2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.whatzup.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- May 10, ’12

By Mark Hunter

Aaron Williams leads a double life. Some days he’s a mild-mannered science teacher. But when the weekend rolls around he takes off his lab coat, straps on his guitar and takes his place on stage as front man for Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo. A power trio based in Madison, Wiscon-sin, Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo are not so much taking the blues world by storm as methodically encircling it through a relentless and ever-expanding touring schedule. With two well-received CDs of original material and ap-probations from some big-name bluesmen, it won’t be long before Williams can hang up his lab coat and hit the road full-time. Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo (with Eric Shackleford on drums and vocals and the enigmatic Z on bass and vocals) return to Fort Wayne Friday May 18 at the Philmore on Broadway. The road through the blues began for Williams on the day he was born. His father, Cadillac Joe Anderson, had been a blues guitarist fronting his own band for years, but when Williams entered the world stage, Cadillac Joe had to do something that would give any musician the blues. “He’d been playing his whole life,” Wil-liams said. “But when I was born he had to sell all his equipment to pay the hospital bill.” It took a while, but Williams eventually had the chance to repay his father’s sacri-fice. Through the early 2000s, when he was in his late teens, Williams hit the road with his dad’s band. It turned out to be a life-changing pairing for both. “I played with him for about four years in the early oughts as his guitar player,” Wil-liams said. “It was a blast. Most kids don’t want to hang out with Ma and Pa when they’re that age. Most kids don’t get to

know their dad like that. He taught me a lot of things about music and the business. I got to hang with him as buds.” The road experience gleaned from his time with his father’s band convinced Wil-liams that he wanted to make playing the

blues his life. But first he had to complete step one: getting his degree. He wound up being a double major. “I started playing when I was 16,” he said. “I hit the road with my dad when I was 18, which was when I started

working on my science degree. I got a de-gree in biology and a degree in the blues at the same time. It was a great time. I was go-ing to school and doing three or four shows a week.” That’s when his private double life be-gan to become public. “We were the house band at Luther Blues in Madison,” he said. “A lot of na-tional touring acts came through, and we got to play with them. My college friends had no idea what I was doing. Eventually some of them came up to me and said, ‘Was that you on stage? You looked really familiar.’” Such a strong work ethic has served Williams well. When not playing the blues, Williams, his dad and another drummer were doing jazz jams at a local club. That drummer brought in a different guy he knew to sit in on drums. That turned out to be Eric Shackleford. Shackleford and Williams started hosting a blues jam and eventually decided to form a band. All they needed was a bass player. “We hadn’t been able to find anyone who really meshed,” Williams said. “One night this guy who called himself Z walked in covered in tats. We basically wrote him off the first night. We figured he was metal. But he kept coming back. We played with

Continued on page 16

AARON WILLIAMS& THE HOODOO

Friday, May 18 • 9 p.m.Philmore on Broadway

2441 Broadway, Fort WayneTix: $20 adv., $25 d.o.s.,

260-745-1000

---- Cover Story • Aaron Williams & The Hoodoo ---

Schooled in the Blues

A N E M BA S S Y T H E AT R E F U N D R A I S I N G E V E N T F E AT U R I N G

THE TWANG GANGP E R F O R M I N G

KEITH URBAN

STACI STORK AND SCARLETTP E R F O R M I N G

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

ALLAN AND ASHCRAFTP E R F O R M I N G

KENNY CHESNEY

SUGAR SHOTP E R F O R M I N G

MIRANDA LAMBERT

HUCKLEBERRY BLUEP E R F O R M I N G

HANK WILLIAMS SR.

