Quick Q and A with Randall Williams
 by Kathy S-B  ·  26 February 2008

Randall Williams is one of the performers who will be touring as part of the Falcon Ridge preview tour this spring. Randall was chosen as one of the “Most Wanted” artists at last summer’s festival. He’ll also be opening for The Refugees at the me&thee on April 18. This promises to be a killer show!

Your new CD “Praying for Land” includes a song called “Spirit of Amelia.” What prompted you to write this song and make the connection between Amelia Earhart and the aspirations of all humankind?

“Spirit of Amelia” was one of those songs that simmered for a long time before it boiled. As a kid, I was fascinated by Amelia and the story of her last flight. Then, a few years ago, I saw an amazing documentary that brought me to tears. Her bravery and the raw hopelessness of those final moments was what did me in — the growing realization that landfall may never come, the teary knowing glance over at her navigator Fred Noonan, then that last climb into the clouds as the movie faded to black — it killed me.

A few years ago, I sold all my things and moved into a tiny little sailboat that I bought for $800 in Stockholm and I set off for Africa. It was pretty fatalistic — I didn’t know how to sail, and when I practiced MAYDAY calls for my radio certification, it was chilling.

One grey afternoon sitting in that boat, I was thinking about her flight and wondering about those final moments. The first lines I wrote actually got dropped from the song:

Did she hold tight to her St. Christopher /and ask that Noonan pray with her / as she took the plane up one last time?

As a budding navigator myself, I realized that she must have fought with all she had to find those two square miles of land out in the middle of the Pacific. Online, I found a transcript of her last recorded transmissions. Sure enough, she was flying search patterns as the fuel ran out.

We’re all fascinated by this stuff — that’s why reality TV is so popular now. Some primordial part of all of us yearns for the adventure, yet most of us also want a warm bed at night and the safety of home. It’s a fascinating contradiction to explore, and that’s why the new album is called Praying for Land. Amelia has a little cameo in the title track, too.

Your song “I Will Come for You” is a tearjerker. I understand that it’s a true story and you actually met one of the characters in the song. Is that right?

“I Will Come for You” is indeed true, and yes, I met the daughter of the American GI in the story on one of my trips through Belgium a few years ago. It was an amazing story, and the song practically wrote itself.

After rehearsing like a madman, I played it a week later at a show in Namur (Belgium.) She and her husband were in the front row videotaping to send the song to her father. I haven’t been in touch with them since.

They have no idea the impact the song is having on people. I’ve had phone calls from strangers who have pulled their cars over to listen, people who come to me after gigs to tell me how they met their parents for the first time as adults, and there’s even a high-profile public speaker who now shares the song with his audiences.  [Download the song here, for free.]

Partial capos are a big part of your life. To the layperson, please explain to us what a partial capo is and how and why it’s used.

Ha. Yes, indeed. A capo is a clamp that goes on the neck of a guitar in order to temporarily shorten the strings. It’s essentially an easy way to change key.

A partial capo covers just some strings. Imagine a partial capo in the middle of the neck — you’ll have some strings that are long and some that are short. This combination creates unique and yummy new sounds. The comparison is like the difference between John Denver and Dave Matthews, or think of extreme skateboarding now versus the mellow surf style of the seventies.

People are always pushing the envelope to do new things. In the next decade, partial capos are going to be even more common than the bottleneck slide. Plus, it opens up the guitar for newbies. I’ve just finished filming a new DVD that teaches beginners how to play five songs in 20 minutes using a Short-Cut Capo.

Related YouTube Video >

You teach a lot of musicians and aspiring musicians how to play guitar and how to use capos. You’ve said that you love teaching because music can change lives. Do you have any inspiring teaching tales to share?

As a kid, I had a pretty rough time. About the time I picked up the guitar, most of my friends were hitting drugs pretty hard. Three of the kids I ran with during that time died later — a suicide, a one-car accident, a drug overdose. Music gave me an outlet — I’m pretty sure it saved my life.

One of the things about the partial capo is that it can also make guitar playing really simple. I’ve seen many people begin the creative journey all because they found a path in through the guitar, and I’ve had lots of student success stories.

One 16-year old student of mine took off for Nashville the next year, where he’s still playing professionally, and I occasionally get good feedback from students whom I taught 15 years ago. Teaching is great. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop.

Your Randall-mobile is quite the vehicle. I’ve had the pleasure of getting the ten-cent tour. Did you ever in your wildest dreams ever expect to be spending so much time on the road and living in and out of a van?

Hmmm. Life on the road has been a constant for me since I first began traveling in 1992. I didn’t know then that I would end up living in a van, but looking back it makes sense. At first, the idea was merging form and content in my life — as in, I’m a traveler, therefore I travel. Make home into something that moves.

A few years ago, I was hitchhiking through the South of France when I was taken in by a group of gypsies. It was a magic time, and I was fascinated by all their live-in van setups. I must have toured a dozen vans while I was with them. At the time, I still lived in my boat, although I was just about to sell it and move back to the States to do music full-time.

It’s not a permanent solution — there are so many things that I want to do, including having a house someplace. That’s the oxymoron — I’m really a homebody. Having the same bed to sleep in most nights (even if it’s on wheels) is really comforting.

You’ve traveled all over the world and have immersed yourself in a variety of different cultures. Do you find that people the world over react to the arts in much the same way? Is there as much reverence for the arts here as there is Japan or Europe? Or are Americans riding a slippery slope in not funding the arts and art education as much as other countries do?

My experience in this area is pretty much anecdotal, but I’d say your slippery slope theory is right. For example, I went to a national-class conservatory in Belgium for less than $200 per year, all inclusive. That’s a masters degree for about $600.

The rest of Europe is the same way — even little cultural organizations in tiny villages always have something going on. Ditto for Japan — every first world country I’ve ever been to.

It’s hard to quantify the consequences of not funding the arts, but cultural literacy suffers. That and the US-centric education we get here in the States. It definitely affects our ability to be decent global citizens.