Keller Williams
Encyclopedia
Keller Williams is an American
musician from Fredericksburg
, Virginia
, who began performing in the early 1990s. He is also known by the names K-Dub or just Keller, when performing. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass
, folk
, alternative rock
, reggae
, electronica
/dance
, jazz
, funk
, and other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' due to his frequent use of live phrase looping with multiple instruments.
, The String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee
and Ratdog
, and has frequently performed at The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and The Rothbury Festival. Williams has an audio taping
policy of his performances, and for non-commercial trading of the recordings but use of video or flash photography, or any recordings for profit are prohibited.
on drums, Keith Moseley
on bass, and Gibb Droll
on lead guitar. They changed their name from the WMDs in 2008.
Echoplex Delay system, which allows him to play a riff once on his instrument, record, and repeat it. This lets him play unaccompanied and include a variety of instruments in his shows.
His main guitars used are a Martin HD-28 and D-35, an Alvarez/Joe Veillette MTB baritone
, a Rick Turner baritone 12-string, a Tacoma Thunderhawk, an early 50's tempo and a Gordon Anderson custom 8-string.
Williams recently started the "Once a Week Freak", on his website where every week he had released a new song from his new 2009 album "Odd". Upon release of every single song on the album, he released the entire album in a single download. And due to the large success of this idea, Williams has now chosen to keep the "Once a Week Freek" project going and releases a new song/video or two each and every week, usually on Wednesday. These tracks consist of live performances of previously recorded songs, unreleased covers of other bands' songs, or just different renditions of his own recorded music.
Williams played as a member of the Rhythm Devils
with Grateful Dead
drummers Bill Kreutzmann
and Mickey Hart
at the Gathering of the Vibes
festival in 2010. Williams then appeared with the Rhythm Devils in 9 July shows on their summer tour.
Kdubalicious is a project involving Keller Williams on bass/guitar, Jay Starling on dobro/keyboards, and Mark D on drums. Kdubalicious is Reggae/ Dub/ Funk. Keller's project Kdubalicious formed in late 2010, and the group continues to play occasional shows. There was a unique winter concert held on a turf field in Fredericksburg, VA featuring Kdubalicous w/ Larry Keel, Jenny Keel, and John Starling in December 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician from Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, who began performing in the early 1990s. He is also known by the names K-Dub or just Keller, when performing. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
/dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, and other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' due to his frequent use of live phrase looping with multiple instruments.
Touring
Though primarily a solo artist, Williams has toured with several bands that include Yonder Mountain String BandYonder Mountain String Band
The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufmann, and Adam Aijala, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date.- History :The band's history stretches back to...
, The String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....
and Ratdog
Ratdog
RatDog , is an American rock band. The group began as a side project for Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in December 1995, following the death of Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995, RatDog became Bob Weir's primary band...
, and has frequently performed at The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and The Rothbury Festival. Williams has an audio taping
Taper (concert)
A Taper is a person who records musical events often from standing microphones in the audience for the benefit of the musical group's fanbase. Such taping was popularized in the late 1960s and early 1970s by fans of the Grateful Dead. Audio recording was allowed at shows and fans would share their...
policy of his performances, and for non-commercial trading of the recordings but use of video or flash photography, or any recordings for profit are prohibited.
Keller Williams Incident
Keller Williams Incident is a collaborative performance between Williams and The String Cheese Incident. They have performed together, and Williams' 1999 album Breathe was released collaboratively as the Keller Williams Incident. Williams and SCI began collaborating after Williams saw the band perform in Colorado; offering to play with the band in exchange for free ski passes.Keller Williams with Moseley, Droll and Sipe
Williams also frequently performs with a backing band as "Keller Williams with Moseley Droll and Sipe". Formed in 2007 as the WMDs, they first played at the Bonnaroo music festival. The group consists of Williams on rhythm guitar, Jeff SipeJeff Sipe
Jeff Sipe is an American drummer. He is a rock and jazz fusion drummer, however, he is proficient in many other styles which he has demonstrated in his decades of drumming. He is a founding member of Aquarium Rescue Unit along with Col. Bruce Hampton...
on drums, Keith Moseley
Keith Moseley
Keith Moseley is an American musician and songwriter, who played bass guitar among other instruments for The String Cheese Incident, a jamband from Boulder, Colorado, of which he was a founding member....
on bass, and Gibb Droll
Gibb Droll
Gibb Droll is an American guitarist known for his blues-infused rock. He is the founder of the Gibb Droll Band, but more recently has played with the group Keller Williams with Moseley, Droll and Sipe . He has appeared on Jay Leno, Conan O' Brien, The CBS Morning Show, A&E, MTV, VH1, and CMT...
on lead guitar. They changed their name from the WMDs in 2008.
