phase One,' and it was maybe the lamest graffiti I had ever seen," Williams said. "When it came time to pick a stage name, I chose this because it represented the next stage in my life and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. When you're a kid the weirdest things stick in your head. If I had picked a name the next week, it could have been different."

Sound Proof Coalition was formed in the summer of 1996 and included numerous DJ's of which today only the three core members remain. DJ Starscream, Phase Two, and DJ Universoul have been dominating dance floors locally and internationally for over ten years.

Williams' work as Phase Two isn't just pure electronica. His recent album "Overhead" featured performances by keyboardist Scott Kacher, guitarist Arthur Seay and saxophonist Nate Peoples. He also performs with other Des Moines bands, including the Kent Brothers and Sour Diesel.

In February, Williams plans to get certified in ProTools, and hopes to continue using the program to work with other bands. In March, he heads to Japan to perform with Wilson. Despite having a job that lets him go anywhere, Williams wants to make Des Moines his permanent home.

"Going out on these tours gives you a new appreciation for your hometown," Williams said. "There's no better feeling than 24 hours of travel and then pulling into the Des Moines Non-International Airport."

- Juice Magazine