In den frühen Jahren ihrer High-School-Karriere fanden Telisha und Doug Williams zueinander, als sie in der Blaskapelle spielten. Diese Begegnung war der Beginn einer wunderbaren Partnerschaft, die sie nicht nur in der Liebe, sondern auch in der Musik vereinte und sie bald zum Traumpaar der Folkszene erhob.

INTERVIEW!

OBZ: Folk oder Country. Kann man Ihre Musik in diesen Bereichen einordnen? Oder wie würden Sie Ihre Musik beschreiben?

TELISHA: It is necessary and frustrating to classify music. “Country” can have a negative connotation for some people, but we certainly have been influenced by classic country, and we’re from Virginia, so there’s a natural twang that I can’t deny.  Personally, I feel that Country is a subset of Folk, so I’d say that we’re both.

DOUG: Yeah, it’s a bit of both.  The word “Americana” is what a lot of folks are using over here for that mix of folk/country/songwriter/rock… I guess we fall somewhere in the middle of that.

OBZ: Wie sind Sie zur Musik gekommen?

TELISHA: I grew up singing in the church choir.  Three of my uncles were in a gospel quartet, and they released records when I was little.  My uncle Sammy spent a lot of time on a piano bench beside me, teaching me how to sing.  Accompanying myself with an instrument came later, after I met Doug in High school.  He bought my first guitar for me when I was fifteen years old.

DOUG: I didn’t realize until I was an adult that everyone didn’t grow up around music.  Where we come from, it’s just a part of life, as natural and necessary as learning to cook, or drive a car… it’s just what we do.

OBZ: In Deutschland hört man sehr wenig von dieser Art von Musik. Was ist das tolle daran?

TELISHA: About Americana or Roots music? I love that it’s music about truth.  It’s deeply rooted, sonically and lyrically.

DOUG: We love playing in Germany!  Maybe that’s one of the reasons. People seem to really connect with what’s happening on stage.  I think honesty and deep roots connect at a base human level, no matter where you come from.

OBZ: Was ist „Wild Ponies“? Es heißt Doug und Telisha Williams und dann heißt es doch einfach nur „Wild Ponies“.

TELISHA: Wild Ponies is the band name. Doug and I are Wild Ponies. We may be playing as a duo, a trio, or a four-piece. Any configuration is Wild Ponies.

OBZ: Klingt nach Vielseitigkeit. Ist es Ihnen wichtig mehrere Projekte gleichzeitig zu machen?

DOUG: Versatility is important!  It’s fun to do different things and try different things, see what works and what doesn’t.  It keeps us on our toes and keeps us busy, and hopefully keeps the audience interested from year to year.

OBZ: Sie stammen aus Nashville, die Stadt der Countrymusik. Wie ist es dort? Mit den vielen Künstlern?

TELISHA: It’s become more of a general “Music City” than just the city of country music.  We’ve been here for about 7 years and we LOVE it!  The community of musicians here is inspiring and supportive.  It’s also a fabulous city for touring musicians, because it is so centrally located.  We are within 10 hours of most of the country, so touring is much easier.

DOUG: I think Nashville and the other musicians here are more supportive of each other than people on the outside might realize.  One of the great things about this town is how we all help each other out.  And we’re here with the BEST players, singers, writers in the world.  So, if we need to find someone to come play fiddle with us, we can make a few calls wind up with a great player pretty quickly.  That’s a lot of fun.  That also leads to a lot of cross-pollination in the scene here.

OBZ: Also wäre Nashville auch eine Reise wert? Wo kann man Sie Spielen hören?

TELISHA: ABSOLUTELY!  It’s really become an “it” city to visit.  So much great music any night of the week.  It’s also becoming quite the “foodie” town.  I think the middle of the week is the best time to be in Nashville.  On the weekends, so many artists are out touring, but on a Wednesday night, you’re likely to see some magic collaborations in a number of venues.  We only play in town a few times a year.  We like to play at The Bluebird Cafe and some Eastside venues (The 5 Spot, Radio Cafe).

DOUG: Dee’s Country Cocktail lounge, The 5 Spot, Basement East, The American Legion…  When we’re home, that’s where we’ll be – either on stage or watching our friends play!

