DIVERSIONS
WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT SECTION • THE DAILY TAR HEEL • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12,1995 •
Mark Williams, a junior from
Bhl
Raleigh, created his own 0
record label, Bruised
Reed Records, and released v
his first eight-song >
compact disc, entitled... ~
at th e
A
BYKACEYKINARD
STAFF WRITER
For nine years, his dream has been to produce an album
consisting of his best songs. Since the seventh grade, Mark
Williams has been writing songs, playing guitar and dreaming
of one day making a career of his music. His dream has begun
to become a reality with the release of his first compact disc, a
beggar at the door.
Williams, a junior sociology major at Carolina, released an
eight-song CD in August that consists of altemative/acoustic
rocksongs. This 20-year-old from Raleigh is intriguing to listen
to when he talks of his music. His love for what he’s doing is
evident in his speech. His whole life has been touched by music
in some way, and he incorporates his everyday experiences
into his music. Williams has captivated audiences with his
music, and his views on life are refreshing and are reflected in
his songs.
The Daily Tar Heel: What made you decide to produce
an album?
Mark Williams: I had played at different places, and people
asked me if I had an album. About a year ago, people began
consistently asking for a CD. I realized I had enough support
to do it. The people made my decision to finally produce an
album.
DTH: How long have you been involved in music?
Williams: As long as I can remember I’ve done something.
In seventh grade I was in chorus, and we put on a show. I sang
a solo, which was “Stand By Me.” I remember being in front of
the whole school, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do with
my life. I started playing guitar and singing in seventh grade.
DTH: How would you describe your music?
Williams: Being an artist, my first inclination would be to
not classify it. I would call it altemative/acoustic rock. I don’t
write songs from a folk standpoint, but more like a rock song.
The songs come from a period of a year of my life. The songs
are mostly from my own experience, or from experiences I can
identify with. The songs are written in first person because they
are either about me or I can identify with them. “Trust You”
was not about an experience I had, but it could be about me and
about anybody else at any given time. I like all the songs for
different reasons, andlchoseeachonetobeonthealbum. Each
song says a different thing and says different things to people.
DTH: What do you hope to achieve through your music?
Williams: One thing I want to accomplish is to mal> people
think about what I’m saying. I want them to think about their
own experiences and relate.to my songs. Oswald Chambers
said ifyou can’t express yourselfon any given subject, you must
struggle with yourself until you can. These songs are my
struggle to express myself.
DTH: Who has influenced your music the most and how?
Williams: The Beatles have influenced me and the rest of
the world. They started everything, especially in music. During
middle school and high school they had a great influence on my
music. A bigger influence to me has been Rich Mullins, as an
artist because of his music. His integrity as a human and an
artist is awe-inspiring. He gave me inspiration to play new
instruments that you don’t hear a lot but fit well in the music—
dulcimers, mandolins, bagpipes. He affects songwriting by
being completely honest. Ifyou feel despair, sing about despair;
ifyou feel joy sing about joy. Don’t be afraid to be who you’ve
been created to be. I have taken all the influences and synthe
sized them, by making something new and artistic. Everything
PAGE 5
I listen to affects what I do musically.
DTH: What did you learn about yourself while producing
an album?
Williams: I learned that producing and making music isn’t
an easy thing. It’s a business that has a demand. Plato said that
laws aren’t going to change people; music and poetry changes
people. I would love to devote myself to my music, even though
the business side of it isn’t appealing.
DTH: Where did you get the title, a beggar at the door, and
your record label, Bruised Reed Records?
Williams: The title alludes to one of Emily Dickinson’s
poems that says, “a beggar at the door of God.” During the
photo shoot for the album, the photographer Robb Hamilton
and I found a man laying at the door of a church. Robb took the
picture, and it confirmed the title of the album for me. I created
the record label for this album and for my music. A bruised reed
is someone who has been beaten down by life, and I think this
is me and everyone who listens to the album.
DTH:Why do you write music?
Williams: I write to express myself. Songwriting is an
extension of who I am. A painter has to paint, and it’s not so
much that I want to write but that I have to write. Writing songs
is a release, a hard discipline. It’s a talent, but a talent that must
be practiced. I write to abandon oversimple answers. C.S.
