about
William F. Gibbs is changing the way we think about modern songwriting. Since his debut album, My Fellow Sophisticates, released on June 3, 2008, it has garnered national attention due to its blatant departure from conventional 'singer-songwriter fare,' not by bending genres, but by effortlessly jumping from one to another. Though new to the industry, Gibbs represents a new breed of songwriters of which he is leading the pack.
Though Gibbs is not the first artist to veer willingly from one genre to another in experimentation, there are few who can commit to such heavy-handed genre "jumps" from song to song while still implanting some unidentifiable thread of consistency that doesn't leave the listener feeling lost. "The responsibilities of a singer-songwriter are greater now than they ever have been." says Gibbs. "We have so much music to mine and learn from, and we don't have major labels or bandmates demanding a compromise of vision. Singer-songwriters should be making the most stunning and compelling albums, because we have so few limitations."
"Scroll through anyone's iPod," Gibbs states, "and just try to find a music fan whose collection isn't all over the map. Try to find an audiophile whose music library is earmarked by consistency." This new generation of music listeners is what he refers to as the "Playlist Generation" and Gibbs believes that he is giving them exactly what they want: Diversity.
However, he is not completely selfless; he gets what he wants too. "As an artist I want the opportunity to write songs freely and record them just as freely. I don't want folks to come to expect certain sounds, lyrical styles or emotive spikes from my music." Gibbs gives a wry laugh: "Hopefully they can come expecting good songs. and they'll get'em."
The bottom line is that Gibbs' music is only limited by his own imagination. By exploring this musical freedom, he has inadvertently raised the bar of what we come to expect of both songwriters and album compositions alike, ushering the genre into the 21st Century.
influences
The world at large, music at large, faith, hope, love, joy, fear, hate, sorrow, kindness, beauty, pain, death, life, romance, damnation, salvation, sanctification, sacrifice, grace, mercy, peace, justice, injustice, obedience, disobedience, wisdom, folly, conformity, non-conformity, community, individuality, my wife, overcast days, rain, Western North Carolina, my family, alcohol, sobriety, The Fall, The Gospel, literature, film. John Lomax, Alan Lomax, Leadbelly, Jelly Roll Morton, Robert Johnson, Glen Miller, "Satchmo", Billie Holiday, Woodie Guthrie, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Percy Sledge, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, John Fahey, The Temptations, Etta James, The Muscle Shoals House Rhythm Section, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zepplin, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, U2, David Bowie, The Clash, The Police, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, David Wilcox, John Gorka, Rich Mullins, Martin Sexton, M. Ward, Amos Lee, Andrew Bird, The Arcade Fire, Beck, Ben Folds, Cat Power, Matthew Ryan, David Mead, Elliott Smith, Jon Brion, Matt Morris, Richard Swift, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, The White Stripes, Wilco, and countless others that I am sure have played a part be it unknown and unheard.
website urls
offical website
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