The Williams boy

The Williamsboy is a singer-songwriter, whose live performances and gritty original Rock-N-Roll are reminiscent of artists such as Wilco, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. Equally at home playing ramshackle folk, bar-room-blues, modern rock and alt-country; The Williamsboy’s sound is timeless.
He plays guitar like Steve Earle, harmonica like Sonny Boy Williamson, and has a voice compared to Tom Waits. Music lives in his heart and seeps from his pores. The sincerity in his voice and the truth in his music prove it. The Williamsboy speaks his own language.
- Paul Mansfield -Chicago SunStar

"Matt's rythm is engaging and his lyrics come from an honest start, brought to life through the perspective of a man caught in the middle of looking back down a well worn path while at the same time almost vicariously carrying with him lessons for his future."

- Spencer Richardson ·CEO | Co-Founder, FanBridge

For The Music Only is a non-profit music venue in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The stage is built in a private home. It’s cozy, the acoustics incredible, and they only bring in talented bands with a whole lot of soul.

This past Sunday they had a show headlined by Alejandro Escovedo, and he was great… But more on him tomorrow.

The opening act for Escovedo was Matt Williams, AKA Williamsboy. He played a three song acoustic opening set unaccompanied, and it was superb.I have never written a dedicated post to an opening act, let alone one that played three songs, but the guy is that good. He sounds like Bruce Springsteen with a flair that is distinctly his own; a good Jersey rocker.

Williamsboy has four songs available for free download on his website, with a full-length album in the works. The recordings are damn good, and I can’t stop listening to them. I’m particularly fond of Analog & Roads.



- By David Spira

Ramshackle folk in Pit
Jessica Humphrey
Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Features
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Media Credit: Calista Condo

http://media.www.thewhitonline.com/media/storage/paper291/news/2007/10/04/Features/Ramshackle.Folk.In.Pit-3012694.shtml

Half notes and quarter notes filled the cozy confines of the Mark M. Chamberlain Student Center Pit as the Williamsboy Band entertained an intimate 30-person crowd with their "timeless sound of ramshackle folk, bar-room-blues, modern rock, alt-country, and funk," .

The Williamsboy Band, , introduced Rowan University students to a new and interesting sound on Oct. 2 at the Turned Up Tuesday event sponsored by the Student University Programmers.

Students were no strangers to the sultry themes featured in the songs, which featured subject matter such as relationships, stress, being yourself, and an overall ability to have a good time.

Among the original songs performed were "Turn Up The Volume," "Coming Home," "Slow Motion," "I As Me," "Yo Momma," "Miss Karma Sutra," and "Bad Muthaf*cker," in addition to many others. It was a very small portion of the unique content written by Williams.

"I get a feeling and I go with it". "it's therapy," explained Williams.
In the course of five months spanning from January 2006 to May 2006, Williams wrote over 200 songs.

"For a while I was averaging six songs a month," said Williams.

In the midst of an abundance of songs and sincere voice, the Williamsboy Band has performed in venues such as Doc Watson, Bitter End, B.B. Kings, and The House of Blues.

The House of Blues performance seemed to be fresh on their mind. "We played at The House of Blues last Friday," said Williams, who went on to explain how a 7-year-old was in the audience at 1 a.m. listening to a song entitled, "Bad Muthaf*cker." "… I was like earmuffs - earmuffs for the whole song," said Williams, laughing.

With small anecdotes between songs, such as "a wasted weekend isn't a wasted weekend," and amusing lyrics, such as, "I hate MTV and my landlord caught me with his landlady …," The Williamsboy Band still elicited laughter from the small crowd.

While the crowd was petite, the overall reaction from the audience was rife with applause, occasional cheers, and even a few dancers in the back to make the night a success.

After the evening's entertainment, the band expressed how thankful they were for the turnout.

- The Whit Online

’The Williamsboy’
This prolific singer-songwriter turns tragedy into folk-rock gold


By LORENDA KNISEL
Staff Writer

EGG HARBOR CITY – "Tell yo’ momma the Williamsboy is coming to town!" sings folk-rock singer-songwriter Billy Williams, with a ferocity rumbling up through the depths of his soul.

With guitar in hand and harmonica strapped around his neck Bob Dylan-style, the 28-year-old city resident who grew up along the back bays of Absecon is taking the music world by storm with his brutally emotional live performances up and down the Jersey coast, Philadelphia and New York City.


A natural storyteller, Williams, who goes by the stage name "The Williamsboy," weaves his tales, sometimes raunchy and sometimes sweet, often blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, the truths of his life and those of others.

"Everything I write is truth for me," he said. "Even if it’s a story."

