Set 7 | Billy Law
It's Sunday afternoon, and I’m riding my bike down Ross toward East Bound and Down to catch the last hour and a half of Will’s brunch set. Though East Bound and Down is still in a stage of relative infancy, opening in May of last year, it is hosting live music every day of the week. As of late, it seems that many of the new restaurants and bars opening up in Dallas have been trying to incorporate live music into their repertoire, which is great news for musicians, especially singer-songwriters. The high availability of paying gigs in Dallas lends to a more cooperative music community one in which musicians aren’t squashing one another in fierce competition to land shows. “That’s how the music scene works – you know someone who knows someone who knows someone and you just keep pulling each other up until you're on top of something.” That supportive, collaborative mindset is one Will heavily promotes and plans to use as a framework for the open mic “Crowd Control” that he will be hosting at Mudsmith beginning July 27th. Will has always been enamored with the song writing process, and loves the idea of making writing and collaboration the primary focus of the open mic, finding ways to improve and bounce ideas off of other artists.
“I think it’s interesting what music is, it’s so scientific and so artistic at the same time. It’s blending both.” Music is a way of communicating with sound, an implicit communication in rhythm like eye contact. There is something happening beneath the surface, things we might not necessarily be aware of but that are always there. Music finds a way of traversing into that realm and bringing it above ground. Over time, it seems that the truly talented musicians tend to tap into that innate rhythm, style, and sound and cultivate it, making it something of their own. Experimenting with song writing is something Will is very interested in and used as impetus for his upcoming concept album, Alone Somewhere. “I could never see myself releasing something that’s not a concept album because that’s just the way my brain works. It was frustrating because I don’t think I picked all my best songs, but I think I fit the theme well... as you live life, you write about your life in some way, shape, form or another, whether it’s true or not.” Alone Somewhere takes on that personal quality and is separated by the cities they were written in. Will and I discuss how a city can shape the sound of music and influence the creative mindset, especially the structure of a city and the ability or inability to get from one place to another. All of these factors play into building community as well. Accessibility is key.
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