Behind the Lens: W.A. Williams

by Rick Landers

In a world of vibrant colors and soulful sound, it's no wonder photographer and blues belter Billy Williams (aka the Reverend Billy Rose!) picked up both a camera and a blues harp. Like many of his generation, Williams grew up with a love of music, but his rock interest fully ignited when he heard the opening riffs of "Purple Haze", notes that still resonate deep within the musician, the photographer, and the man.

Fronting The Reverend Billy Rose! and the Legendary SoulShakers!!! as lead singer and blues harp player, Williams treats his fans with a dose of rock, rhythm and blues, and more than a little bit of soul. All the while, he's been a performance photographer capturing the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, as well as the "Wham!" man, his friend of many years, the great Lonnie Mack.

By accident, coincidence, or some divine affinity, Billy found himself alongside Stevie Ray Vaughan during the '80s snapping photos of the now legendary Texas guitar hero. He later befriended SRV when the two discovered a shared belief in the spirit and inspiration of Christianity. When tragedy struck the music world in August of 1990 leaving Williams and the rest of the world without Stevie, Billy found solace in his Bible and his eclectic mix of music.

"When Stevie died, it took the wind out of my sails, it shredded them. It pulled the whole mast down and I was in the crow's nest. Then there I was, floundering in some black sea," says The Reverend Billy Rose!

Billy's life has moved in the ups and downs, yet with music and his religious convictions, he is a survivor whose generous spirit has opened many doors for himself, as well as others. Modern Guitars caught up with Billy and he offered up insights into his life, his photography, the musicians he's covered, his musicianship, and how his world blends together to allow him to live life in triple-time, as W.A. Williams, photographer and The Reverend Billy Rose!, the musician and ordained minister.

Before we roll into your other personality, how about telling us how you started as a rock photographer.

Billy Williams: In the traditional sense, I never planned on being a photographer! I was, however, planning on a career in video production, as a videographer. Of course, by definition, a videographer is a photographer. At nearly thirty-three years of age I returned to Miami University in Ohio to pursue the undergraduate degree, well after graduating from high school in 1969.

Have you gone digital or are you a hold out?

BW: First of all, I will give up film when they pry it from my cold, dead hands!

I started out using a Pentax ME Super with J.C. Penney lenses. That was my first 35mm SLR. I purchased it on Super Bowl Sunday in 1986. I was bored and decided to drive down to the local outlet. Prior to that I had every little point and shoot camera around. I always felt going 35mm would be too expensive. If I had only realized very early on in my exposure to music, concerts and witnessing some of the most amazing musical artists of my generation that the access I had to these groups and individuals would someday alter the course of my life.

Now, to answer your question. I purchased a tiny AGFA Digital Camera, an ePhoto 1680. I was curious. I was shooting an F4 and an FM II at the time. This was around 1998. The F4 had been given to me. I have never used all the bells and whistles, usually shooting in manual or aperture priority with two lenses.

Ok, now digital. I was presented a Nikon D100 this past spring. It has a Nikkor 24-85mm f 3.5-4.5. I have never cared for variable focal length lenses, but this gets the job done. There is just so much about digital that I find disagreeable. It has its place and I will use it for specific applications. But for anything critical, I will use film until it is either so outrageously expensive or simply no longer exists.

Are you able to get the same or better photos using digital?

BW: In a word, no, though for journalistic pursuits, simple documentation of events or taking advantage of a photo op or other unexpected situation worth recording for posterity, digital delivers the goods.

Do you always have a camera on you to catch unexpected situations?

BW: Honestly, I don’t, for which I have kicked myself a few times. I’m not a member of the paparazzi. I do respect the privacy of others. Every shoot I ever did and do today is legitimate and I am there by invitation. Normally, I won’t even go to a show if I’m not working. I just feel out of place.

It seems that you’ve been able to merge your love of music with photography.

