![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/william_schmitt.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhen one hears a band name like William and the Wildflowers, images of folky, pastoral musical textures might come to mind. And a cover image of the artist sitting crosslegged on the bank of a mountain river \u2013 complete with crackling campfire \u2013 only reinforces that notion.<\/p>\n
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But those images only hint at a small part of what William Schmitt is all about. While there is a lo-fi, acoustic feel to his songs, Schmitt’s musical background shines through on the songs collected on Riches for Free<\/i>, his latest album. \u201cI led a punk rock band for ten years before I became a solo artist,\u201d Schmitt explains. \u201cAnd for me, the spirit and energy of punk rock is less a style of music and more a vibe of rebellion and social concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
There’s also a singer-songwriter’s sensibility to Schmitt’s music, one born of personal experiences. \u201cI wanted to put an album together that walked through the grief process of losing my sister to suicide,\u201d Schmitt explains. \u201cMusic is a cathartic way for me to heal and process. And it\u2019s taken time to put that scrapbook together.\u201d Now that he’s done s, Schmitt is ready to share those songs with listeners, both on record and in liver performance.<\/p>\n
The eight songs on Riches for Free<\/i> are connected by computer-generated narration. The robotic voice \u2013 distinctly familiar to anyone who’s seen or heard the late physicist Stephen Hawking, or Radiohead’s groundbreaking OK Computer<\/i> album \u2013 provides a slightly unsettling connective tissue that unifies the songs. <\/p>\n
At one point, that narrator speaks of the awakening of a new sense of social responsibility. And that’s at the heart of Schmitt’s songwriting. His extensive experience as a hiker \u2013 he’s covered the Pacific Coast Trail and numerous other challenging treks \u2013 informs his lyrics. <\/p>\n
The mechanics of hiking force one to slow down, Schmitt explains. \u201cHiking focused my attention on things that I appreciate, things are good,\u201d he says. \u201cCommunity, wonder, and randomness.\u201d Schmitt kept a daily blog when hiking the Pacific Coast Trail in 2015, and bits of that experience worked their way into songs he would eventually write. <\/p>\n
While hiking can be a solitary endeavor, community is a significant part of its charm for Schmitt. \u201cWhen I\u2019m on the trails, people are introducing me to songs I haven\u2019t learned,\u201d he says. And that exposure seeps into his subconscious mind. \u201cSongwriting is typically a wintertime, reflective activity for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI collect stories, and then when I hibernate, I turn them into songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
There’s another benefit of having a hiking background when one is a touring musician. The nature of being an independent artist often means couch surfing. But sometimes Schmitt ends up sleeping in his car, and he doesn’t mind. \u201cI’ve converted my car into a little hotel suite,\u201d he says with a good-natured laugh. And he puts his hiking knowledge into use in those situations. \u201cTrailheads are safe places to spend the night,\u201d he says. They’re quieter than Walmart parking lots and truck stops.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Schmitt hasn’t toured in awhile \u2013 he settled for a time in Oakley, N.C. but recently moved back to his native Iowa \u2013 he’s gearing up for an extensive run of dates in support of Riches for Free<\/i>. In keeping with the take-it-as-it-comes aesthetic of hiking, he’s keeping a quality of spontaneity in his itinerary. \u201cI would like to be somewhere warm and cozy for the winter,\u201d he says, \u201cbut if that means living out of my car in Texas, that’s cool. I plan as far out as I can, and sustain it as long as I feel like it. And then I get back to another form of work while I recharge the batteries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name William and the Wildflowers suggests a band; in reality, sometimes it is. And other times it’s not. Schmitt explains, \u201cAt the end of my concerts on this tour, I\u2019ve been saying, ‘Thank you. I\u2019m William. And we are The Wildflowers.\u201d The \u201cwe\u201d in this case is Schmitt plus the audience. \u201cEverybody who is touched by the music is part of the Wildflowers,\u201d he says with a warm smile. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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