Jeff Williams of GogoPilot at The Evening Muse - Jan 10th 2009
In keeping with friends & family tradition, gogoPilot frontman Jeff Williams has selected the Evening Muse as the venue to hold an intimate gathering & performance in celebration of the release of the bands third CD recording. The latest reflection of Jeff’s musical state of mind at this point in time will be revealed at 8PM on the 27th of Nov.
“The further it goes; the farther it is”
Six years ago Jeff Williams and Chris Ravenscroft formed gogoPilot. This core duo led the band in its first recording in 2005 – a six song “maxi-EP” titled “Armageddon Lullabies”. This effort reflected a softer side of Jeff’s writing, a somewhat mello period which expanded Jeff’s music to include eclectic instruments from lap steel to cello, violin and piano. Melodic instrumentation blended with reflective songwriting concerning politics, tragedy, relationships, and the ongoing nuances of life’s journey. A point in time.
In mid-2006 gogoPilot shifted its center back to its roots. *Power-pop guitar based rock*. Like a magnet, this genre pulls at Jeff and is a comfort zone where he can experiment and bring emphasis to the joy he derives from his musical roots. With this shift, the make-up of the band changed a little but retained the core duo that got it all started. Jeff and Chris added Tom Stanfel (drums/percussions) and in 2007 Matt Mangum (bass) joined the band. The multi-talented and extended family member, Reeve Coobs, frequently joins the band on piano, percussion and vocal harmony. The result of this transition and collaboration was the 2007 release of the crticially acclaimed studio album “Manana, mon frere” (Tomorrow, my brother).
“The further it goes; the farther it is”
In April ’09 the band put out an update – “We started back in January, at Joe Kuhlmann’s studio, recording drum and bass tracks (or the “cake” as we like to call it). From there, we are taking the “cake” to Jeff’s studio (Wasteland) where we are adding the guitars, vocals, percussion, ooh’s, ahh’s, etc. (The “icing”). The plan is to finish up mixing back at Joe’s and hopefully have it out early-to-mid summer of ’09.”
In June, gogoPilot issued another update – the creative journey for this CD continued - “then it's back in the studio to finish up the record. The break has been nice... the band is playing great and we're really trying to stay on top of things so that when the record comes out we'll be ready to roll. We're running into a lot of friends and meeting some new folks. That's really kind of what it's all about! I fully expect us to finish up by the end of August and be ready to release it in September when the weather cools off, school is back in and everyone is back from vacation.”
Earlier this month the latest update was: “OK kids... the new cd is ready to drop! We hope you'll make plans to join us on Friday, November 27th for our official cd release party at the Evening Muse. We'll be playing the early show so family members and friends can come out and celebrate with us. The new songs sound great! We will be putting the final touches and mixing the record over the next few weeks and will upload a few new tracks to whet your appetite.”
The plan was laid; the tracks were recorded according to plan, and the engineering/mixing all came together at Joe Kuhlmann’s NoDa studio.
gogoPilot performing at The Evening Muse on March 22, 2008
While it seems to those of us on the outside who have been looking forward to another body of work from the mind of Jeff Williams, that this CD creation has been a very long process. Jeff shares that he thinks they have met their goals.
Knowing that something creative can’t be rushed, Jeff also admits that given no timeframe his creative juice can churn for extended periods of time tweaking, tuning, refining – resulting in “works in progress” that don’t complete. So a little self-discipline is injected – they set a date.
Keep in mind that the date of this interview is Nov 17th, the CD release and celebration has been scheduled for the 27th, and this interview is being held at Joe Kuhlmann’s studio while the final mixing is being completed! Jeff is brimming with confidence that all is well and the dates are not in jeopardy!
As for the CD artwork, Jeff smiles and says “we’re still working on that”! I can only smile back!! The cover photography is provided by Adam Paroo; glass work by Brian Pavlov; Logo by Adam Roth who also collaborated on the finished design with band members Jeff and Chris.
The songs on the CD are all originals written by Jeff Williams. There’s a mixture of older songs and newer material. When asked about any song favorites, Jeff shared an unguarded affinity to his songs akin to a mother asked which baby she loves most. “They’re all special – they are my creations”. There are 3-4 songs on the CD which Jeff considers to be "older" material which he had written some 10 years ago but had never recorded. “The passing of time has made them doable. They reflect some family tragedies and personal experiences I wasn’t ready to perform until now”. Jeff shared “That relates back to the title of the CD – the time and distance thing. Now’s the time since there’s more distance – it gets easier”.
“The further it goes; the farther it is”
Further encompasses time, while farther represents distance.
Shortly after this latest creative effort began in Jan 2009, Jeff took a serious spill while enjoying his favorite activity – skateboarding. The result was a life-threatening head injury. Suffering from a concussion and serious side-effects including loss of his taste and smell senses, Jeff pushed through. “I was personally challenged just dealing with the accident and concussion and then the weird situation of losing my sense of smell and taste. Everything just seemed weird.”
Jeff feels this recorded effort “reflects a snapshot in time – where the songs are right now. We know this can’t be rushed, so we took our time and did it right. This is our third CD release and didn’t feel we had anything that needed to be proven. We have just focused on the fun!”
In terms of a marketing approach for this CD Jeff shared “we’ll do some shows, but we have to be particular about the shows we select to reach a maximum audience. The economics associated with taking a full band on the road are such that you really have to be selective.” It’s not easy.
One thing the band will be focused on in 2010 is mixing up the venues they perform at. They’ll continue with the traditional music venues where music fans tend to spend their Friday and/or Saturday evening, but gogoPilot will also be performing at some non-traditional venues in an effort to get in front of folks who usually don’t go to Music venues but rather are having drinks with friends and associates after work or perhaps after dinner. “The goal is to identify the various local markets and build our own momentum within them.”
“The further it goes; the farther it is”
Additionally Jeff recognizes that there’s a new reality when it comes to how people listen to and acquire music today. There remains the traditional CD purchaser, but more and more fans are purley digital in their music tools. The bands use of I-Tunes and other digital download medium along with Satellite radio and other inexpensive digital medium will be seriously explorer over the coming month. Most fans will be happy as long as they can access the music in one fashion or another!
“The further it goes; the farther it is”
There are always several sides to the artists we follow and Jeff Williams is a man with complex desires and a realistically uncomplicated view of how he maintains balance in his life. He likes what he likes and pursues it with passion. He recalls a couple of years ago reflecting on his political views and convictions – “put up or shut up” is how he described his feeling at the time. So he followed his own advice and changed jobs – he went from working in a private property management practice to a socially oriented public housing property management gig. He followed this passion and continues in it today.
When you think of skateboarding you normally wouldn’t envision a 44 year old dude bouncing around the tube or pipe doing whatever they call those impressive looking acrobatics on a board with wheels! It’s something Jeff did as a kid and picked up again 20 years later with a vigor that garners him respect from the other kids at the local skatepark! Skating is Jeff’s inner sanctum. This year he took his annual getaway skate trip to the upper northwest. It’s his getaway and provides quiet time along with a period of reflection. Jeff explains “skating is not a competition – its all about you and what you individually strive to achieve”. During this trip Jeff actually met his childhood Skater hero at the Lake Cunningham 24 hour lockin skate park! Woo-Hoo!
No pre-release of the CD or music review today. Like I said, the guys were still mixing as we wrapped up the chat! When asked about any closing thoughts he’d like to share Jeff philosophically replied:
“Everybody should buy a skateboard!”
Keepin it live,
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