BW: The business of photography makes me crazy! The art of it, the creation of it, the darkroom, all of those have been a source of true joy.

Music has been my lifeline to survival from before I can remember. I was a singer and a musician first. I started singing at around five years old. In my memory, it started with Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show. Prior to and continuing that experience, my mother always had music playing. I remember being in the second grade and another teacher coming to my classroom and asking my teacher if she could borrow me for a few minutes. It was show and tell day for the other class and one of the kids had brought in an Elvis 45 to share. I can only imagine my obsession with the King in order to have been taken from my class to enjoy the experience of hearing him sing at my grade school.

The music led directly into the birthing of W.A. Williams, photographer. I could say it was coincidence, but I vehemently oppose the use of that term! I prefer to refer to life’s delightful little surprises as divine appointments. If it weren’t for the music, there would have been no photography.

Let’s move on a bit to the other guy in your life, The Reverend Billy Rose! who fronts The Legendary SoulShakers!!!. Who is this guy and how’d you two meet?

BW: First of all, let’s get this right for your magazine. The Reverend Billy Rose! and The Legendary SoulShakers!!! is the correct name and spelling. The four exclamation points are included in the name.

SoulShakers!!! is one word with two, that's two capital S's. [Laughs] We thought very long and hard to come up with that name and the spelling. Having been a singer for most of my life, I stepped off the stage and out of the public eye when I returned to college in 1983. I stayed in school for six years earning a B.S. in mass communications in 1987 and an M.A. in educational media in 1989. I was offered a graduate assistantship the last semester of my undergraduate studies.

Okay, you asked for it.

In order to finish this question we have to go back. During the summer of '87 I was a semester away from finishing my undergraduate studies. I had finished all of my TV and radio production classes and was going bonkers needing to get my hands into something. A professor of mine, younger than myself, suggested I take a photography class. I had my camera and off I went. I had a blast shooting everything and anything. I have always loved photographing people more than anything.

Some friends of mine, the Toler Brothers, Danny and Dave "Frankie" Toler, and Tim Heding were playing with The Gregg Allman Band. They were doing a show at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Amphitheatre and I was invited to the show. I rode the band bus over to the venue and photographed their set as a class project. I decided I’d stick around for the headliner, a guy named Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The thing that initially impressed me about Stevie was that Tommy Shannon was playing bass. I’d been a Shannon fan since the days he was with Johnny Winter. I photographed the set. I went anywhere I wanted to go. No one asked me anything! Towards the end of Stevie’s show, the lights came down and things got quiet as Stevie began to address the crowd. I didn’t know who Stevie was or that he was just four months shy of celebrating his first year of sobriety.

What did Stevie say to the crowd?

As Stevie spoke, chills ran through my body, the hair on my neck stood up. I knew I was in the presence of one who knew God on a personal basis. I was blown away as an audience of 25,000 hung on to every word and cheered as he testified before them. I had never seen an artist of his caliber bare his soul to such a large secular congregation. I went backstage after the show and captured a few candid images and left, never thinking I’d ever see him again.

Then I went back to school, developed the film and printed some pictures. I decided to send a picture to Bruce Iglauer, the founder and owner of Alligator Records based in Chicago. I'd met Bruce before I became a photographer through contacts with Johnny Winter and with Lonnie Mack.

The picture was intercepted by Bruce's assistant, Mindy Giles, who sent it to Stevie's management. I learned this after Stevie's death. I started my graduate work in January of 1988. It must have been around February that I received a phone call and my son, Kasey, who was five years old at the time, came running to my bedroom saying, “Stevie Ray Vaughan's on the phone!”

Well, it was Stevie’s management wanting to know if I was W.A. Williams, the photographer. I thought to myself, "Well, I am today!"

I was asked if I’d like to take some more pictures and I answered with a resounding “Yes!". In March of 1988, I found myself on the way to Merrillville, Indiana to photograph Stevie officially for the first time. There is so much more to this story but that’s it for now.

