Whetherman

"If you're a solo act – whether you're a singer-songwriter with a guitar or a DJ with a laptop – it takes a great deal of independence and self-motivation to stand out. So, how do you manage to book tours and land gigs on the big stages as a one-man band? Well, folk artist Whetherman – the stage name of guitarist, producer, and vocalist Nicholas Williams – has certainly figured out what it takes to get his music out there on his own. He not only entertains large crowds solo at 180 shows per year, but he's the one responsible for controlling his creative vision. Below, Williams shares his tips for filling the stage as a solo artist and how he's been so successful in self-managing his music career." - Sonicbids

"Nicholas Williams was raised in the midwestern town of Worthington, OH where his days were filled with big dreams, music and skateboards. This relatively small northern suburb of Columbus was a bit sleepy, but that was perfect for fueling a youngster’s imagination. Equipped with an internal drive and a wholehearted commitment to self expression, he discovered lacrosse and his life was thrust into a new and exciting direction. “Lacrosse was my first love”, Williams said in a recent chat we had. Lacrosse certainly seems to have a quality that sucks people in like the world’s strongest vacuum." - Powell Lacrosse

"On touring Europe, quitting your day job and being a full time musician.

Florida based folk band Whetherman just finished a month long tour of Europe, playing 33 shows in 30 days. We had the great pleasure of talking to lead singer Nicholas Williams about how they did it, his life as a full time musician, where he finds inspiration and how he keeps his head above water in this ever exciting industry called the music business." - Atomic Disc

"Completely beautiful... an absolute delight to the ears." - BBC Radio

“Williams sings and plays with unaffected earnestness that translates effortlessly from stage to the audience. The time that went into every song is apparent and the finished product is a treat to live music goers.” - Buzz Magazine (Edinburgh, UK)

“A must have for any fans of folk singer-songwriters... 5 out of 5 stars” - Wordkrapht

"...quietly and expertly strumming his guitar, and occasionally pausing to demonstrate that the harmonica can sound just as at home on folk songs as it is with the blues." - NEMM Blog (Newcastle, UK)

“While it remains to be seen what the rest of the album has in store, 'Seemed to Be' is a lovely and peaceful ballad focused on Williams’ heavenly voice framed by soft guitar strum and banjo which play off each other eloquently.” - Yellowscene Magazine

“Proof of the singer-songwriter’s hard work and resulting growth over the years” - Void Magazine (Jacksonville, FL)

Nicholas Williams lacks a life of rock-star excess.

“I haven’t bought a pair of clothes in I can’t even tell you how long,” said the 29-year-old Florida singer-guitarist, who in concert is known as Whetherman.

“I have a Honda Element I can sleep in; I know people everywhere I go. I’m not even worried about money.” - The Columbus Dispatch

The quiet roll of the harmonica and fiddle here have caught my attention and slayed me. In the early morning weekend hours, I listened to this album on repeat and thought about how it might be that those two instruments might never have been used so perfectly as background accompaniment in a jam, specifically “Finder’s Keepers”, before. They do not own this song — they are not loud or overpowering — but like a chorus of mere voices in the background. I can’t be the only one that thinks this fiddle and this harmonica is telling a story as great as these lyrics…

Do not let anyone tell you any different: This album, Streams and Pastures, is roots perfection.

Sunday morning the sun made its first appearance here in months. The grass seemed to turn green overnight and that night, I stood in the middle of the road and listened to bugs makes noises I have not heard in many moons. I awoke and turned off the albums I’d been using to soothe my winter depression (Phosphorescent’s Muchacho and the latest Frightened Rabbit) and put this on instead. I closed my eyes and imagined everything blooming again. This album was the soundtrack to that…

Don’t let anyone tell you any different: This album, Streams and Pastures, is the best on a morning when the sun has appeared and brought with it growth. It is perfect for ushering out winter sadness and carrying in, on its mighty shoulders, Spring’s delight and happiness.