Keller & The Keels
"Keller & The Keels" is a bluegrass project consisting of Williams and the husband and wife combo of Larry and Jenny Keel. The trio released Grass in 2006, a collection of both original and cover songs. They released Thief, an album of cover songs, in May 2010.Keller McGee
Keller played a side project with Umphreys Mcgee at Summercamp 2009 called "The Sexy Bitches," not Keller McGee, as the group is sometimes named on the internet.Instruments
A self-taught musician, he usually performs with an acoustic guitar connected to GibsonGibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Echoplex Delay system, which allows him to play a riff once on his instrument, record, and repeat it. This lets him play unaccompanied and include a variety of instruments in his shows.
His main guitars used are a Martin HD-28 and D-35, an Alvarez/Joe Veillette MTB baritone
Baritone guitar
The baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
, a Rick Turner baritone 12-string, a Tacoma Thunderhawk, an early 50's tempo and a Gordon Anderson custom 8-string.
Other projects
Williams currently hosts the radio show Keller's Cellar which has a live online stream and is pre-recorded at Wally Cleaver's in Fredericksburg, VA.Williams recently started the "Once a Week Freak", on his website where every week he had released a new song from his new 2009 album "Odd". Upon release of every single song on the album, he released the entire album in a single download. And due to the large success of this idea, Williams has now chosen to keep the "Once a Week Freek" project going and releases a new song/video or two each and every week, usually on Wednesday. These tracks consist of live performances of previously recorded songs, unreleased covers of other bands' songs, or just different renditions of his own recorded music.
Williams played as a member of the Rhythm Devils
Rhythm Devils
The Rhythm Devils are a band led by founding Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.-Grateful Dead:The Rhythm Devils had their origins as an informal but frequent fixture in the Grateful Dead concert repertoire...
with Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
drummers Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
and Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
at the Gathering of the Vibes
Gathering of the Vibes
Gathering of the Vibes is an annual four-day music, camping and arts festival that celebrates the Grateful Dead & showcases a very diverse variety of music. Over the course of the event, styles often include; Funk, Bluegrass, Rock, Jam Band, Jazz, Reggae, R&B & Folk music. Since 1996, GOTV has...
festival in 2010. Williams then appeared with the Rhythm Devils in 9 July shows on their summer tour.
Kdubalicious is a project involving Keller Williams on bass/guitar, Jay Starling on dobro/keyboards, and Mark D on drums. Kdubalicious is Reggae/ Dub/ Funk. Keller's project Kdubalicious formed in late 2010, and the group continues to play occasional shows. There was a unique winter concert held on a turf field in Fredericksburg, VA featuring Kdubalicous w/ Larry Keel, Jenny Keel, and John Starling in December 2010.
Albums
- FreekFreekFreek is the debut album by Keller Williams, released in 1994. It contains mostly solo arrangements of his early tracks.-Track listing:# Get on Up/Sanford and Son 6:36# The Juggler 3:11# Turn in Difference 3:22# Friendly Pyramid 4:13...
(1994) - BuzzBuzz (Keller Williams album)Buzz is the second album by Keller Williams, released in 1996. It covers many genres of music such as world beat, reggae, bluegrass and rock.-Track listing:# Sunny Rain 4:07# Sally Sullivan 5:01# Relaxation Station 4:06# Fuel For The Road 4:49...
(1996) - SpunSpun (Keller Williams album)-Track listing:# Running On Fumes 5:23# Tribe 4:46# Blazeabago 5:32# Thirsty In The Rain 3:42# 221" 3:51# Stargate 5:17# Spun 2:21# In A Big Country 3:47# Portapotty 4:00# Theme From The Pink Panther 2:59# Sleeping Giant 3:54# Dear Emily 2:39# Fat B 2:43...
