Over ther past few years, Keller Williams has fostered a reputation as one of the most talented, energetic, and dynamic solo acts in this or any scene. It is not every day that someone can witness a performer who has the personality, creativity, and even impecable juggling skills that Keller does. After a one-hour set at the Berkshire Mountain Music Festival, this reviewer was hooked beyond belief.

I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Keller Williams at the Khyber Pass in Philadelphia. Here is what he tells the world; from what he grooves to and how he loops, and the glue the binds it all together.

(Hi, Lou!)

ELG: Recently, you have been working with The String Cheese Incident; performing with them and whatnot. How did this come about?

KW: In '95, I saw them perform in a basement somewhere in Telluride, right after one of those Bluegrass festivals. I was a fan, and saw them a few times before actually getting to know them. They needed an easy opener, so I went on tour with them a few times doing opening acts. And then, we wound up doing a record together. (Breathe, 1999).

ELG: What was it like to record Breathe?

KW: It was a dream, really. Everyone told me that we weren't going to get it done in time. We had a lot of time (laughs) - ten days. But we did get it done. I sent them tapes of songs that I wanted, and they listened to them. They didn't really learn them, they just listened to them; and we went in and recorded it and it was done.

ELG: It has been said that Michael Hedges has been a tremendous influence on you...

KW: Oh yes. When I first heard his music, I was in college in 1988. And his music was so amazing, I just could not believe what I was hearing. The first time I saw him, I was in awe. I got all his records, started collecting some bootlegs - and that was hard because he was not very pro-taping. He was just such a tremendous influence. He gave me inspiration to pursue the solo thing. I was playing before I'd heard of him, but he definitely changed my perspective of the genre of solo entertainment.

ELG: You must have some sort of knowledge by now that the 'jamband scene' is catching on to you. Are you aware of your growing support?

KW: Kinda. I'm aware that the attendance has been slowly getting larger. Slowly, not by any massive amounts or anything. But the one thing I have noticed is that for the first 25 minutes of the set people get quiet. I've played in a number of talkative bars, and I've noticed that people have been quiet and listening. So I'm really getting into that.

ELG: I'm quite curious as to how the song "Kidney in a Cooler" came about.

KW: That's a true story! This happened exactly the way it happened in the song. It was right before Summer Sessions started, and we had the day off. We were traveling on Interstate-80, I think, which goes right through Wyoming. And if you ever go through Wyoming, you'll see the big billboards for Little America. And it's a big truckstop. There's one in Wyoming, one in Cheyenne, and one in Flagstaff. And all of them have 24-hour road services, usually for truckers. And we had a break in the schedule and we also had a sufficient coolant leak. We definitely needed to fix it because it was summertime, and we couldn't have this all leaking, it's super toxic. So we couldn't really go and wait at a garage somewhere, and we had this guy fix it, at the 24-hour truck stop. He took his time, and 27 hours later, we rolled out of there. Two days later on the way down, we broke down, and got towed to a town called Perry. It was in Oklahoma, just like the song says. And this woman, a volunteer, was delivering a kidney to Oklahoma City, and she was broken down. I could just imagine those surgeons, waiting for her, waiting for this kidney. They told us they couldn't help us out, because they had to help out this woman. So we were there for a couple of days. We missed the Dallas show, and the first show of Summer Sessions because of this. (laughs) I've always wanted a tourbus. A big old thing, that you can hit golfballs off the roof. Something like that. It's pretty much a true story.

ELG: I think you've probably figured out by now that "Boob Job" gets a big rise out of people at your shows. Is David Wilcox (author of said song) another big influence on you?

KW: He's not as big as other folks, but yes. I went to see him on a whim at Steamboat, Colorado. I bought that album that he was promoting - East Asheville Hardware - and I think that's a great album. It's a super, super record, and it's a great representation of his live show.

ELG: Do you plan on publishing a book of your tunes with correct tablature? Some of the more uncoordinated folks probably would dig on the delusion that they can play even a quarter as good as you do...

KW: No, I don't plan on publishing a book, but somewhere down the road, someone may be able to just tab it out. All the stuff I play is pretty basic as far as the left-hand goes, as far as chords go, except for a few variations on chords. Anyone can pretty much find them if they just take the time and search it out on the neck. But, I think most of my music comes from my right hand. It's working around the chord. That's why it may seem a little difficult. But the chords are pretty simplistic.

ELG: Can you tell me a little bit about the looping gear? For instance, what is the actual machinery involved, and of course, how does it work?

KW: It's called a Jam Man by Lexicon. It's an old unit that they don't make anymore. I think it is a kind of digital chip. It's kind of like a delay unit. All I know about it is that I step on the button and I lay something down, or sing a sound, and then then I step on the button again and what I just played is continuously looped. Then I step on the same button to layer something on top of it. And the other button clears it, totally stops it. It's hard to explain but really easy to use.

ELG: Is there a way you can explain how you go about composing the looping arrangements?

KW: Well, I pretty much do it to enhance the tunes. The main reason I do it is because it is fun. I've been playing solo for so many years. With one vocal and one guitar, you can really either play a certain market - like background music - or you can play in the folk world. Or you can be a Hedges type of guy. But what I'm really doing is acting on the dance vibe. You can only sample for 32 seconds, but I only need about between 4 and 6 seconds, and then I can layer on top of that. So I'm basically acting on that dance vibe...(laughs)...what's the question again?

ELG: Have you considered trying to put together an acoustic backing group as an experiment? Maybe for one tour, or for a small run of shows?

KW: Oh yeah. I've thought about it all the time, about trying to advance it to the next level; seeing where we can go with it with a band. I always thought it would be really cool. I'm having a great time just doing the solo thing, instead of having a big crew of sorts. I thought, though, if I did it, I'd do it with a bass player and a drummer who are already established. So people would come to the show to hear the bass player and drummer without really hearing of me. The few people who know who I am would come to the show, but the rest would come to see that established rhythm section and some dude. That's what I always thought it would be like. But as of right now, I don't have any set plans on that. I'm loving the solo thing. When the Jam Man breaks, I'll have to hire some musicians. (laughs).

ELG: The next time you make a studio album, how will the looping techniques affect your approach?

KW: I don't think the looping will be used in the studio. I do have a new record coming out, called Loop, and it will be out in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm the only musician on the record, and it's my fifth record but the first time where it's just me. It will be the best representation of my shows in the past year. As far as the studio goes, I can do the same type of thing as the looping through tracking. You know, just play the whole song on the bass. Play the whole song on the drums. Whereas in looping, you can play four measures, hit the button, and it will play continuously. In the studio, you can take time, and it won't be as monotonous. I'd really like to do a record with me playing all the tracks. That's what this live record is, but it's all looped. It's the same four seconds over and over again for three minutes. It'll be a different vibe.

ELG: What are your touring plans for the future?

KW: I'll probably be doing my normal loop around the United States. It's all about the timing. In the future, I want to play in Europe. I know there's a strong market in Japan that I want to see. I want to do a train tour. Go to one country, play for a night, then maybe be a tourist for a day, then hop on a train and go to the next country.

ELG: Anything you'd like to tell the world?

KW: (long silence.) Come and see me!