Member Since: 02/11/2005
Band Website: nathanwilliamsjr.com
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myspace code tutorials by Eileen
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!-END Style Shows-!:!-Start Custom Code in Influences-!:!-START code for custom text section-!:2002: With the release of Zydeco Ballin', Nathan Williams Jr.'s first CD, the Williams family joins the other great Zydeco dynasties: the Ardoin, Broussard, Carrier, Chavis, Chenier, Delafose, Frank families that have passed on a rich musical legacy to a new generation. Lil' Nathan's father is the leader of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, one of the top Zydeco bands touring across the country. His uncle, Sid Williams, who is serving as manager of his nephew's band, is owner of El Sid Os in Lafayette, one of the principal venues for Zydeco music, a club where Buckwheat Zydeco used to perform regularly and where he recorded his last live album.
According to Herman Fuselier in his liner notes to Zydeco Ballin, Lil Nathan began playing rubboard in his fathers band at age 5. He moved on to the drums and then the accordion, finding in his father an excellent teacher and role model. At age 14 when the CD was recorded, Lil Nathan demonstrates that he has already mastered all three types of accordionsdiatonic, triple-row, and piano (he posed with his accordions on the CD cover). His father wrote the songs on the CD, ranging from the flowing groove of "Ballin' on Zydeco" and "Where the Zydeco At?" to the nouveau Zydeco beat of "Bounce with It!" to the more traditional waltz rhythms of "Louisiana Boy," sung in English and French.
2007: Lil Nathan (Nathan Williams Jr.), who released his first CD at the age of 14, has matured into a highly accomplished musician. Like a lot of Zydeco performers, he grew up playing music, surrounded by a musical family. As the son of Nathan Williams Sr., leader of the Zydeco Cha Chas, as the nephew of Sid Williams and Dennis Paul Williams and great nephew of the late Harry Hypolite, and with connections through his family to many musicians in the Zydeco community, Lil Nathan was born with musical talent and nourished in a musical environment throughout his childhood. He has now moved beyond his Zydeco upbringing to expand his knowledge at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he is majoring in jazz studies and music media. Interviewed for Herman Fuselier’s liner notes to his 2007 CD, Doin’ It Big Time, Lil Nathan explains that in college he has “been exposed to chord progressions and different types of music that have influenced me in a lot of ways. I’m open-minded. I’ll listen to anything and make it work.†Instead of directly entering into the traditional rivalry for the claim to be at the top of the Zydeco mountain, Williams simply tells it like it is: “I’m not saying I’m better than anybody. I’ve just been exposed to some things other people have never been exposed to.†It’s that education combined with his musical background from birth that helps him turn the name of his band, the Zydeco Big Timers, into a CD that delivers on its title by Doin’ It Big Time. Lil Nathan wrote and arranged all of the songs on the CD. Included are several songs close to the Williams family Zydeco roots and a number of songs that branch in new directions such as the lush sound of “Big Timers’ Anthem†and the smooth verdure of “If I.†He also includes lyrics that present a bit of social commentary as in “That L’Argent,†in which, in both English and French, Lil Nathan describes our obsession with money. In songs like “My Sqeezebox,†he gives us a great contemporary Zydeco dance groove. In “We’re Going to the Zydeco,†he manages to include the names of dozens of Zydeco venues from Lafayette to New Orleans. “Louisiana Is Zydeco Country†is a celebration of the culture that nourishes the music. “Charge It to the Game†is about learning from experience, with a second remixed version as the last cut on the CD, for a total of 15 cuts. By the end of the CD, listeners will agree that, as Lil Nathan announces in the opening title cut, “We’re doin’ it big time.†Other musicians on the CD are Isiah “Sanchez†Williams on rubboard, Dennis Paul Williams on lead guitar, Julian “White Chocolate†Primeaux on rhythm guitar, Junius “Jun†Antoine on bass, and Jay-Pray-Jean on drums.
2009: Lil Nathan is at a new milestone with his anticipated release of his third CD entitled:THE AUTONOMOUS-Fit for Survival, which is set to be released late spring of 2009. Lil Nathan is now a 22 yr old Post-Graduate at the University Of Louisiana at Lafayette and is enrolled in the Alternative Teacher's Certification Program-Chorla Music Emphasis. He recieved his Bachelor's at UL-Lafayette in the spring of 2008. He's still leaning strongly toward's University of Texas-Austin or UL-Lafayette to receive his M A in Jazz Performance or Thoery Comp with Jazz Emphasis, with that being said Lil Nathan wants to incorporate zydeco music on the High School&College Level.!CLOSE Text Div!:!CLOSE Text Div!:!CLOSE Text Div!:..
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