Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Williams.
Hi Dustin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was very fortunate to grow up in a household that appreciated music. My father has played piano since he was a kid, and would often play for fun on the weekends and put on his favorite records on the living room stereo. My mother was an actor and singer in New York in her late teens and early 20s, and she toured and performed in a singing group called the Serendipity Singers in the early 70s. My sister took piano lessons as a kid and participated in theater and chorus in high school. Needless to say, there was (and still is) a distinct love of music in our family.
As a kid, I would play around on the family piano, trying to figure out the melodies to songs from movies and tv shows that I watched. I also made an attempt to learn flute and clarinet in elementary school band, but I never really got the hang of either one. For a long time, I thought that music was not my calling after my fourth grade band director told my mom and I that “maybe music wasn’t really my thing.” For a long time, I believed that to be the case.
My interest renewed in middle school when I started listening to music more and more as my pre-teen angst began to kick in. I would often hang out in my sister’s room while she did homework, and we would listen to Linkin Park, AFI, and The Killers. My dad would burn me CDs of Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone, The Beatles, and other 60s and 70s bands, while my mom introduced me to artists like Rod Stewart, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell. It was a very eclectic mix to say the least! But I enjoyed it all, and the variety of music would have a huge influence on me down the road. During this time, I also became friends with some twin brothers named Rico and Robert Catalino, and they had a band called Meadowood that would sometimes rehearse when we would hang out at their house on the weekends. I thought their bass player looked so cool when he played and I realized that I wanted to do that too! I also started to recognize that I was drawn to the bass lines of the music I listened to for some reason, and I think I knew subconsciously that I would have a better chance of playing in a band if I picked up the bass because every other kid was already playing drums and guitar.
When I was 13, I begged my parents to get me a bass and somehow convinced them that I would stick with it. Don’t ask me how, haha! It was an Ibanez starter pack that came with all the basics, and a DVD instructional video hosted by Gerald Veasley. I got the bass shortly after Christmas that year, and I dove right in! I played every day for hours and I would consume as much music as I could. I barely knew how to tune the damn thing, but it just felt so good to play it. I started surfing the pre-youtube internet for information and guidance. I didn’t really have a solid foundation of where to start and I didn’t have a teacher, so I just had to figure it out on my own. But I just totally fell in love with it and spent the summer playing as much as I could every day and slowly getting better.
By the time school came back around, I met some more musicians and joined their band called ISFIYE. The name was an acronym that stood for I See Fire In Your Eyes, which was a rip off of a Metallica lyric. We were barely a band in that we didn’t have much (if any) original material, and our practices were more of a hang out that involved instruments. But it gave me an outlet, and eventually I would end up joining Meadowood after their bass player left. I stayed with them all through high school, playing shows at venues like the Masquerade, Swayzee’s, The Triangle, The 7 Venue, and the local YMCA. I also ended up joining the jazz band and chorus at school, participated in the pit for some musicals, got a bass teacher for about a year (shoutout to Tim), and formed a few other bands as well. I would bring my bass with me to school and play during lunch and whenever there was downtime. Between junior and senior year, I went to a scholarship-based Music/Music Business camp called NOISE in Nashville, TN. 32 kids from around the nation were chosen to participate and somehow I was one of them. I got to spend two weeks with other kids my age learning about the music industry from professional engineers, producers, entertainment lawyers, session musicians, and more. We also got to jam with each other in the evenings and ended up forming temporary bands. On the last day, we got to put on a show and play for our parents and there was a Nashville-based artist named Billy Dawson whose friend was one of the speakers that came during the camp. After I did a 10ish minute solo bass piece that was a medley of Victor Wooten tunes, he came up to me and asked if I wanted to play bass for him. My answer was “Yes of course, but I have to ask my mom first.”
