theaussieword.com meets new boy to Melbourne David Williams for a chat about his new material. What had you first interested in music? I think my parents have both been huge influences on me, particularly for Danvers. I would soak up so much as a kid, driving around with Mum, I’d listen to all the mixed tapes she had made for herself. She’d listen to Tom Waits, Led Zeppelin and Joni Mitchell whereas my Dad introduced me to The Beatles, who have always been a big influence on the way I think about music. I’m pretty sure my musical interests had their beginning with my parents for sure.
Who motivates or influences your quest to make great music? I guess just the artists I find particularly inspiring influence me to make music. Tom Waits, Thom Yorke, Neil Young, Cass McCombs – everytime I listen to artists like these I get pretty excited about all the possibilities within music.
Do you have any planned tours coming up? Not just yet. I’ve played my first show as a Melbourne resident with local wunderkind Hayden Calnin which was fantastic. Right now I’m focussing on playing some more shows around Melbourne then I can begin planning on bigger ventures.
What are some of your biggest goals you hope to accomplish as an artist? To reach a goal where you can create music that is both self-sustaining and consistently sought after. At the end of the day, if I could build a dedicated enough interest in music I create, enough to enable me to focus all my energy on it without distraction – that’s probably the biggest hurdle and easily the goal I strive for.
What can fans expect from you in the coming months? I’m going to continue releasing self-produced tracks. I’ve one at the last stages of completion and many more to come. I’m enjoying working and improving the manner in which I do this. I’m also putting a band together so I’m working towards bigger and more varied live sets to come.
Success, what is the secret to it and what has been your biggest career highlight so far? Sweet jesus, I have no idea what the secret of success was. Biggest career highlight? Well, Danvers, being a bit of a fledgling project I’m yet to collect too big a tally of highlights there. In my other band Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! we supported St Vincent in Melbourne, that was pretty great. I’ve made some pretty good curries too, and that’s always a big thing for me.
Which stars of the music industry do you find inspiring? Well, as I mentioned, Tom Waits is a big inspiration. I feel like he’s always steered a very individual path in the music industry whilst maintaining a sense of integrity and, at times, privacy which I really respect.
How would you best describe you and your music to your fans? I dunno. Moody probably. I like music that extends a certain mood. If it can have an emotional impact then I feel music can be a supremely powerful medium. If I can do this, then I’ll consider any work I create a success.
What can you tell us about your latest album? Well, currently it’s a work in progress. Its my first real foray into self recording. It’s a slow but rewarding process let me tell you!
Are there any new exciting projects in the works? Well, Danvers and Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! are keeping me pretty bloody busy, but a few other members of F!SR,F! and myself are working on yet another project, but that’s a bit hush hush if you know what I mean.
The music industry is huge, where do you see yourself a few years from now? Well, if I’m not eating out of a trash-can it’ll be a real plus.
Name a few of your favourite Aussie artists. Dappled Cities are probably my favourite Australian band. F!SR,F! had the privilege to tour with them a few years back and I’ve had a bit of a crush on their entire set-up ever since. My show with Hayden Calnin also informed me to how talented he is too, so he’s definitely a new kid on the block for me.
The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what does it mean to you in getting your records out into the public eye? I’d be lying if I felt I truly understood the music industry. I’m not suggesting I would have understood it 20 years ago but I know I don’t understand it now. I’m not a big fan of computers, and whilst I like social media its always a little confusing for me. In the end all I can do is focus on what I’m creating, I’ll muddle through the rest as best I can.
Thank you for the interview! What can you leave fans of theaussieword.com with here today? Thanks very much for having me, I really enjoyed the interview. Come to one of my shows sometime? I’m a big fan of discussing musty old subjects like WW2, jazz music circa 1930s and other boring stuff no one younger than 40 should know.