Blog

By: Rob Uslan

Keller Williams is a master of genre defiance. Whether using loops to become a one-man-jam-band, or flexing his folk/bluegrass/funk/jazz/rock chops with a number of affiliated ensembles (String Cheese, Keller and the Keels), Keller's dipped into just about all of the industry's nooks and crannies over a long and storied career. Continuing to journey into new musical territory in the present, Keller just released his 17th studio album, "Bass," pairing Keller with backing band, Kdubalicious, to present a release full of thick, reggae-inflected, bass heavy tunes that are plain grab-your-nuts funky. And as "Bass" takes the low end into more and more ears, Keller was kind enough to sit down with The Brain trust to discuss the album's style, stories behind the album's tunes, and how to avoid bloating after eating a bunch of funk. 

Rob Uslan (RU): Your newest album, “Bass,” is the 17th album with a one word title that you’ve released...

Keller Williams (KW): Correct.

RU: Why did you start the trend?

KW: It started a long, long time ago.  The idea was to simply try and explain the vibe of the record in one syllable. It’s not just one word, man. It’s one syllable.  One word could be too easy.  One word could have seven syllables in it.

RU: That’s true! I never thought of it that way.

KW: I mean, if you’re an English major, and really creative, you could probably figure out some way to put seven syllables in a word. I guess my plan long ago was to try and describe the vibe in one syllable. Like the first one was Freek. That was my first record and I was kind of going with the word free.

In hind sight , you know I kind of wish I had thrown in some verbs and some nouns...

RU: This is certainly not a typical style of release for you. What made you put down the acoustic guitar for the five stringer?

KW: Well, I've been playing bass for a while. And ever since I started incorporating the bass into the live show, that’s when I started noticing the difference as far as people paying attention and people buying tickets and coming to the shows.  So it’s always been a special thing.  A couple years back I got into Jaco Pastorius. Of my many, many phases, I hit that one pretty hard. I’m always just trying to come up with ways to actually play with humans. You know...be able to play with people.

I kind of see this wonderful thing as a solo act and I'm grateful for it. To be able to go and play solo and make a living at it.  And it’s been great. But I always try and find ways to actually collaborate with other folks. And a three piece has been one way to be able to do that. And with me playing bass...it’s not really a stretch. Not tricky for me at all, because my guitar style revolves around bass lines. That’s where my style came from. So for me to play the bass in the band and to lead a band on the bass is not much different stylistically from the guitar.  And there’s so much more power from the bass than the acoustic guitar obviously, when plugged in.  And it comes alive. If it’s right, you can feel it in your chest and your pants move with the the air created from these low notes...and it’s really a trip for me and I love it.

RU: Can you tell me about the album’s backing band, Kdubalicious?

KW: It’s Jay Starling on keys, and Mark D on drums. Jay is an incredible keyboard player. He plays guitar like Mark Knoffler (Dire Straights). He’s an insane oboe player, yet he went to Berklee (College of Music) for drums. Plus his father was doing the bluegrass and world beat, so he’s got that in his blood.

And Mark D... he’s like the master of the one drop. The prominent reggae beat. They both are on my favorite local reggae band called The Transmitters. So we were able to rehearse once a week for a while, where as in other bands, we’d have to either fly in or rehearse wherever we’re doing the gig. This is more of a local thing. It’s really fantastic because we’re able to hang out and play during the day, and do local gigs at night. It’s very convenient and the guys are really great. We’re really good friends. And like I said, they're in that reggae band, so that's kind of where the reggae vibe came from. They have a great knowledge of the reggae formula and styles.

RU: There’s still a rich sound well for just the three of you though.

KW: That's the beautiful thing about three pieces. There’s so much air and so much space. I'm able to play a lot of notes without it getting too cluttered...hopefully. I love a three piece, man.

RU: Can you touch on the album art’s visual metaphor?

KW: Well it's just painfully there. It’s the same spelling of a word with two different pronunciations so it was just too much fun not to do it. I was just sitting around thinking about the album cover, and thought, how about a mutant bass bass? The idea was just painfully there. And I've been hanging out with Larry Keel a lot and he’s always talking about fishing. It’s was just kind of a suggestion I threw at the artist, Richard Biffle, who's an incredible genius and I don't think I’ll ever understand how he does what he does.

RU: What made you choose to cover Hollywood Freaks (Beck)?

KW: That's one of the songs the three piece has been doing from the start.  And we were just in the studio kind of getting sounds for the mics and the control room.  It was one of those things that we did in one take and it came out.

It was totally live. Just one take to compose everything. The vocals are kind of nonchalant...not really enunciated...really laid back and that's because we were just kind of messing around really.  It just seemed so right not to use it.  And its just one of those songs we’ve been playing from the start.

RU: Now this is a very serious question. Have you ever gotten sick from eating too much funk?

KW: Oh god no! I've gotten the tiniest bit bloated, but never sick.

RU: Marvelous.  Is there an inspiration or story behind “Super Hot” or do you just see this scenario far too often at shows?

KW: No. That’s 100% true.  It was in Anchorage Alaska. They have a big theater, a big arena and then they have a 1000 person club type of brewery where they do shows on Thursday nights.  On Fridays and Saturdays they sell it out for showing movies. They show these movies and sell beer and it’s a party.  But on Thursday nights they’ll have bands. And the stage was just lined with super hot young girls, each of them with their own insecure dude standing behind them. People always ask me, “Why do you play with your eyes closed?” And I just kind of put it all together after that one night just walking from the van to the hotel room.  That chorus just popped into my head and we were all singing it by the time we got off the elevator.

RU: Well thank you for taking the time to answer some questions at this ungodly hour.

KW: No, no...not ungodly at all. Everything’s beautiful.

1. The Sun & Moon's Vagenda

2. 2bu

3. Hey Ho Jorge

4. I Am Elvis

5. Hollywood Freaks

6. Thinking Out Loud

7. High

8. Buena

9. Super Hot

10. Hobo Jungle

11. Positive