I spent the next year or so playing for him on the weekends between school and a part time job as a server at a breakfast restaurant, as well as doing a few studio sessions around Atlanta, and playing in local bands. When high school ended, Meadowood parted ways and Billy was in a different place in his music career, so I ended up enrolling at Kennesaw State and starting college. In my second semester, I met a vocalist named Parry Kitt in German class and he asked if I wanted to join his band, The Silver Comet. I auditioned at the end of the school year and joined shortly after, and 5 months later we ended up getting booked for the entirety of the 2012 Vans Warped Tour, which was absolutely crazy! That’s when I really knew that I was committed to the music path. I stayed with that band for many years, touring the U.S. and overseas, recording multiple EPs, going through lineup changes, and eventually a name change (The Sagas). While in that band, I met many other musicians, played with a multitude of other bands, and began taking on more consistent freelance work as a bass player. Over time, I was able to transition to performing, recording, and teaching music full time. At this point, I’m in way too deep to stop now, and I can’t fathom doing anything else.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha! No. The waters are rough out here, my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I ultimately wouldn’t change anything. But making a career out of music, or any art form for that matter, is tough business. Many things have come and gone. I’ve missed weddings of dear friends, strained important relationships, been through band breakups, founded and dissolved a record label, lost lots of money, and so much more. Did I mention the pandemic? That sucked pretty bad…
I often work 6-7 days a week, and it’s still not exactly a lucrative career path. I have a tendency to take on a lot of projects, and I have many eggs in a plethora of baskets. But that’s just the reality of this lifestyle. And the truth is, I love it. Some days are tougher than others, but nothing else give me the same sense of purpose. I made my choice and I don’t regret it. Yet…
Maybe that will change? But I doubt it. My belief is that I’ve only got this one life, and I’m going to get as much out of it as I can, doing what I love.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Like most of my peers, I find myself taking on a lot of different projects. It’s kind of required in the modern day music industry if you want to make a living. My primary instrument is the bass, though I also play guitar, and I sometimes sing backing vocals in the various bands that I play in. I’ve also been teaching bass, guitar, and group rehearsals at School of Rock for about 7 years and last October, I took on the position of Music Director at the Atlanta location.
It’s hard to say what I’m most proud of musically, because every band and project I’m involved in is something that I care a lot about. I am super excited about being recently featured on a Ghostface Killah song called “Skate Odyssey,” which is definitely the biggest release I’ve ever been on. I’m also currently working on two albums at South Shadow Studios with both HeyDreamer, and The Pussywillows. My jam band Casual Cadenza is releasing an album in August called Jam Juice and Jazz Cabbage, on which I played bass, sang some lead, and engineered the sessions for the bass, guitar, keys, and vocals. I also want to shout out the other bands/artists I play with: GAMMA STAR, Gus Glasser, Arkose, The Future Babes, and TRUETT. Go check them all out, and while you’re at it, check out the podcast I host with Melody Kiser (HeyDreamer, vocals and guitar) called Sex, Drugs, and Disappointment.
Ultimately, I guess I’m most proud of my work ethic. Let me be clear: It took a loooong time to get here. I wasn’t always as organized and consistent as I usually am now. I have made a lot of mistakes along the way, and I’m sure I will make plenty more. But I’d like to think that I’ve built a reputation for being dependable, trustworthy, and professional. I show up on time, prepared, and ready to work. I’m going to help you bring all the gear in and load it all out. I’m going to offer to drive the van, help with booking, and bring the coffee. I will learn the material and I won’t let my ego get in the way of the music, because it’s not about me. It’s about US. It’s about the bigger picture. I try to be easy to work with and a good hang. Never underestimate that importance of being a good hang! It can either land you the gig, or get you fired.
I think I’m a decent musician, though that’s subjective, and I can play the bass pretty alright after almost 20 years. But there are plenty of great bass players out there that are way better than I am. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to find people who are really down for the cause, and willing to sweat it out with you every step of the way.
I still have lots of room for improvement, but I will never stop trying to be better. That’s just part of the journey.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
That’s the big question, eh? For me, it’s relationships. I would absolutely not be here today without the numerous people who have helped me along the way. My family has always been supportive emotionally and, when I needed it, financially. I’m extremely grateful that these days I can support myself in the latter category, but I wouldn’t be here without the help I received from them early on.
My friends and peers are the reason I continue to find work. Word of mouth gets me more jobs, and literally every opportunity I have gotten is a result of these relationships. No one was forced to help me. They all did it out of the kindness of their hearts, and I cannot begin to express with words how much it means to me. It’s EVERYTHING.
I always tell people that the instrument I chose is social in nature. Bass players are often portrayed as quiet and aloof, and while that may be true for a lot of us, the nature of our role in the band is one of support and consistency. We are the butt of many musician jokes. We’re definitely not as exciting as the lead guitarist or the drummer, nor do we usually have the charisma of a great frontman. But most of us are just happy to be here. We help get the audience dancing, and if we do our job right, most people don’t really notice we’re there. Until we’re not. We can change one note, or alter the rhythm just slightly, and the entire vibe shifts. As Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Or something like that. I was always more of a Star Wars guy myself, but you get the point.
The role of a bass player revolves entirely around the needs of the many, and the relationships built along the way are priceless. Talent means nothing if people don’t feel safe around you, or supported by you. As I said earlier, I have made a lot of mistakes and I have let people down. But I hope that I’ve made it clear to the people in my life that I value them and that they can depend on me.
Contact Info:
- Website: jammcard.com/dwillibassman
- Instagram: instagram.com/dwillibassman
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0h1oN0zoDddC0FT8KQaM3F?si=a7b9b3a8345745e9
Image Credits
Steph Heath (@smilingeyesmedia_) Meg Hamm Dawn Curran Nicholas Jude McElroy (@southernexposuremedia)
