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Zane Williams |
Zane Williams is usually a man of many words---he
has kept a diary every day since he was thirteen and has an
online “blog” that he updates frequently---but
ask him what his musical influences are and he seems at a
loss for an answer. “I probably have 15 CDs and hardly
ever listen to any of them,” Zane admits. “I listen
to and identify with a lot of different music, but it’s
all over the board, and I rarely settle down on any given
artist or genre.”
With such diverse musical tastes, it’s not surprising
that finding his own voice as an artist has been a long journey
for the Abilene, Texas native. As a child, Zane grew up playing
classical music on the piano and singing hymns a cappella
in church. He would often create his own compositions on the
piano (instead of practicing), but it wasn’t until his
senior year in high school that he picked up a guitar and
started writing songs with lyrics.
In college at Abilene Christian University,
Zane self-produced two CDs as demand for his music began to
grow. “The stuff on those early albums was really an
eclectic mix---you’d have an instrumental piano piece,
followed by a story song, followed by a song that was more
stream-of-consciousness,” says Williams. “I was
doing it for fun and I was a solo act, so there was complete
freedom.”
After graduating with a math degree in 1999,
Zane moved to Nashville with the idea of garnering a deal
with a major country record label, but over time he found
himself at odds with the mainstream “commercial”
music industry. “I was playing at colleges all over
the country and kept hearing people say, ‘I don’t
like country but I like your stuff.’ I knew I wanted
a different sound than what country radio was putting out,
but it took me a while to pin it down,” he says.
Visit Zane's website for more information -
www.zanewilliams.info
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