I played this album and nothing but all day Sunday. I put it on as soon as I woke this morning. I’m tempted to let it become the only thing I listen to in the near future. - FolkHive Wordpress Blog

Nicholas Williams owes his stage name to Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, a 1961 children's book about a young boy who journeys to a magical land. In the story, the main character Milo, the beneficiary of a world-hopping tollbooth, meets a cast of curious characters. For the Jacksonville, Fla. folky, the most interesting character was the Whether Man. He only has a few lines in the book, but the Whether Man teaches Milo that "whether or not you find your way, you're bound to find some way." This line stuck with Williams. "I found the message profound enough to try and encapsulate that into the name of the project," he explains. "My aim is to help change or give perspective and relay positivity to whomever I can."

Long before Williams co-opted the Whether Man name, albeit changing the name slightly to Whetherman, he was on a path toward a career in music. It all began with Dave Matthews. "My friend was playing Dave Matthews 'Crash,' and for the first time I was truly intrigued by how close it sounded to the original. I convinced him to let me try it and to teach me the song over the next few days, and within a week I had my gig starter pack and began my two- to four-hour mantra of playing every night in my basement for the next five years," Williams says, laughing.


Williams' music is inspired by the Five Ns: nature, neighbors, nostalgia, the now, and what's next. Both his music and lyrics are calming and contemplative, a musical representation of his own goals to live a stress-free life. "Experiencing nature, being in the present, looking to the possibility of the future, finding beauty, and meeting good people have been a big part of who I am for as long as I can remember, and surely that has inspired most of the sound of my music," Williams says. His soul-searching songs lean on his Southern influences and have an easy listening-meets-Americana soul-vibe, combined with lyrics as deep and rich as the mighty Mississippi.

As Whetherman, he has a string of albums under his belt, including 2013's Streams and Pastures, a truly great album featuring a full band and a wealth of instruments. His Charleston gig, however, is a solo show. "Songwriting is tricky. For me, I can't sit down and tell myself I need to write or force something onto paper. It is at its best when it's unintentional, when it comes from nowhere like a breeze," Williams says. "I write in fragments most times, where I have a thought and something comes to me, so I'll usually write a little note in my phone. When I feel a creative flow, I might go back to that later and add to it, then let it settle. After that, it's about re-drafting."

After swinging through Charleston, Whetherman will tour across the country, joining up with his band when the opportunity arises. He's also working on a new album between festivals and shows. If it's like his journey thus far, it will be even better than what he's already crafted. - Charleston City Paper

I smiled as I thought of Nicholas Williams, the brainchild of Whetherman, recording Streams and Pastures in a steel bathtub filled with warm water during a Virginia sunset. When I found out the bulk of the album was recorded in Florida, with the mastering being done in sunny Southern California, the only two words running through my head were "nuh" and "uh." Well, reality is harsh, but Whetherman's music isn't. Headed by twenty-something Williams, Streams and Pastures represents a milestone in the Whetherman pathway, as it's the first time Williams enlists a full backing band to help shape his ideas. Now, when single artists decide their creativity cannot be contained within themselves and reach out, there is rarely any middle ground: the results are either a step forward or a step back off into a ravine. Williams, thanks to his song-writing abilities, definitely takes a step forward. The songs are tightly composed but not so taut as to make for arduous listening. Even when the country-tinged music delves into melancholia, the album still retains an overall feeling of warmth. It seems the band was a good idea. Drew Matulich on fiddle, for example, is one of Williams' best assets, notably in a song like "Use of Truth,” where it’s free to hover over lovelorn lyrics. Other instruments such as the mandolin and upright bass are used to great effect.