How’d the Legendary SoulShakers!!! get together and who are they?

BW: After Stevie’s tragic and untimely death, I felt compelled to go back on stage. I could never reach the people he had, but I could do my part. When Stevie and I met, I had been sober for sixteen years. That’s how we initially connected.

It was after the Merrillville show. I met a guitar player named Mike “T.M.” Stephens. Hmmm,a guitar player, a guitar player, yes, but not just any ordinary guitar player. Is he in the vein of Stevie Ray? Well, no. Is he a Jimi Hendrix type of player? No. Is he a rocker? No.

He's a blues guy, right?

Mike had siblings who were quite a bit older than him. His brothers just so happened to be into the blues, so the blues is what was played on the stereo around the Stephens' home in his formative years. When he picked up a guitar out came T-Bone Walker. He has other influences but M.C. loves T-Bone.

The first time former Cincinnati Enquirer music writer, Larry Nager, heard Mike play with The Rev!, his comment was, “I like the way you play. You play like the old guys.”

After hearing The Reverend Billy Rose! and The Legendary SoulShakers!!! for the first time he said the band played the “best white man’s blues” he’d heard since moving back to Cincinnati from Memphis. Mike is a veteran of not just the U.S. Marines but also the U.S. Army. I was told about his playing but also informed that I probably wouldn’t like him because of his military influenced persona. Man, were they ever wrong!

Mike and I hit it off and started writing songs. He had the worst luck with women and that was great for writing blues songs. We kicked around for a while and finally decided to start recruiting a band. Mike was at the house one night jamming with Kasey who was fourteen at the time and who was an up and coming bass player in his own right. Mike suggested we use Kasey and the nucleus of the band was formed. There's more to this, but maybe we should move on.

I understand that you and Stevie Ray Vaughan were more than acquaintances.

BW: This seems like a good opportunity to get some things straight, so I hope you’ll indulge me. We were more than acquaintances but nowhere, no how and never have I ever claimed that Stevie and I were bosom buddies. I’ve never said I was his guru or spiritual advisor as some have claimed. There are two bios that have been written about Stevie, both unauthorized. I tried to contact the Vaughan family but to no avail. I would never have participated in anything to which they were opposed. Authors, journalists in general, have a tendency to use poetic license when writing. Ask them if it’s the truth and they may respond with, “It’s accurate”.

Most of what was written in both books was accurate, but not fully true. I have to give the authors the benefit of the doubt. Editors are notorious for beefing up the narrative and that may well have been the case here. Part of the problem for me was both books take three years and compress them into roughly six months. There were things implied, taken out of context and those things have caused problems for me.

Wanna set the record straight for us?

BW: The relationship Stevie and I shared was no one else’s business but ours. The first things I sent him after we met were a New King James Study New Testament and a book called, The Principles of Spiritual Growth. I sent him stuff regularly. I left messages of encouragement for him on his home answering machine, after he'd given me his home phone number and address. Even when I knew he was on the road.

I knew he’d get his messages. I have confidence and comfort in my heart and mind that I touched Stevie’s life in a positive way. We didn’t talk about business. I didn’t even know he was a Grammy winner.

As a musician, you must have been a pretty big fan.

BW: He was an amazing player, but I wasn’t a fan. I’m still not what I would consider a fan. I'm a Jimi Hendrix fan; I am a Wilson Pickett fan. Through the generosity of Epic, Sony and many wonderful Stevie fans and friends I have made over the years, I own just about every Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble recording available, both commercially available and bootlegs.

It’s very rarely that I listen to Stevie’s music. I am a child of the '50s and '60s. Genuine soul music is my thing. Rock ‘n’ roll is my thing!

Okay, but you two seem to have shared some common ground or interests.

