Led by Ryan Williams, the new Grand Rapids band rocked Local Spins on WYCE, which also featured the debut of tracks by Emma Loo, Graffiti, Darkly, The Eggtones and Downie. (Podcast, video)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Scroll down for a video of The Change performing a song during Local Spins Live on 1340 AM WJRW on Aug. 31, 2016.
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It’s fair to say Ryan Williams was destined to become a musician.
Born in Chicago and raised in Memphis, Williams – a singer and multi-instrumentalist who now makes his home in Grand Rapids – grew up in a family that featured a grandmother who performed as a backup singer with bluegrass pioneers Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.
Williams was given his first guitar at age 6, and later embraced the music of Memphis, from blues to soul and more. “From about age 14 through 18, I was down on Beale Street every Friday, Saturday night just soaking up as much as I possibly could,” he recalls.
These days, the 38-year-old musician who’s also long been involved with Michigan’s festival scene fronts The Change, an eclectic, genre-spanning band formed during a December 2015 jam session. The group recently wrapped up work on its debut album, “Fight or Flight,” at Matt Ten Clay’s Amber Lit Audio with hopes of releasing it in June.
“Individually, we’ve all played together throughout our musical careers,” Williams says of the group that also features Tony LaJoye on drums, Dakota Culberson on violin and mandolin, and Jamie Kissane on bass.
“We sat down and I think our first night we wrote two songs just instantly. We realized that it just clicked. Everything just sounded right.”
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE with The Change
The band proved that during its appearance this week for Local Spins on WYCE, performing two songs, “Blind Eye” and “Sunrise,” each sporting a different vibe. Listen to the entire show podcast and performances here. (Watch a video for the band’s song, “Strung Up,” below.)
The Change’s music exhibits hints of blues, funk, Americana, soul, folk, country and “a lot of driving music,” says Williams, whose raspy vocals propel the band. “We’re excited. We’re ready to get it out there.
“We’re so committed to taking this as far as possible down the road. We want to play as many shows as we can.”
To that end, the emerging band already is booked to play a host of summer music festivals, including Buses by the Beach Bus Benefit, Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts, Buttermilk Jamboree, Taste of Muskegon, Blissfest, Dunesville, Farm Fest and Earthwork Harvest Gathering, among others.
“As a band and as musicians, we have this great little pedestal to be able put information out there for people to understand that there’s better ways of living and there’s better way of doing things,” says Williams, who also praised West Michigan’s collaborative music scene for spawning a wealth of talent during the interview for Local Spins on WYCE.
For more information about The Change and the crowd-funding campaign for its album, visit the band’s website at musicfromthechange.com.
The 86th edition of Local Spins on WYCE not only featured the premieres of The Change, it also featured the debut of new tracks by several local and regional artists including Graffiti, Emma Loo, Seth Bernard’s The Eggtones (this week’s musicians’ pick), Downie and Darkly, plus tracks from Big Dudee Roo, Laura Rain & the Caesars and Bowery.
VIDEO: The Change, “Blind Eye” (Local Spins Live, 8/31/16)
VIDEO: The Change, “Strung Up”
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