Former frontman shares new tunes on solo tour
The man who sat at the bar at 5 Points Pub last Wednesday afternoon seemed different from the long-haired, shimmying frontman who rose to fame as a member of The Academy Is... in the late 2000s. Looking suave and hip with his shorter 'do, round tortoiseshell glasses and a yellow T-shirt paying homage to anime series Weekly Shonen Sunday, the musician seemed reserved and almost shy when speaking with The Daily Gamecock. But William Beckett is still pounding the pavement for the same reason: his love of the stage.
When asked what his favorite part of touring was, Beckett said, "Performing. Absolutely performing. You know, whether it's in front of 5,000 people or 50 people, I love it. I just love the human connection."
Beckett is touring in support of "Walk the Talk," a four-song EP he released in April. While this is his first solo tour post-TAI, it isn't a completely new experience for him.
"When I started performing, I did it this way — solo — so it's not technically my first [solo tour]. Even when I was in the band, I did solo acoustic tours, so it's something I'm pretty familiar with," Beckett said. "This is the first time that I'm selling shirts with just my name on [them] ... which is a little weird, but it's been great thus far. I'm really happy with how it's all starting out and I'm excited for all the touring that's scheduled ahead as well."
Instead of releasing one full album, Beckett is releasing three EPs during 2012. The second EP will be released in July.
"I've already recorded it, and it's going to be a bit darker," Beckett said.
Beckett said the three EPs chronicle his journey through a relationship.
"What's always been the pinnacle of what I've written about has been relationships and trying to sustain a relationship, trying to grow it, trying to survive it at the same time with all that life can throw you," he said. "From there, it's like meeting someone that totally turns your life inside out and totally takes you back on your heels and this is like, wow, this is pretty incredible. So, 'Walk the Talk' kind of talks about those early stages, meeting someone and being really excited and everything's fun. But then my second EP gets into when the relationship is more established and you're kind of getting used to each other and the real life s**t kind of seeps in, and you're like 'OK,' and it's not all fun all the time ... There's still a lot of fun and a lot of hooks going on, but you can definitely feel the other side of the spectrum in this as well."
On his days off during the tour, Beckett has been streaming performances live online to fans across the globe.
"Stageit.com is something that my new manager actually turned me on to. I wasn't aware of it before, but it's this really great medium to play shows from a centralized location for people across the world, which is really pretty awesome," he said.
The site allows viewers to pay what they can to watch, "anywhere from 10 cents to as much as you want, so it doesn't put anybody out to participate." To thank the most generous supporters, Beckett has been calling the top tippers live to say hi and play their requests and has been sending out postcards to them from the road as well.
Beckett is known for his energetic stage presence, but he says he can't be bouncing off the walls all the time.
"Well, you see, I'm like very docile at the moment, very calm, so I'm like in my Zen mode. I save it for the stage," he said. "When I get on stage, I just feel that's where I belong and it's a comforting place to be. Particularly on this tour, because I'm just myself through and through, this is who I am. And it's kind of a side of me that I wasn't able to fully embrace being in the band. It's really great and a lot of fun. I think the shows have really been a success because I'm just being me, you know, and I think it's fun and people can kind of see through the B.S. sometimes and I'm making it easy for them by not supplying any."
When Beckett took the stage later that evening, his usual spark was there. Ditching the glasses and donning a dark shirt with a tailored grey vest, he captivated the crowd with a wide range of material and wowed them with his charisma, evidence that he truly has honed his craft over the course of his career. The set list took the audience on a journey through Beckett's musical timeline. He played all four songs off his most recent release, "Walk the Talk," with the help of backing tracks wafting through speakers attached to a Macbook, as well as powerful renditions of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" (which put Green Day's version to shame) and Ryan Adams' "Come Pick Me Up," for which he pulled out a harmonica and was joined by show opener Cara Salimando. And while The Academy Is... is no longer together, Beckett still plays tracks off all three albums, including fan favorites like "Down and Out," "Everything We Had" and "After the Last Midtown Show" (the last even brought a few Columbia concert-goers to tears).
If you missed Beckett's Columbia show, he will continue streaming performances on stageit.com. Beckett's "Walk the Talk" EP is available now through iTunes, Amazon and williambeckettmusic.com. For the latest updates from the artist, follow Beckett on Twitter @billbeckett or on Tumblr at thewilliambeckettblog.com.