OBZ: Ist Ihnen ein persönlicher Kontakt zu Fans  und dem Publikum wichtig?

TELISHA: It’s one of my favorite parts of what we do.  Several years ago someone wrote that Wild Ponies tend to make better friends than fans, and I think that’s true to an extent.  We love community, and feel like we’ve built an international community of friends and family through our music travels.

DOUG: Yeah, it is to us.  I do understand those artists who aren’t as into it as we are, but we love meeting people.  So much so that this year we’re hosting the 5th Annual Wild Ponies Kentucky Bourbon Trail Ride – we’re loading up a 50 passenger bus with our fans and riding around Kentucky for a few days drinking bourbon with them and playing music!  Sounds fun, right?

OBZ: Was waren Ihre schönsten Augenblicke? Auf der Bühne oder mit Fans?

TELISHA: I don’t separate the moments between being on stage and with fans.  The fans contribute to what the stage experience is like.  My favorite is when we’re on stage and the audience is truly engaged, right there with us, on the journey that we’re creating all together.  We love making records, but live music events are like nothing else. Each night only happens ONE TIME.  The energy exchange created during the show only happens then, and only those that are present get to share that experience.  I get chills just thinking about it.

DOUG: Yeah, I can’t add anything much to that.  It’s a very circular and symbiotic relationship.  Actually- we’ve had a BUNCH of great ones in Germany.  The one time when an entire bar lit up sparklers inside during our encore… whew… it was SO COOL and unexpected.  Or when you’ve got a room PACKED full of Germans and French people shouting the lyrics together to one of your songs – that’s hard to beat.

OBZ: Mit welchen Songs von Ihnen sollten Neueinsteiger (zum Beispiel hier in Deutschland) anfangen?

TELISHA: That’s a tough question. I feel like Tower and The Wheel, Things That Used To Shine, Hearts and Bones, and Love Is Not A Sin are some authentic representations of Wild Ponies – and give an impression of what the rest of our catalog may offer.

OBZ: Jetzt habe Sie die Möglichkeit alles zu schreiben was Sie schon immer sagen wollten. Danke an Fans, Freunde, Familie. Oder ähnliches. Was möchten Sie sagen?

TELISHA:  I feel so fortunate to get to do what I do for a living, with my life partner.  It’s hard for me to believe that writing and playing music for people allows me travel the world and meet AMAZING people.  I’m a happy, lucky, grateful girl.

DOUG: Yeah, we’re both incredibly lucky. We try really hard to stay in the moment and not take any of it for granted.

Kleiner Steckbrief von Telisha Williams (persönlich ausgefüllt):

– Geburtsdatum: April 7.
– Geburtsort: Martinsville
– Hobbies: Running, dancing, sewing, hosting parties
– Lieblingsfilm: Toss Up between Star Wars (the original) and Dirty Dancing
– Lieblingsmusik: Impossible.  I love everything from Patsy Cline to Katy Perry.

– Lieblingsessen: My mother-in-law’s cooking.  Particularly her shrimp and grits.

– Lieblingsbuch: Bitteroot Landing by Sheri Reynolds or Lamb by Christopher Moore.
– Lieblingsstadt: Amsterdam.
– Lieblingsland: Germany (It’s True.  Not just saying that for a German interview.  I’m on a 146 day streak of practicing German everyday.).

– Lebensmotto: Be present, do the work, and find something to enjoy about each moment.

Kleiner Steckbrief von Doug Williams (persönlich ausgefüllt):

– Geburtsdatum: October 13
– Geburtsort: Winston Salem, NC
– Hobbies: BMW Motorcycles, running, reading
– Lieblingsfilm: No toss up – Star Wars.
– Lieblingsmusik: It changes every day, but Willie Nelson never falls far from the #1 spot.

– Lieblingsessen: My mom’s cooking : )

– Lieblingsbuch: Favorites are hard.  Most recent discoveries – Robert Gipe – Trampoline
– Lieblingsstadt: Amsterdam yeah.
– Lieblingsland: We DO have a lot of fun in Germany!  We’ve got a group of people there who are like family to us- Shout out to the Eggs & More Gang!

– Lebensmotto: Sure, Why not?

© Doug and Telisha Williams.

© Dewey Darko.