When Wade Williamson takes the stage at Cafe Acoustic Saturday, he’ll get by with a little help from his friends.
The singer/songwriter will be joined on stage by former Crash of ‘29 bandmate Corey Riley. Oh, and any other friends who drop in.
“Friends come and go when they can,” Williamson says.
That laid-back, go-with-the-flow attitude means that audiences most likely will be treated to something different every time they see Williamson perform.
“Corey and I will get together maybe an hour before the show,” Williamson says, “and then we’ll just go wing it.”
And “winging it” doesn’t mean that the musician who describes himself as an artist, singer and family man doesn’t take his music seriously. He does.
Corey Riley describes Williamson’s music as a laid-back, folk-country type of music, heavier on the folk than the country.
“The songs play out in a storyboard fashion,” Riley says.
Williamson got his first guitar around age 13 but really didn’t take music too seriously until he got older (19 or 20, he says). His musical influences range from Ryan Adams (“His songs and his musical style just speak to me.”) to Joe Cocker, The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis.
“I’m always on the hunt for new sounds,” he says.
When music became a serious attraction, Williamson joined the Crash of ‘29. When that group parted, he went solo.
Riley plays “a little guitar,” accordion, piano and percussion when he joins Williamson on stage. Although Riley also writes his own songs, it’s Williamson’s compositions the musicians play.
And speaking of those tunes, Williamson’s approach to songwriting is as laid back as his approach to performing.
“The best songs are the ones that come out of nowhere and take about five minutes,” he says.
And perhaps the best performers are those who just want to have fun with the music and who make music with a little help from their friends.
MAKING MUSIC
Who: Wade Williamson (with Corey Riley and any other friends who show up)
When: 9 p.m. Saturday, March 22
Where: Cafe Acoustic, 2605 Frederick Ave.
Info: 671-1141 or Cafe-Acoustic.com
Lifestyles reporter Cathy Woolridge can be reached at cathyw@npgco.com
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them.
Rules: We don't allow comments that degrade others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability. Epithets, abusive language and obscene comments will not be tolerated... nor will defamation. Brief quotes are okay as long as the source is given. Blatent cutting and pasting is not acceptable.Robust, even heated debate we like. Straying off-topic or flaming, we don't. Please read our user agreement.
Requires free stjoenews.net registration.