Keller Williams plays every instrument in his one-man band with his foot.
When Williams first started playing in restaurants, he wanted to be in a band, but he couldn't afford it. So he started looping: During his performance, he steps on a looping pedal, which allows him to replay something he's just sung or played.
He can create any facet of a song he may need, from a bass line to a drum line.
"My solo show is laden with technology -- nothing is pre-recorded," Williams said.
It worked so well that he made it to the point where he was able to afford to have a backing band, but by that time he didn't want one anymore.
He will perform his solo works tonight at the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave. Kristy Cyone, marketing director for the State Theatre, said she expects the show to sell out, and she can think of only one word to describe Williams: talented.
"It sounds kind of cliché, but I was sitting there watching his sound check -- that much equipment on stage for one person was pretty amazing," she said.
Williams's music comes from a culmination of musicians he's listened to throughout his life, but he said his greatest influence comes from acoustic guitar player and composer Michael Hedges. Williams's music is driven by rhythm and his love of playing music in general.
"I've always considered myself a music lover first, a musician second and a songwriter third," Williams said.
Cyone said Williams's music tells a story in a way that's more satirical than people are used to. Released in August, his latest album Odd demonstrates his unconventional style with song titles like "Elephorse."
" 'Elephorse' is a cross between an elephant and a horse," Williams said. "It was a writing assignment I gave myself to write a science fiction bluegrass song."
His performance is not to be taken too seriously, he said -- it's more about fun, entertainment and movement.
"There's constant dance vibes that I'm trying to propel into the audiences," Williams said. "I'm always trying to create movement through the music, whether it be mentally or through some kind of dance vibe."
Before his official album release, he made one song per week available for download in the order in which he intended listeners to hear it, he said.
It took him a long time to come to grips with releasing his music digitally. CDs today are handed out like calling cards and seem to be going the way of the cassette, he said.
"The mantra I keep telling myself -- once the CD is digitized or put into hard drives, it has more of a chance of becoming immortal," he said. "There's a better chance of it lasting forever or until the end of days."
