Sons of William

When it came time to name their band, brothers Joe and David Stark went back to their roots – literally. Because their dad, Bill, was responsible for their earliest musical education, they chose to call themselves Sons of William. That’s also the title of their just-released EP.

For Joe, it’s a bit of a departure; he’s used to thinking of himself as a solo entity or as a member of bands fronted by pals such as Marc Broussard. Joe and David have been playing together in a formal sense for only a year, even though they jammed together since they were little.

“We listened to a lot of the same music growing up and were influenced by a lot of the same things. When I would find something, we would learn about it together. So when he started playing music, it was kind of just something we dabbled in,” says Joe.

Though an older cousin turned them on to a lot of the music they now cite as influences (from the Beatles to Tom Petty), it was Bill who bought Joe a drum kit when he was all of 2.

“He plays guitar and piano and organ and those instruments were always lying around the house, especially the guitars,” recalls Joe, who grew up in Houma, La. “So that’s what I picked up, and he taught me the first couple of chords.”

Bill and his wife, Marla, performed their way through college; he played piano and she sang. By the time Joe was in high school, he was playing professionally as well, opening at the House of Blues in New Orleans for artists such as Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton. Band managers started showing up – and taking notes.

“I thought I was the bomb, dotcom,” jokes Joe about that phase of his career. It didn’t take long until he got offered a tour, so he left high school and hit the road.

“Things just started happening without me forcing them,” Joe explains. Both he and his brother earned their diplomas via correspondence.

Joe knew Broussard from Louisiana, but they bumped into each other more frequently after Joe moved to Atlanta, where he lived for a year. When Broussard needed a band to play a few industry showcases during the 2004 South By Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, he asked Joe. It turned into a 3-month gig.

His solo career went on temporary hold, but, says Joe, “there was time for writing songs and recording them at my parents’ house with my brother, holed up in the upstairs bedroom.”

Joe and Broussard, born just a day apart, had intense fun together, but eventually, Joe felt he had to get back to his own career. It was time to record an album – and he wanted David along.

The pair flew to Los Angeles to work with producer Dave Cobb (Shooter Jennings, Rock and Roll Soldiers), whom Joe met during his time in Atlanta.

“He has all the guitars and drums a man could want. We used his gear and his studio and he was nice enough to let us stay there and it was an awesome thing,” says Joe. “He really believes in us as a band and me as an artist.”

After recording the album, the boys decided to expand the band, and quickly hooked up with bassist Annie Clements.

A New Orleans native and daughter of renowned guitarist Cranston Clements, Annie rounds out the brothers’ live performance with soulful chops and vocals, and undeniable stage presence.

As for Sons of Williams’ music, Joe describes it as “steeped in traditional rock n’ roll songwriting and simplicity.”

“We feel we have found our own voice through a constant balance of studying the music we love and abandoning self-imposed rules,” he explains. “We are not ashamed to wear our bluesy influences as long as we feel like we are challenging ourselves.”

They believe in paying respects to the masters, but not being hamstrung by convention. The six cuts on this disc are testament to their willingness to embrace both pop beauty and rock intensity.

The piano-laced “Beautiful” (“about the people lucky enough to find someone who can put the complexities of love aside and get down to what really matters”) could be a pop hit.

“Breaking My Back,” a rocker, “was written with a middle-finger raised toward close-minded society.”

“Give Into to Give Up” has a bite of anger in its guitar and vocal. Joe says it’s about “all the times that it seems easier to throw the towel in on whatever it is you believe.”

“High Heels,” written by Dave, with sweetening by Joe, is a bright infatuation tune with a bit of a ‘60s feel.

“Let Somebody Down,” a ballad sung in Joe’s appealing falsetto, has to do with how easy it is to hurt the ones you love.

“Sunrise Cigarettes,” described by Joe as “about being on the road a little too much,” also has a rock edge, complete with feedback-fired guitar solos.

Right now, Sons of William is all about being on the road. Sooner or later, they’ll be heading your way.