BW: The weekend that Stevie died he had a conversation with a man I didn't know, but the guy tracked me down later and told me that during that last weekend Stevie spoke to him about me. He told this gentleman that there was this guy back in Ohio that he just had to meet, that he had to get us together and he mentioned my name. To know that Stevie even spoke my name, that he was telling someone that we should meet, assures me that everything was cool with us.

One never knows if they are even remembered outside of the context in which they are normally exposed to another individual. That shows me I went with Stevie. I was told some years later that he even carried work I’d personally given to him in a portfolio when on the road. We were friendly business associates who shared a deeper affinity to that which is truly spiritual. Enough said.

If you had a chance to talk with Stevie one more time, what do you think you’d say?

BW: I’d tell him to slow down. I’d tell him to not be in such a hurry. He seemed to be trying to make up for lost time, for the years he felt he’d wasted by drinking and drugging. He had nothing to prove to absolutely no one.

Who else have you captured on film?

BW: The list is pretty long.

I photographed Jimi Hendrix at his first and second Cincinnati shows that were also his last there. I had a Kodak 110 Instamatic with a black and white film cartridge. My mom threw away the negs a couple of years later. The second show was with another guy’s camera. He doesn’t have a clue as to what happened to the negatives.

I’ve always been around music and music has always been around me. Lonnie Mack is a favorite. Joe Cocker's another one. After looking over a bunch of my shots at a show in Columbus, Ohio, Joe turned to me and said, “Your pictures have soul. Bill, you have soul.”

I’m probably one of the few individuals who can say he had a conversation with Joe Cocker as he sat at his dressing table in his dressing room in his under shorts. He is an amazing, amazing individual.

Sounds like you're more than just a photographer who jumps in the pit to get some shots then leaves.

BW: Hey, not many can claim to have kissed Stevie Ray. “Greet each other with a holy kiss", so the Scripture proclaims. Every time I saw Stevie I’d give him a big hug and kiss him on the cheek. I remember a show with Lonnie Mack in Louisville, Kentucky. When I arrived, Lonnie was in a dressing trailer behind the venue. When I walked in he immediately said, “Don’t hug me, Bill!” He told me he had bruised some ribs and had to say something because he knew that I was going to grab him.

You've covered some bonafide music legends.

BW: The Kentucky Headhunters, what a band! They are known for country, but those cats can rock, play the blues and anything you want and do them all exceptionally well. I met their soundman, Steve Wilson when he was Stevie’s amp tech. After Stevie’s death, the Heads asked him to join their production team. I called him for some reason and he invited me to a show in Indianapolis. He told me about the Headhunters and told me to bring my cameras and my book. Those guys saved my life. They brought me out of a huge depressive slump.

Then in the mid to late '90s they watched helplessly as I slipped deeper into the grips of chronic depression.

None of us realized that it was as much a biological condition as it was psychological.

Then there's Buddy Guy. What can I say about Buddy? He gave me so much freedom. I was at his club in Chicago on a night when Gary Busey came in and Buddy brought him on stage. It was hilarious.

You've covered Eric Johnson.

Eric Johnson, such a sweet gentleman. He had a tendency to keep his mike stand between him and the audience. During guitar solos he would back up near his amps with his head down and getting a clear clean shot of Eric was nearly impossible. I met with him the day after a show in Cincinnati and the shots I had he’d seen a million times.

That’s when I told him to get out from in back of the mike stand. Look at the audience. I was doing a show with him at the University of Akron where he was opening for Rush. I waited until the lights went down and began making my way to the stage. Eric saw me during his second song and immediately upon taking a solo he stepped from in back of the mike and walked to the edge of the stage.

After the show, my son, Kasey, and I went back stage and as we were approaching the dressing room, one of Eric’s techs came out. He stopped to talk a little and he said, “I saw Eric do something I have never seen him do before.” Curious as to what it was he had done, the tech said, “He came out from behind his mike and played standing at the edge of the stage.” He laughed and walked away. Kasey knew about my previous conversation with Eric and we both laughed.