(1998) - Breathe (1999) - (with The String Cheese Incident as Keller Williams Incident)
- LoopLoop (Keller Williams album)Loop is the fifth album by Keller Williams, released in 2001. It features live recordings from three shows in the Pacific Northwest in 2000.-Track listing:# Thin Mint 4:15# Kiwi and the Apricot 4:07# More Than a Little 7:48# Vacate 6:21...
(live) (2001) - LaughLaugh (Keller Williams album)Laugh is the sixth studio album by Keller Williams, released in 2002.-Track listing:# Freeker by the Speaker 4:52# One Hit Wonder 4:06# Hunting Charlie 4:01# Alligator Alley 4:07# Spring Buds 4:10# Mental Instra 4:39# Vabeeotchay 4:11...
(2002) - DanceDance (Keller Williams album)Dance is the seventh studio album by Keller Williams, released in 2003. It contains remixes of songs from his preceding album, Laugh.-Track listing:# Tweeker 4:41# Bazooka Speaker Funk 4:02# Chunter 4:32# Yeah 4:34# Room to Grow 3:44...
(2003) - HomeHome (Keller Williams album)Home is the 8th studio album by Keller Williams. Home centers around his love for his hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia and contains audio clips from his childhood within the songs....
(2003) - StageStage (Keller Williams album)Stage is a live compilation of Keller Williams's 2003 tour and is divided into 2 CDs. Stage Left, features songs from the west coast shows, and Stage Right containing songs from the east coast leg of the tour...
(double live) (2004) - GrassGrass (album)Grass is the 10th studio album by Keller Williams, released in 2005. On Grass, Keller is accompanied by The Keels, a husband and wife duo named Larry and Jenny Keel. On this album, Larry Keel, Keller's childhood friend, plays lead guitar, Jenny Keel plays bass, and Keller plays rhythm guitar...
(2006) - (with The Keels as Keller & The Keels) - DreamDream (Keller Williams album)Dream is the ninth solo album from Keller Williams, released in 2007. With the help of numerous collaborators, Williams explores a wide spectrum of musical genres in each of the songs....
(2007) - 1212 (Keller Williams album)12 is the twelfth album by Keller Williams, released in 2007. It features one song from each of his previous 11 albums, as well as one previously un-recorded song .-Track listing:# Turn in Difference 3:24# Anyhow Anyway 5:24# Tribe 4:48...
(2007) - Rex (Live at the Fillmore)Rex (Live at the Fillmore)Rex is the thirteenth album by Keller Williams, recorded live on February 8, 2006 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado....
(digital download) (2008) - (with Jeff AustinJeff AustinJeff Austin is a mandolinist and singer best known for being a part of the Yonder Mountain String Band....
and Keith MoseleyKeith MoseleyKeith Moseley is an American musician and songwriter, who played bass guitar among other instruments for The String Cheese Incident, a jamband from Boulder, Colorado, of which he was a founding member....
as Grateful Grass) - Odd (2009)
- Thief (2010) - (with The Keels as Keller & The Keels)
- Kids (2010) (Children's Album)
Guest appearances
- The J. Case Show - Julian Casellas (2010)
- Seeds - Martin SextonMartin SextonMartin Sexton is an American singer-songwriter and producer originally from Syracuse, New York.- Early life :Sexton grew up the tenth of twelve children in a working class Irish-American family. He acquired his first guitar, a Sears & Roebuck acoustic, at the age of 14 and later played in local...
(2007) - Chateau Benares - Sanjay MishraSanjay MishraSanjay Mishra is an American Guitarist/Composer born in India and subsequently becoming a citizen of the United States who began performing after completing his studies at...
(2006) - Collision - DJ Harry (2004)
- On The Road: 04-14-02 Ann Arbor, MI - The String Cheese Incident (2002)
- On The Road: 04-13-02 Chicago, IL - The String Cheese Incident (2002)
- Solar IgniterSolar IgniterSolar Igniter is the second album from jazz band Modereko, a side project of drummer John Molo , released in 2003...
— ModerekoModerekoModereko is a jazz band, featuring drummer John Molo of Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The group has released two albums, Modereko, and Solar Igniter, a collaboration with jam/rock musician Keller Williams....
(2001)
External links
- Mike St. Thomas, "Keller Calling: An Interview with the King of Energy", Outside Bozeman