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tbrouk@journalandcourier.com
Ann McWilliams is keeping her musical options open. The Indianapolis singer-songwriter has appeared on stage as an Indigo Girl-esque folk singer, a Chrissie Hynde-ish rocker and a Sheryl Crow kinda-pop guitar star. Her latest hat is of the cowboy persuasion as her latest record, Wrapped Around It, contains a dash of "pop bluegrass."
"I don't want to be pinned down," said McWilliams, 34, via telephone from Indianapolis. "It all depends on who makes up your band and all of the elements and flavors they bring."
The musical chairs has not hurt McWilliams' career. She made some regional noise in the band Plaid Descent in the 1990s. Her solo career has brought even more attention in the Circle City, making her a solid local support act when big-name performers come to town.
McWilliams and her band will perform at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Academy Park outside of the Purdue Memorial Union. The concert is a part of Purdue's Summer Concert Series.
McWilliams admitted playing harder rock `n' roll just wasn't her. She said she tweaked her sound to get her foot into some of Indy's better clubs. Later, she decided not to force it and just play what's inside. As a result, the venues came to her.
"You just have to have intensity in a band and be authentic. People like that," McWilliams said. "It takes a long time to realize it, but it's OK to just be you."
McWilliams describes the basis of her songwriting as "organic," and she is pleased with how her tunes sound on the 11 tracks of Wrapped.
"They sound tasty and sweet, not killing you with screeching guitar lines," McWilliams said.
The new twang in McWilliams' sound has much to do with Jim Kremidas, her pedal steel and dobro player. Kremidas, whose son Peter is a senior at Purdue and a member of the Crazy Monkeys improv troupe, helps the band transform the occasional cover song. McWilliams said putting pedal steel over a slowed down Led Zeppelin tune is always a crowd-pleaser.
Some of McWilliams' later songs have been co-written with drummer David Pleiss. Pleiss played in Plaid Descent, and the two meshed so well together creatively that they got married. The couple has been married for 10 years. McWilliams was happy to say they are not in competition with each other nor do they butt heads creatively or about the management of the band.
The thin blond singer has been involved with many nonprofit organizations during her career including the Leukemia Society, Earth Day Indiana and the Humane Society, but her latest venture is out to help small, independent musicians. McWilliams' weekly City of Music magazine-style radio show is an hour long and plays only independent artists at 9 p.m. Sundays on WTTS 92.3 FM. She sees the show as a cause to get deserving yet underexposed bands a piece of the limelight.
McWilliams studied classical music on piano and the horn all through school and into DePauw University. Her orchestral prowess and Dan Quayle's connection to the college brought her to Washington, D.C., to play in a marching band at President George Bush's inauguration in 1989. A year later, McWilliams bought an acoustic guitar and was playing folk music concerts instead of classical recitals.
Plaid Descent performed at Purdue University and the long-closed Riverstyx a few times, but Wednesday will be the first time she has played Lafayette-West Lafayette with this band.
After playing her own music for almost 15 years, McWilliams believes the best is yet to come.
"Being a musician is like a fine wine, the more it ages, the better it gets," she said.
The Summer Concert Series is accompanied by a dinner buffet prepared by PMU chefs. The first show with Clayton Miller Band enjoyed a crowd of about 400 people. Wednesday's concert with the Big Swing Band was shortened by a violent storm but was still a success.
While McWilliams is the only artist in the series not from Lafayette, PMU program adviser Don Alan Evosirch believes McWilliams will be well-received after he gave Wrapped a few spins. "It's a tradition of songwriting that I connect with," he said. "When you write on a personal level, it's amazing how many people can connect with it."
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