KELLER WILLIAMS Looping devices bring fuller sound

Williams is the opening act for the Dave Matthews Band.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Originally, Keller Williams used music as a means to see the bands he loved, purchase compact discs, travel and enjoy life. With a management, booking and publicity agency behind him, those aspirations led to making music a career.
Encouraged by his business team, the solo troubadour crisscrossed the country for several years playing wherever and whenever he could with his wife in tow selling goods at the merchandise table.
"We lived by this motto, 'There's no money in it, but it's great exposure.' It became a mantra," Williams said during a phone interview from a Portland airport.
His unending series of headlining and support gigs led to spots performing at music festivals, opening for popular jam band the String Cheese Incident and being part of the multiband touring bills Summer Sessions and So Many Roads.
That last tour enabled him to perform with RatDog's Bob Weir, who happens to be a former member of Williams' favorite act, the Grateful Dead.
Though he's been playing the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas for some time, it will be an onslaught of Williams in the next two weeks when he appears five times as an opening act for the Dave Matthews Band, part of the Gratefulfest and on the bill for Acoustic Planet Tour.
Second album
So, it's no surprise that someone who thrives onstage would release a live album. His second concert document, "Stage," comes out Tuesday. The two-disc set is made up of one set from a West Coast show and another from the east. Though the venues are different -- sit-down theater vs. general admission -- Williams follows the radio dial in his head and mixes originals, instrumentals and covers.
"I've always tried to keep the stage and studio as two separate things. "Stage" represents what I'm all about; the performance aspect of it shows."
Close your eyes while listening to the live release or attending one of his shows and you'd swear that there's a band performing. Open them, and you'll see him bringing together technology, musicianship and his own lively imagination.
Tired of being a solo act, Williams latched on to looping devices in order to create a fuller sound using a setup of guitars, keyboard and percussion.
"I've always tried to keep the loop thing in perspective, and focus the show around singing and playing. The looping spices up the jams, but there are some songs where I build the song and put everything on top of it and that's the whole song."
Established among jam band fans as a witty and energetic entertainer, Williams endears himself to crowds by constantly changing up setlists and the manner of a song's performance to please himself and as a nod toward his own days watching bands in front of the stage.
"I've been to so many shows that I try to put myself in place of the audience. I try not to take myself seriously. I'm just a huge music lover. My CD collection grows daily. It just gets boring playing all my own songs sometimes, so I really enjoy playing covers. I'm not trying to make a statement for politics or art. I just do what I love, which is playing music."
Gratefulfest
He's found good use for his growing compact disc collection by playing an eclectic set of tunes on the syndicated radio show, "Keller's Cellar."
Naturally, for someone who is so appreciative and exuberant about his line of work, he'd find something to be grateful for as a participant at the fifth annual Gratefulfest at Nelson Ledge Quarry Park.
"I'm grateful for being able to live a dream, being able to play a superbeautiful venue. And I've heard only wonderful things about this festival site. I'm excited about it."