Interview with Kenny Ray Williams

On Saturday, March 28th, we are proud to host a unique event for our art gallery. Kenny Ray Williams (along with his band) is releasing a brand new album, "Asylum Blues." For each original song on the album, Kenny also created the cover artwork. A lover of both music and art, he offers a full-sensory step inside his world.

You developed a love of art at a very young age. What was your favorite thing to draw as a kid?

I started out trying to copy Looney Tunes, Peanuts, Garfield from the newspaper and books. I would later copy Batman, Superman, The Avengers from comic books.

You started playing in bands in your teens. What was the first band you ever played with? What was your first show like?

My first band was Mindcircut and the first gig was either Southwest Highschool gym or Showbiz Pizza. I have no bad memories of it so it must have gone well.

Who are your musical and artistic heroes and why?

I have to say Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top. They are the first band I ever heard and instantly wanted to know about them. I was leaving Elementary School and heard ZZ Top's LaGrange blasting out of this muscle car.. I walked right up to the car and asked who that was. I went straight home and found ZZ Top's LaGrange on Tres Hombres in my Dad's record collection. I went from ZZ Top into the Blues. Billy Gibbons always talks in interviews about who influenced them.

You went to Georgia College and State University. How did your time there influence your art and music today?

I was greatly influenced by Mark Ritchie and Leah Hardy, two of my Professors at GC&U. Mark is the one that told me about cheaters adobe (a mixture of clay and cement) and sent me on my way to making large, outdoor, food objects.

Tell me more about the hot dog you built in college! How long did it take you to build it? What gave you the idea?

I started working on the hot dog in Sculpture 1 and finished it in Sculpture 2 so it took about 6 months to build. When I was finishing painting it, a reporter came up to take pictures and was asking about it. She did an article for the Milledgeville paper. The hot dog was 8 feet long and about 4 feet wide and I have no idea how much it weighed, but no one was picking it up without a crane or forklift. My student studio was across the street from the Old Georgia Governor's Mansion, and I built the hot dog in the front yard. The article left off the word "Old" and the story and picture was picked up by the Associated Press and went nationwide. They thought I built it across the street from Zell Miller's house. My Mom gets a phone call from my Aunt Peggy in San Francisco, "Linda, Kenny's on the front page of the paper". The school started getting calls from radio stations across the U.S. to do interviews. They thought I was making some kind of political statement, but I just like hotdogs.

What was it like to be on the road with blues legend Eddie Kirkland? How did you meet?

It was an education. Eddie didn't use set lists or call song keys. He started playing and you had to jump aboard and hang on. It was a blast and an opportunity I won't forget. I first met Eddie Kirkland at a Last Friday Concert (Museum of Arts and Science) when I was in highschool. I bought his album and got his autograph (that autograph still hangs on my wall). Many years later I was playing in a band called Lil' George and the Last Call. Griff (the bass player) played with us, Chris Hicks, and Eddie Kirkland. One night, Last Call is doing a show. When Eddie walks in and sticks around for a few sets. The last set of the night he gets up and sits in with us. When the gig was over Griff told me that was my audition and I had the gig if I wanted it. 

Tell me about your brand new album, “Asylum Blues.” What inspired these 9 songs?

The songs for "Asylum Blues" I've written over many years, the earliest I wrote in 1986. "Need Your Love" is the first song I ever wrote, inspired by a broken heart. Some of the songs are inspired by events in my life and some are just imagination.

I noticed that “Need Your Love” and “Asylum Blues” have the same lyrics. Tell me what inspired you to tell the story of your lyrics in this way?

I wrote "Need Your Love" while I was at Southwest Highschool and it was a more radio friendly pop rock song. I wrote the blues version because 80's pop rock went out of fashion and I was moving in a more blues band direction. But I had folks who really liked the song so I decided to do both versions. I changed the name from "Need Your Love Blues" to "Asylum Blues" as the title cut for the album.

“Asylum Blues” is with your full band. What was the experience of recording this album with the entire Kenny Ray Williams Band?

I am blessed to have these guys with me. I have always tried to surround myself with people who are far more talented than I. These musicians are not only very talented, but some of the best folks I know. I am honored not only to call them my band but friends. Marcus Reddick- Drums, Bert Mims - Bass, Tyler Jackson - Guitar.

You created nine images - one for each song on the album. Did the artwork come after the songs, or were they happening at the same time?

The art work came way after the songs were written. I started the art as we started releasing singles from the album. Now, the art for the album itself, "Asylum Blues," I did when I was in college.

What is your favorite song on the album and why?

I think at this time "Need Your Love" is my favorite. It just came together in the studio: Tyler Jackson's guitar playing is just straight up badass, Marcus and Bert brought the dynamics of the song to a new level, not to mention Marcus's background vocals.

What is your favorite cover and why?

Cheap Sunglasses, ZZ Top, Billy, Dusty, and Frank!

What is your go-to “late-night munchie”?

Waffle House if I have time go inside and sit (All-star always with pecan waffle) or Drive-thru Cheese Krystals.

You can catch Kenny Ray Williams and the full band THIS Saturday at Ocmulgee Arts, 1-4 pm.