You've also covered that Louisiana blues guitarist, Kenny...

BW: I have a cool Kenny Wayne Shepherd story! Lonnie Mack once said, “Williams, you’ll cry at anything.” That’s fairly true, commercials, nearly anything, if it has an emotional impact on me. At some point during a Lonnie Mack concert I will most definitely cry. His heart and soul passion for his music is palatable. The first time I saw Kenny Wayne Shepherd perform, I cried. I became friends with both Kenny and his dad, Ken Sr.

There had been personnel changes in the band and Ken called me to let me know what was happening. As we were talking, he said that he knew I’d been around the music business a long time and he wondered if I knew of any singers they might audition. He told me they were bringing in kids from all over the country but none seemed to meet their needs. Most particularly, they weren’t connecting with Kenny. He asked me if I knew anyone I could recommend. I told him I’d think about it.

Later that afternoon a name suddenly popped into my head - Noah Hunt. Noah was a young good looking kid with dark hair and skin to Kenny's fair complexion and blonde hair. Noah's an excellent writer, musician, and he had years of stage and recording experience, but most of all, he could wail!

I called Ken and told him I knew somebody perfect for the gig. I said I’d have Noah call him. I tracked Noah down at his former manager’s office. His former management had opted to not renew his contract with them, irony of ironies. He got on the phone and I asked him point blank if he’d like an opportunity to front the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. There was dead silence on the other end of the phone.

I believe he stopped breathing for a moment. I told him I was serious and gave him Ken’s number. That day he overnighted a promo package to Ken and within two days he was in Shreveport, Louisiana. He stayed. And since that time he has traveled the world. They have headlined their own shows. They have opened for everyone from the Stones to ZZ Top. It’s a divine thing, a God thing. There are so many stories.

Well, at least mention some more.

BW: Little Milton in Austin, B.B, Buddy, Gary Busey, Jr. Wells, Peter Frampton, Big Joe Duskin, and the Arc Angels. There are hundreds of stories. Government Mule’s Warren Haynes, Matt Abts and the late Allen Woody, another tragic loss. I have wonderful shots of Woody, Matt and Warren. My son, Kasey, played a big roll in those early days. He traveled everywhere with me. All the greats knew him by name. One time as I was walking into Buddy Guy’s dressing room, did he greet me with a "Hey, BIll. How goes it?" No way. It was, "Hey, Man, where’s the kid?” They all loved him! He’s an amazing and talented young man.

Do you prefer catching musicians performing live or in some staged setting where you can control the lighting and other atmospherics?

BW: I dig being in the moment, the action, the anticipation, and the energy! Capturing a performance, the passion and seeing what no one else can see, it’s intoxicating. It’s a natural high. I know that being a musician, singer, entertainer helped me to feel the shots. If you wait to release the shutter when you see a shot, it’s too late. It's gone!

You have to feel it coming, anticipate what’s coming and it is incredibly empowering. After getting sober and becoming a photographer, I couldn't and still can’t understand people getting wasted at shows. Having a clear head is the only way to really appreciate what it is that these artists are capable of achieving on stage. I remember the first time I saw the James Gang with Joe Walsh. I was tripping and wasn’t so sure that what I witnessed wasn’t a result of the drug. I went back the following night stone cold sober and what I saw and heard blew my mind!

I’m not much for studio shoots. Even if I am doing something other than a concert, I like location shooting with natural light if possible. I use existing light and strobes when I have to use them. Why shoot a rock ‘n’ roll band in a studio? They're all about energy!

Tell us about the wildest show you’ve photographed.

BW: The wildest show I never photographed was the final two sets on a Saturday night in August of 1970 at The Goose Lake International Music Festival in Jackson, MI, near Detroit! Rick, that's you're old stomping ground! I watched Iggy Pop incite 300,000 attendees to nearly riot. At the time I was nineteen and working stage security and witnessed Felix Pappalardi of Mountain coldcock a biker with his vintage Gibson violin bass who, for a reason known only to the perpetrator, was going after the indomitable Leslie West!