Lewis said, “The problem is not simple, and the answer is not
going to be simple either.” I write music to express answers to
problems. I try to find answers and articulate them through my
music.
DTH: What are your short-term and long-term goals for
your music?
Williams: For short-term, I hope to express myself, have
people listen to my music and make them think about it. Long
term, I would love to do this for the rest of my life, assuming I
still have something to say. I want that to be for life. Music will
play a role in anything I do. I have been given talent, and I have
a responsibility to use that talent. I have plans for anew CD,
and I have some new stuff. My long, long-term goal is to be
signed to a label, to be able to sell to people I don’t know
personally. Signing a label isn’t the answer, but it facilitates my
goal to get music to people. If I were on a label, this thing would
be a whole lot easier. I want to be a professional artist who
wants to be taken seriously. I want to reach everyone, not just
friends, family and the people I know. I have trouble selling
myself, but in music you are the product. It’s not my primary
duty to sell myself.
DTH: Who is your main audience that you’re trying to
reach?
Williams: My primary audience is college students because
that's who I am. I can relate to students and they can relate to
my music. I want to reach people who will listen to the album
and relate to the words. Younger and older people listen to my
music, but most of my audience is college-age.
Williams already has the fall semester almost booked by
playing at nearby universities, coffeehouses and camps. On
Oct. 27, he is playing with a few other local musicians on the
porch of his house, 206 W. Cameron Ave., at 8 p.m. His CD
can be found at School Kids and Record Exchange on Franklin
Street in Chapel Hill.
REVIEW
Williams blends acoustic rock with electric guitar lines and
thoughtful lyrics to produce a mature sound for his album. He
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"To Die For”
Nicole Kidman
strives to become
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personality.
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• Si ...
Books Page H
Politically Correct
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releases his latest book,
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incorporates different kinds of instruments into his songs that
give a unique sound to them. His myriad of talents lets him
explore new sounds for his songs. He uses common instru
ments, such as guitars, flute, drums and piano for most of his
songs. To add spice, Williams plays a lap dulcimer and mando
lin, giving a folk sound to his music.
In “Living a Lie,” the music is only piano which makes the
song ballad-like. It speaks of the different masks people wear
and how they learn to take them off and show who they truly
are to people. In “Trust You,” he begins with bagpipes and
acoustic guitar. These instruments mirror the words of pain
within the song. It talks of wanting to trust a person but being
scared to open up because ofpast failures. These songs are ones
that are easy to relate to. They speak of relationships, and of
feeling alone at times with no one to run to. The first song,
“Light ofDay, ”is upbeat and catchy. It brings pictures ofa new
day with anew beginning and refreshes the listener. Mark’s
voice is low and melodic, one which soothes the listener and
brings relaxation.
Williams combines his musical influences over past years to
create an album of songs that synthesizes his feelings about life.
A person can relate to every song on the album and empathize
with the lyrics of the songs. “Where to Run” speaks of how,
sometimes in life, we all feel alone and have nowhere to run to.
A slow song is “The Ugliest Word, ” which is just the words and
an acoustic guitar.
Probably the most upbeat and fun song on the album is
“Wandering in the Wilderness.” This is most like a rock song,
with an electric guitar line and background vocals that high
light the lead singing. The song itself speaks of how people may
wander away from time to time, but in the end they come back
to what’s right. The song is upbeat because it has a happy
ending and doesn’t need to be slow and upsetting.
The album as a whole seems like a progression for the songs.
The first song shows the outer beauty of a person, and the last
song reveals die inner soul of a person. “Light ofDay, ” the first
song, talks about sun shining on a person and on a person’s life.
The middle songs slowly open up a person from the inside and
reach a person’s innermost being, so that by the last song the gut
of a person is revealed. “Living a Lie,” the last song, tears apart
at the soul of a person by removing the masks that one wears.
Yet there is a happy ending to the story held within the CD. One
minute and 11 seconds after the last song ends, the first song,
“Light ofDay,” comes back. There is a hidden song on the
album that secredy spells the happiness of fully realizing one’s
inner and outerbeauty. This album is worth buying, borrowing
and listening to, and not just because the artist is a college
student. Williams’ music and lyrics relate to many aspects of
life in and out of college, and the album as a whole has a lot to
teach the listener. This CD definitely merits a listen, for there
are things to be learned and pleasurable times to be enjoyed.
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