SATURDAY 7PMJUNE 16, 2012$10 ADVANCE / $12 WEEK OF SHOWTICKETS AT ALL TICKETMASTER LOCATIONS

embass_2017_DTL_Country_Whatzup.indd 1 5/3/12 2:20 PM

him and eventually realized Z was our bass player.” That was around 2008. Since then, Williams, Shackleford and Z, while holding down part-time jobs to cover bills, have been working non-stop play-ing weekends throughout the upper Midwest and the South, getting gigs at an ever-increasing number of summer blues festivals. Their first CD, It Ain’t Easy, came out in 2009 and made an immediate splash. The disc won Real Blues Magazine’s Blues/Rock Album of the Year in 2010. In 2009 they were invited to play at Bike Week in Daytona Beach. They’ve played some of the big name festivals such as Summerfest, BAM Fest and Forward Music Fest, where they met and played with Los Lonely Boys and Jonny Lang. In 2010 they released 10:49 which earned first round Grammy nominations in 2011 for Blues Album of the Year and Best New Artist. The work of doing some 170 shows a year and writing music remains the band’s focus. Securing a place among a growing number young blues acts is high on their list.of “We see a lot of younger blues and rock bands out

on the road, bands who are doing their own material,” Williams said. “I think people are getting tired of radio hits. And since the blues is very emotional, very raw, a lot of the younger people are starting to connect with that. Blues really speaks to a lot of people, whether they’re in to old school blues or more blues rock stuff. Blues festivals bring in a board spectrum of all of that. The blues seems to connect with a lot of people.” Part of the joy of the blues for Williams comes from creating music. Though Williams in the band’s main songwriter, the finished product is a group effort, with each member contributing to the songwriting. While it’s an ongoing battle to find clubs that will allow bands to do original material, Williams finds that despite the bar policy, people recognize good mu-sic when they hear it. “Most places want music they can recognize and immediately connect with,” he said. “I think original music can make that connection. Once you get into a bar and start playing, you can make that connection. And though we definitely like doing other people’s songs, the best high you can get in music is creating something and having people really enjoy it.”

AARON WILLIAMS - From Page 2

16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.whatzup.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- May 10, ’12

We all lead busy lives, making it difficult to plan healthy meals within budget and within the time con-straints of daily life. My husband and I make cook-ing a priority and spend a lot of time planning meals. There are times, though, when we need something quick and easy. This recipe definitely qualifies. It can be prepared in less than 30 minutes and offers a lot of flexibility for picky eaters. It can also be a fun way to engage the entire family in the process of preparing a meal, allowing everyone to choose their own pizza toppings. The possibilities are endless with this recipe, and you can’t mess it up; simply choose your toppings, bake and eat!

Taco PizzaServings: 2

Ingredients:• 1Bobolipizzacrust(availableinseveralvarieties,

including whole wheat)• 1lb.hamburger• 1packettacoseasoning• 1canrefriedbeanswithchilies• 1cupMexicancheeseblend• ½cupbananapeppers• 1tomato,diced• ½headoflettuce,shredded• ½cupsourcream• Cilantro

Preparation:Preheat oven according to cooking directions on Bob-oli pizza crust package. Place hamburger in a large pan

and brown, add taco seasoning and water according to the taco seasoning instructions and simmer. While hamburger is simmering, prepare the pizza crust. Be-gin with refried beans, spreading onto the crust, about ¼to½inchthick.Whenhamburgerisdone,placethedesired amount on top of beans on crust. Next, add cheese, then peppers. Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and sides of crust are slightly browned. For a crispier crust, place the pizza directly on oven rack. Remove pizza from oven and add diced tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream and cilantro.

amber.recker@gmail.com

A Quick and Easy Family MealDining InAMBER RECKER

for our future. And we had to work on our songwrit-ing, to really devote some concerted effort and quality time to that side of things,” Hoff said. “I’ve come to the conclusion that if you haven’t hit the point where you’re down and out, when you’re so worn out from music you’re not sure if you want to go on, you don’t know what it really means to be a musician. Those are the moments when you discover who you are. Those are the moments that define you.” Both Speece and Hoff have discovered a few other hard truths along the way. Number one, have a posi-tive attitude. Number two, be a team. It’s impossible

to navigate the music business solo. Number three, and perhaps most importantly, support other musi-cians. Embrace the community, because other artists need you and you need them. “If you love something, support it,” Hoff said. “This is what nationally touring Nate would tell his younger self if he could. Learn from other bands and let them learn from you. Embrace the community and it will grow faster. And it can be surprising. Even if you’re touring all over the U.S., you still come back home to that community who supported you to begin with.”

THE BERGAMOT - From Page 5