I'm not sure I ever photographed a show I could or would consider wild, at least in my definition of the word.

Oh, wait! There were shows where the audience was out of control. I was shooting a 4 Non Blondes show in Cincinnati. Remember the huge hit, "What's Up?" It was held in the way cool Eden Park in an amphitheatre. The local radio station that sponsored the show was expecting about 4,000 to show up and it ended up being more like 40,000. Needless to say, the security was lax. My daughter, Kori, and son, Kasey, were with me and we'd positioned ourselves in the orchestra pit in the front of the stage. This was literally a pit. There was about a five-foot drop to the pit floor and as the crowd grew in numbers, the audience surged toward the stage in waves and ultimately to the pit.

People began falling into the pit while others jumped in and began to mosh violently. Kori was stepped on so hard that it broke the skin on her leg and she was bleeding. Kasey was hugging the wall beneath the stage trying not to get smashed. When I saw the blood, the Daddy in me took over and I grabbed the biggest mosher in the pit, apparently the one who stepped on Kori, and was about to take him out.

I know, "Where is the love?", well instinctively, seeing my child had been injured by a lunatic, my fight or flight instincts took control and Billy wasn’t going anywhere. When the others in the pit saw what was happening, they settled down enough for my kids to beat a hasty retreat. I took a few more shots and off we went.

That must have been more than wild, a bit scary.

BW: Another similar event was a B.B. King Blues Fest Tour show in Lexington, Kentucky. There came a point in the show where B.B. would toss trinkets into the audience, culminating with a special bracelet. As he began tossing the much sought after prizes, the crowd surged forward nearly crushing the people in the VIP seats in front of the stage, including my family.

B.B. was totally oblivious to the chaos he was creating. After the show, I was a little rattled by the events of the evening. I was walking to the backstage area when some drunk rammed into me. I was the gentleman and excused myself, although he had caused the encounter. That wasn’t enough for him as he came at me. I quickly rid myself of my gear in the event that I would have to defend myself. About that time a couple of security personnel grabbed him and Moses, the head of security, whispered something in the guy’s ear.

The dude settled down real fast. When he was gone, I said, “Mo, what’d you say to that guy?” He said, “Billy, I said I’m going to kill you.” He meant it! You know the, “Hey Rube!” that carnies shout when one of their own is in trouble, always watching each other’s backs. Well, that was the relationship I had with security wherever I went. Crowds were the worst part of my experience. Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with them directly very often. Hmmmm, as I sit here, I can think of many more. A funny one comes to mind at a Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan concert in Dayton, but that's for another time.

You've got some great shots of Jeff Beck.

BW: I know Jeff Beck and have photographed him but, I don't know Jeff Beck. He was very quiet and reserved off stage. I’ve read stories about Jeff and about how he's so much fun. It was pretty much all business with him. I know he knows my work. Fender used one of my shots for a poster they did some years back. He is an awesome musician! I have some sweet, sweet shots of Jeff and Stevie [Stevie Ray Vaughan] on stage together. I found myself in a freight elevator at the Columbus, Ohio show. I started singing “People Get Ready”. Terry Bozzio’ s drum tech presented me with the challenge of freezing Terry’s motion while performing. I did it. Terry Bozzio single handedly fired me up for shooting drummers. I am not a fickle shooter. I photograph everyone on stage to the best of my ability.

One of the foundational legends of modern blues-rock, Lonnie Mack, is a friend of yours right?

BW: That opening statement would make Lonnie smile. I was recording a song for the Shades of Blue Cincinnati Blues compilation some years back and everyone was doing classic blues. I phoned Lonnie to ask for song suggestions and he said, “I don’t know, Bill, I’m just an old rock ‘n’ roller.” Just an old rock ‘n’ roller. Right!