"I’m like a movie star in different roles. I’m the writer, director and actor in these movies that happen to just be on audio. I have multiple personalities; there’s crazy; there’s emotional; there’s strong … there’s the down-and-out; there’s the lover, the sexaholic and the sleepless drifter. Scrum all those together, and that’s me."

His working-class roots have taught him to be one of the hardest-working musicians in the business He has performed his breed of folk music -- fusing the styles of funk, blues, alternative country and reggae -- at more than 100 venues over the past year.

"I will play any time, any place, anywhere," the artist said. "It’s not about anything other than playing. The only time I feel normal is when I’m playing."

Williams’ life has been fraught with drama – which has incited his writing of over 200 songs. From growing up on welfare to his house burning down when he was a teenager living in Philadelphia, PA to his mother acquiring multiple systems atrophy, he has dealt with a lot to fuel his creativity.

"The pain of my mother’s situation fuels the fire," he said. "And I don’t want that fire to go out. … I play because I can’t afford the co-pay for a psychiatrist. It’s therapy."


It may seem unusual for a folksinger to be so cutting edge. But, like Dylan, who was booed off the stage in 1965 for plugging into an amplifier, Williams knows folk singers, with their acoustic guitars, can still push the envelope and embrace new technology.

To hear songs off the Williamsboy’s EP or for information, log on to www. myspace. com/williamsboy77,and listen to his raw recordings – some with his dog barking in the background.

The Williamsboy may be contacted at mjwilliams78@msn.com.

To comment on this story, e-mail Lorenda.Knisel@catamaranmedia.com. - By LORENDA KNISEL

Williamsboy offers musical simplicity
Singer-songwriter Matthew Williams, along with percussionist Charles Kline, set a relaxing vibe at Milkboy Coffee last Friday
Matilda Swartz
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Entertainment


Performances at Milkboy Coffee are usually hit or miss. There are those performers who seem to be trying too hard and others are not trying enough. Certain performers have the singing chops, but their lyrics may be recycled. Sometimes the strumming is prime, but the voice seemingly strains to creep up into upper octaves.

Occasionally, though, the bed is just big enough and the bowl of porridge is just the right temperature. Friday night was one of those times.

The credit goes to Matthew Williams, a Maine-native quadruple-threat: singer, songwriter, guitar player and harmonicist.

Known to play sometimes solo (under the alias Williamsboy) and other times supported by the Williamsboy Band, Friday night he found a happy medium with himself and percussionist Charles Kline at his right.

Looking all forms of a Main Line Dylan or a more youthful Springsteen with the harmonica lying contently in a neck brace, Williams was there for the sole purpose of playing.

The 30-year-old Williams has been performing professionally for over 15 years, showcasing in easily recognizable venues such as the Trocadero, World Café Live and the House of Blues.

With gigs like that under his guitar strap, it is nice to know that he still makes time for free-admission shows in little ol' suburbs of Philadelphia.

Unlike other Milkboy performers before him who, either due to a degree of stage neurosis or overconfident charisma, go on five minute rants about life and various audience members between songs, Williams limited his speaking to the announcement of song titles.

The night was filled mostly with songs off of his first album "Roads," released last spring on Dirt Floor Records.

Let it be known that the song titles, being no more than two words, never gave away too much. The songs told the story you wanted to hear.

Sitting in Milkboy's always-comfortable velvet furniture, it was easy to lose yourself in Williams' gritty vocals and lines from handwritten ballads like "Troubles," "Roads," "Hold On" and "Stay."

His words and his phrasing are minimalistic; Williams is privy to the fact that sometimes all it takes to trigger a crowd response is a chorus hook consisting of "Stay, stay a little bit longer" and a nice riff to back it up.

A hat must go off to the accompanying Kline, who alternated playing various little percussion instruments and banging on a box drum.

Despite the obvious fact that there were only two men up on the platform, anyone not present in the room could have been fooled by the fullness of sound.

Between Williamsboy's set list and the setting provided by Milkboy, the night was nothing short of smooth. Williams is a simple guy who writes simple songs and simply wants to play his guitar.

In not only a music world, but a real world full of hang-ups and exaggerated woes, it is never short of refreshing when a voice comes along who can say the 30 words you were thinking in only five. - The Villanovan

Nine-To-Five Rock And Roll—Working Class Americana From Williamsboy-by John Pfeiffer

A unique and rising writer, the Williamsboy has been touring the East Coast for over a year, and has been gathering fans from all walks of life. This working class nine-to-fiver has a sound that captures the hard working American life. Pay check to pay check, ups and downs, and the simple little pleasures in life, which everyone can relate to. - The Aquarian online