Williams plays what’s fun and funky

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Keller Williams has been a Dead Head. He’s been a member of the KISS army…. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Keller Williams has been a Dead Head. He’s been a member of the KISS army. He’s been a skateboarding punk. He’s even been a black-eyeliner-loving sucker for The Smiths. But if you listen to his music nowadays, it’s his first love that shines through the most: the hillbilly bluegrass twang of ‘Hee Haw.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Yep, that ‘Hee Haw,’ the Southern culture-celebrating variety TV show of the 1970s. ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s weird how life comes full circle like that. ‘ ‘ ‘ But for Williams, the virtuoso guitarist who has been dominating the jam band scene for over a decade, music is anything but genre-segregated. It’s just plain fun. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I never wanted to take music too seriously, so I always made it kind of a joke,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to go to bars and hear someone cry about problems. I can totally relate to people who write those songs. I get that, but I don’t want to hear it. I play what would keep my interest if I was in the audience.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Williams’ often sold-out audiences, then, must be filled with kindred spirits. Since the 1994 release of Freek, his first of more than a dozen single-word titled albums,’ the cult of Keller has steadily grown. And like many a cult, Williams’ is based on hypnosis ‘mdash; his funky, rhythmic guitar playing, unlike a melodic lead player, creates grooves deeper than the Grand Canyon, over which his bouncy, playful vocals dance and toy with light-hearted lyrics. ‘ ‘ ‘ And that’s just his solo show. ‘ ‘ ‘ Now, with a backing trio of drummer Jeff Sipe (ex-Trey Anastasio touring member), guitarist Gibb Droll (who’s worked with Brandi Carlile) and bassist Keith Mosely (of the celebrated, now defunct String Cheese Incident), Keller’s circus of a live show has four times the power ‘mdash; a storm that’ll blow through Pittsburgh’s Mr. Smalls tomorrow night. ‘ ‘ ‘ But even the best guitarists ‘mdash; and Williams insists that he is not one of these ‘mdash; have to start somewhere. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I was sitting on a stool with a coat and tie in a country club. I made $175 for two hours. I thought I’d be a millionaire,’ said Williams of his first gig at 16. ‘I’d worked at TCBY and these temporary labor jobs. I mean, $175 would’ve been 10 hours of scraping mortar out of cracks at a construction job.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ He pauses. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Ten years later, I’d be making 30 bucks and a free dinner at a real venue … if I was lucky.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Making it in the music world can certainly be a long, hard road, and it would be years before Williams could even afford to take a live band on the road. Luckily, though, it was his solo show that eventually got people weak in the knees. ‘ ‘ ‘ Onstage by himself, Williams loops his guitar ‘mdash; meaning he actually records his playing live, then plays it back and plays layers on top, creating a rhythmic collage of masterful guitar work. With a band, though, Williams can play more expansively, with more freedom to relax. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Solo, I can play what I want when I want. But playing guitar solo makes the crowd move less than when drums are involved. With drums and bass, there’s constant movement ‘mdash; that’s a real plus for me,’ said Williams. ‘The collaborations and the places we can go are way farther than where I can go by myself. Still, playing solo makes me want to play with the band, and playing with the band makes me want to play solo.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s an interesting schism with Williams, as each type of show varies so wildly. Onstage with Mosely, Droll and Sipe, Williams takes advantage of the chance for anonymity, often fading to the back of the stage, allowing his bandmates to shine. Alone onstage with a microphone and a guitar, this simply isn’t an option. ‘ ‘ ‘ But the former theater major tends to get stir crazy quickly, and the musical options he affords himself keep him going. Well, more accurately, that and his kids keep him going. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘When I come home, I’m off-duty. I’m devoted to playing with my kids. My 5-year-old daughter doesn’t stop talking ‘mdash; she’s on a creative page. And my 5-month-old boy, I just look at him and smile. He’s this little, fat, chunky brick of a baby ‘mdash; how could you not?’ asked Williams. ‘ ‘ ‘ With his entire family coming on tour with him this fall (Williams promises he’ll be stopping at the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum this weekend), he’s never been in a better place. But with a mentality as positive as his, even scraping sidewalk mortar isn’t that bad. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I always to focus on the positive ‘mdash; even if that means only getting my news from ‘The Daily Show,” he said. ‘I know there are things we need to do to make the world better, but I’m not going to preach. That ground is covered. I just want to make people feel good.’