Lonnie has influenced anyone who has picked up a guitar since 1962. Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, and Stevie Ray Vaughan have all counted him as an influence and a favorite player. The first record Stevie ever purchased was Lonnie’s “Wham!”. A childhood friend of mine was in India with Air Supply for a music awards show. He told me there he sat in Jimmy Page’s hotel room, in India none-the-less, talking about Lonnie Mack!

A dear friend of mine, Sasha Krylov from Russia sat in with our band one night when we were opening for Lonnie. When I introduced them, Sasha blew Lonnie away with stories of playing his music in Russia. Sasha was murdered in New Orleans a few years ago.

Lonnie's still cranking out some great licks.

BW: A disk jockey in Texas introduced one of Lonnie’s tunes prefacing it by declaring, “This next one is by the Late Great Lonnie Mack!” Shortly after this erroneous introduction, another jock entered the studio and told him that Lonnie was, indeed, still alive.

Lonnie has been around for so long that people think he’s in his eighties, or older! He just turned 65 this past July.

We were once discussing fame and fortune, and I'll add that if anyone deserves it Lonnie does! Anyway, he turned to me and said, "Bill, all I want to do is play the honky tonks and dives." And he meant it!

There had better be a dance floor wherever he plays because if there isn’t, he’ll make one. I met Lonnie through Bruce Iglauer when Lonnie first recorded for Alligator Records. I was in college and was producing some videos of live concerts to air somewhere and I got hooked up with Bruce. I went to a show at a club named Gilly’s in Dayton, Ohio where Lonnie was playing. He had been touring incessantly on his new record and was worn out.

He was sitting around smoking his “roll yer own” cigarettes, no, not weed but Bugle Boy tobacco which he still prefers today. He carries his tobacco and papers in a stash bag that hangs from his belt. Finally I asked him if he’d like a massage. He looked at me as if to say, "What the ?” I said , “No! It's nothing like that! You just look like you’re wound up tighter than a clock.”

He said okay and we went into a small dressing room with a table that was perfect. He laid on the table and I went to work. Before long Lonnie was asleep. I turned off the light and quietly slipped out of the room. Someone came looking for him to do something and I told them he was asleep and to leave him alone. The next time I saw him, he was on stage tearing it up. He saw me across the room and gave me a big thumb's up.

I understand that Stevie considered Lonnie a guitar mentor.

BW: I met Lonnie before I became a photographer. But, after I started shooting Stevie, I ran into Lonnie at one of Stevie’s Cincinnati shows at Riverbend. I photographed the entire set and got wonderful shots of Stevie on stage with his childhood guitar hero Lonnie Mack. Lonnie gave me his home number that night and we quickly became friends. He’s living in Tennessee and is preparing once more to tour. Our band has opened for him many times and Kasey and I always sit in towards the end of his show.

Where’d you grow up and what were you listening to in the early days?

BW: I grew up in a town north of Cincinnati named Fairfield, Ohio. We had some great local bands and dances every Saturday night after Friday football games and after basketball games. I was always a diehard Elvis fan. Then the Beatles hit! I finally discovered soul and every other genre of music since our top AM station was WSAI and back in the 60’s, Top 40 stations, as they were called, played everything! It didn’t matter where it fit categorically. There were no color barriers. If it was good, if it was popular, it was played.

I received my first transistor radio when I was twelve or thirteen and what a beautiful world it opened up for me musically. I was hooked! Soul became my music of choice both for listening and performing. We had an amusement park, LeSourdesville Lake, and it was in the fashion of Coney Island but with a huge lake instead of the ocean. WSAI would hold “dances” there during the summer. These dances featured popular groups at the time such as: The Byrds, The Beau Brummels, The Young Rascals, Tommy James and The Shondells.You name the group and more than likely, they played at the lake.

Are you listening to Christian artists?

