Chris Williams

Christopher Douglas Williams was born on December 12th, 1970 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents performed in a band together before he was conceived, so you could say he was literally born to play music. Chris is a fifth generation musician; his great grandfather was a German immigrant and ambitious jazz musician – as a young man he worked in quality control at the Baldwin Piano Factory and played clarinet in the evenings. His grandfather recorded several country and western albums. "My grandfather would pick up his old black Gibson guitar and sing to me. That same guitar is now one of my most valued possessions."

When Chris was three years old, he moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, and for the next several years he divided his time between playing at the beach and watching Sesame Street. His mom had an awesome collection of 60's and 70's rock and roll records that he would listen to endlessly. "The Beatles records were my favorite. When I was little, the songs were funny and as I got older, they became my favorite pieces of music." With instruments always around, Chris quickly became serious about playing music. He received a drum set for Christmas one year and thought they looked super-cool, but he had no idea how to play them and soon lost interest. At thirteen, Chris' every free moment was dedicated to skateboarding - he was obsessed with it and drove his parents nuts. Several minor fractures and many nutty tricks later, Chris went to live with his Dad in Parkersburg, West Virginia and soon became friends with Doug Martin. "Doug was the first person I ever saw ripping up music I was into. I was hooked." On his 15th birthday, his dad bought him a candy red P-Bass. Seven months later, he played his first gig in a bar. He performed with Doug for a little more than a year before moving back to Cincinnati.

The next couple of years were spent practicing his craft and exposing himself to as much new music as he could find. At eighteen, he met Eric Patton who became his musical partner. "Eric had many years on me as a player, so playing with him always pushed me to get better and better." About a year later, they met Christian Green and Jake Boulduc. The group became fast friends and Chris was exposed to many new musical styles and techniques. Before he was twenty, he moved again, this time to Columbus to play once again with Doug Martin. Meanwhile, his friend Eric had joined a newly formed band back in Cincinnati called the Websters.

Over the next few years, Chris moved back to West Virginia and played with a rock group. While he was there, he was approached by Jamie Foxx, the drummer for the touring rock band Rattlebone. "Jamie told me he was putting a new heavy style band together and he had the perfect position for me. I said goodbye to my friends and went on the road for the next five years with Spitshine 9." While traveling, he honed his skills and learned the ins and outs of the band business.

Chris left Spitshine 9 to join the original alternative band Spiderfoot. "They were great songwriters and players, but we had many personal differences." After making one record with Spiderfoot, Chris left and joined Deep Water Junction, an eclectic rock group with old friends Eric Patton and Ric Buerger. They traveled for two years and released one record. One night, Chris got a phone call from Eric. Denver DeGregorio had just left The Websters and wanted to start a new group and so the band Jonzei was born. "It was the biggest thing I had ever been involved in up to that point." The band signed an independent record deal and released an EP featuring songs written by Chris, Christian Green and Dennis Hamlin. Five years of endless turmoil with Jonzei convinced Chris to start his own project, the band Lightspeed. Along with Eric, Matt Cowheard and Clark Connley of Forehead, the band wrote and recorded numerous songs. During this time, Chris also played with local bands Shilo and TenPenny.

"When the Websters called me in the spring of 2005 and asked me to audition for them, I was speechless." It was an amazing opportunity to play with some of the best players around and with guys that had been Chris' friends for over ten years. Chris is looking forward to bringing his talents and experience to the Websters and continuing to grow as a musician.