Nick Williams, known under the pseudonym Whetherman,is well on his way for someone who has only been singing for five years and playing guitar for a year longer than that. His debut album, Bull, has received extremely positive reviews and Nick is a rising star despite not being able to tour and being on an unheard of label. I first heard of Whetherman via absolutepunk.net who have consistently plugged him since he first released Bull last April. Immediately upon hearing the songs I was blown away by the [then] 22 yearold’s voice, especially since it was his debut. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to interview Nick.
While many would have never attended college and attempted to focus solely on music, Nick remained in school through his junior year which allowed him to mature before throwing himself out to the wolves.
“This way I was able to develop myself locally and now I can begin to travel and tour and live my music, as opposed to venting with music as I do now,” tells Nick. “I thought it held me back for a long time, but now I am comfortable with where I'm at and I wouldn't want to change anything,”
Although, his maturation may not have been so swift if not for some unfortunate circumstances.
“I came to OSU (Ohio State University) on scholarship to play lacrosse. In the course of my first two and a half years I tore ligaments three times in the same knee.” Whereas many people would have been down in the dirt, Nick saw this as an opportunity to focus on his other passion. “Inside the CD written in the ‘thank you’ section I talked about thanking my knee for busting three times because it gave me all the alone time needed to make music my focus. I wouldn't be where I am if things hadn't fallen into place the way they did.”
With music as his main pursuit, Nick soon signed with Adorable Records, a label who found him via (where else?) his MySpace page. He certainly recognizes how much the internet has helped him.
“They added me on MySpace awhile back. I messaged them saying I was interested in being helped out, and we scheduled a day for them to come down to Columbus and explain their expectations and their perspective on me. I went up to Michigan a few weeks later and signed.” Nick recalls. “MySpace has provided a takeoff route for anyone that wants to put their music in front of people. Without it there's no doubt I'd be unsigned and traveling to venues to see if I can play as opposed to being offered gigs.”
Two months later, on April 18th, Nick Williams released Bull as his alter-ego, Whetherman. The seven track, 35 minute album was received warmly at music sites such as absolutepunk.net, drawing comparisons to Ray LaMontagne, Joss Stone, and John Mayer.
“I don’t mind being compared to Ray, he's a huge influence. On one hand I can't wait to move past this album and record again and change directions a little; at the same time however, I can't wait to get this album out to people all over. It's a strange time right now.”
Nick has already made plans to record an EP due out this winter which will serve as a transition between Bull and his upcoming full-length.
“We’re going to do an iTunes release before the new year with four or five tracks,” Nick explains. I have tracks lined up already, I just need to record. The songs dive a bit more into the sounds of the guitar and louder singing, like ‘Storms in Seattle,’ but also are going to contain a few tracks that ease along like a steady wave, similar to the feel of 'Moon.' I'm going to make more use of the drums, strings, keys, and a stand up bass, hopefully. This release will compliment Bull, as well as set gears for the full LP that I want to come out early or in the middle of next year.”
Nick realizes that he is going to have to mix it up if he wants to separate himself from the ever-growing pack of singer-songwriters. Critics have taken note that while musically Bull isn’t groundbreaking, vocally Nick is in amongst a privileged few.
“I’m sure people have mostly heard the music I make, but I think my voice might slightly separate me from other musicians,” hopes Nick. “There are just so many people out there trying to do the same thing I am. That is no threat to me; because fortunately music today is a big enough market where there's no limit to how much people want to listen to. My biggest concern is that I don’t want to be like anyone else. Although musically I haven't gotten there yet, it's what I’m striving for. My voice will keep changing for the better along with the music.”
In order to continue improving, Nick has new plans for this semester.
“I'm going to move out to California within the next few months to try and excel in a different landscape, one where I may be more comfortable musically.”
With Bull as an impressive head start, Nick Williams is certainly one artist you will want to follow closely. So snag Bull off of iTunes or Adorable Records’ website and watch for Whetherman’s digital EP this winter and a full-length album soon thereafter.