The album starts with "Finders Keepers" which immediately caught my attention by not only the wonderful exchange between the fiddle and the harmonica but the vocal delivery. William's voice has a warmth to it that just kind of makes you relax when you hear it and forget about your worries. In fact, the whole song gives off that vibe but the vocals are the focal point that really bring it home. One of my favorites on the album was "All We Build" which starts off with an excellent mesh of strings and vocals before it turns into a knee-slapping hoedown that had me clapping right along with the rest of the band. "Weathered Mind" is another song that contains beautiful string work but it's ultimately the lyrics and vocal melody that take the song to greater heights - props to the engineers on this album who did a great job recording the band. Ok so there was one song on here that almost made me shed a tear. "Man of Conviction" starts with a gorgeous melody picked on guitar that brought on a sudden feeling of nostalgia but it wasn't until I heard the first line "No matter where I am, I have a tendency to be forgetful" that caused the visceral reaction of my eyes to water up. The somewhat jazzy "Simple Lives" is an excellent example of how a band comes together to fulfill a man's artistic statement. The upright bass provides a nice backbone as the other strings flourish in and out of existence. Female-male harmonies also carry emotional weight throughout the album, as in "Just for Kicks.” Here is an album that converts a man's musical weaknesses and turns them into something enjoyable. This is an album that is as diverse as it is heartfelt and ultimately succeeds by bringing a variety of talented musicians in a room together with well-crafted songs. - The Equal Ground- Indie Album Reviews

"Whetherman is the solo acoustic project of Columbus, Ohio resident Nicholas Williams. He’s stopping by the Tree House Lounge in Washington, DC on Wednesday, September 3rd to perform as part of a string of east-coast shows that has taken him through North Carolina and will take him up through Pennsylvania to New York City. I sat down with the man they call Whetherman for the debut edition of 10 questions with…" - Alchemical Records Magazine - Washington D.C.

"Nicholas Williams is a busy musician these days. His trio, Whetherman Band, will leave at the end of the month for a four-week Kickstarter-funded tour of Europe, followed by a West Coast tour with bandmate Rachel Murray, and then back to the studio full-time to record and finish the band’s sixth album.

Lately, he’s been crisscrossing the country touring solo as simply Whetherman, and he’ll bring his solo show to Savannah on May 15 at The Sentient Bean." - Savannah Morning News

“Whetherman is creating sunny, soulful folk music that is irresistible. Being completely independent since 2009, Whetherman has taken to producing, booking, managing and promoting his albums on his own dime. Wind in the Trees is his latest release, and what a gem it is. Acoustic guitars, harmonica, tambourines all combine to create this sound that will lift your spirits and feed your soul. At times crooner, other times folk singer, Whetherman’s voice is just as unique as it is reminiscent of other great vocalists that have come before him.” - Indie Music Reviewer (IMR- Atlanta, GA)

The new release from North Florida native, Nicholas Williams (aka “Whetherman”) has arrived to the excitement of ‘Whether-Heads’ everywhere. The leisurely titled, “Streams & Pastures” is a revelation of dynamic acoustic performance and thoughtful modern production, which features some of North Florida’s finest musicians. The disc is aptly titled, through its mood and tone, if nothing else. The songs meander from one to the next, and the listener is swept through scenic settings at a comfortable, lazy pace. This record doesn’t merely suggest stopping to smell the roses, it insists upon it.
Folk music can be a challenging medium to execute properly. A record that is too passive runs the risk of having its tracklist blur together; too aggressive and the artist falls into what is often called ‘anti-folk’. S&P strikes a cordial balance between these extreme points and each tune sings with a voice all its own. From the lyrical waltz of “Why Pretend” to the upbeat cut-time of “Weathered Mind“, Whetherman has grown into a mature songwriter, with a prowess rarely matched.
The record was produced and recorded chiefly at Chromatic Studios from December 2012 to March 2013 by Nicholas Williams and Alex Hayward, who also plays Drums, Vibes, Percussion and Spoons on the album. Additional production was provided by Powerstation Recording Studio (Pompano Beach, FL) and ListenHear Studio (New Orleans, LA).
To purchase Streams & Pastures, or to find out more about Whetherman’s upcoming appearances, visit his site at www.Whetherman.net - The Elbow- Jacksonville, FL