BW: We're constantly playing Candi Staton at home. She's just released her first secular recording in over twenty years. I haven't stopped playing it since it arrived a couple of days ago. I met her in Birmingham, Alabama in the '80s when, I think, she returned to Gospel and released her first album called Make Me an Instrument.

I like to listen to contemporary Christian music and Christian blues. The Mighty Jeremiahs is a group that's spun around here a lot these days. The band is made up of Greg Martin from the Kentucky Headhunters on guitars, Jimmy Hall on lead vocal and harp, or the Mississippi saxophone as it's been called by the late Junior Wells. Drums are played by Jon McGee and on bass is Mark Hendricks. The inimitable Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong is quoted saying "There is two kinds of music, the good and the bad. I play the good." I agree with Mr. Armstrong. I listen to the good kinds of music and I feel that I write and perform the good kinds of music.

Is Lonnie Mack working with you on a new CD?

BW: I wanted Lonnie to produce the CD but he wasn’t available at the time. He did, however show up at the studio one morning and cut two tracks, “Soul to Soul” and “Philadelphia Shuffle”. Kasey became the producer. The amazing Grammy nominated Johnny Neel, who's worked with the Allman Brothers, Dickey Betts, Lonnie Mack and others, is doing all the keys. We have been recording at Johnny’s Straight-Up Sound Studios in Nashville. Maxwell Schauf is kickin’ for us and we have a host of others in line for other varied instruments.

Kasey handled bass and some guitar and M.C. Stephens will be cutting the primary guitar tracks.

Can you tell us anything about the music on the CD or is it too early?

BW: I’m an old school soul shouter! The music is all original. You’ll have to listen and assign the tunes to a genre of your choice. There are some powerful tunes on this project. I need to redo vocals and add my harp. Most guitars need recorded along with horns, background vocals, percussion and whatever we decide. You should check out “Doc Johnson’s International Love Tonic”.

What equipment are you using? Guitars; amps; effects.

BW: Oh, yeah, this is a guitar magazine isn't it? [Laughs]

I don’t play much guitar, at least not on recordings or in concert. Kasey plays a Conklin custom 5-string bass that he designed and Bill Conklin built especially for him. He also has a 5-string Modulus, a 4-string G&L, a Guild Starfire II, Fender SRV and Hendrix Signature Strats, a Tokai ‘60s Strat and a Tokai ‘60s Tele. He’s switching over to a different bass rig. He has a Blues Pearl Twin Reverb type amp, which is one of the prototypes and assorted other amps, mostly of the small vintage sort. M.C. plays a Fender Tele and a Strat. He favors vintage Fender tube amps and he is one of the world’s finest vintage amp repair techs.

Michael J. McGuire blows it up on the Hammond B-3 organ and Mr. Greg “Powerhouse” Day on drums. I blow harp through any number of amps, though most frequently I use a 10-watt open back Silvertone with an 8” speaker. I have a nice selection of vintage Astatic mikes.

Reading your bio it looks like you’ve had highs and tumbled a bit in life. What “life force” does music give you to keep things moving forward and positive?

BW: Without music, I would cease to exist. Even if it is only in my head the memories of the songs, the melodies, the memories of the times and events of my life are all categorized in my mind. Every milestone, every good time, every bad time, every second of every minute of every day of every week of every month of every year there are songs that correlate precisely to each of those moments.

Even if I have no memory, they exist. Some memories make me laugh, some make me cry, some make me think, some make me want to remember, some make me want to forget, some are of love, some are of anger, some are of hatred, some are of hurt, some are of joy, some are of pain, and some are euphoric. They are my songs, my life and my memories. My faith and relationship with God are the stabilizing forces in my existence and music contributes to my growth as a spiritual entity.

Mr. Williams can be contacted at: wawilliams@wawilliams.com

Related Links
W.A. Williams Photography
The Reverend Billy Rose! and the Legendary SoulShakers!!!
Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview

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