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<p>A local bluesman is doing his part to further the genre he loves by looking inward at his own creativity and offering new music.</p><p>In November, Tunkhannock artist JP Williams released &#8220;Stolen Cadillac,&#8221; his second studio album since returning to making music in 2014 after a long hiatus that allowed him to focus on his personal life. The four-song EP exclusively showcases songs written by Williams, his first effort of the kind since rekindling his recording with 2016&#8217;s &#8220;Mixed Bag.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Mixed Bag,&#8221; Williams&#8217; first toe back into the proverbial blues waters, was a 12-song album that featured 11 arrangements of blues staples &#8212; the volume included interpretations of songs by greats like Bo Diddley, William &#8220;Casey Bill&#8221; Weldon and Willie Dixon &#8212; and one Williams original titled &#8220;Sleepin&#8217; With The Devil.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Stolen Cadillac,&#8221; the guitarist and songwriter explained in a recent phone interview, was Williams&#8217; reaffirmation of his own melody-authoring abilities.</p><p>&#8220;I really believe that the blues music that I do relies on artists that came before us, but, more so than all the other genres, sometimes it needs new work,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;As I look at the progression from Robert Johnson to Muddy Waters to the Allman Brothers to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Joe Bonamassa, there&#8217;s always something new (to appreciate). I decided as I was doing this that that&#8217;s the direction I needed to go in.&#8221;</p><p>The EP shows Williams&#8217; versatility with the swinging juke-joint swagger of &#8220;Now or Never,&#8221; the eerie torch jazz of &#8220;The Blues Got a Hold On Me&#8221; and the up-tempo acoustic delivery of &#8220;Woman of Mine.&#8221;</p><p>The title track, Williams explained, developed when Scranton singer-songwriter and playwright Tom Flannery offered his verses to Williams&#8217; composition process.</p><p>&#8220;He sent me lyrics and said, &#8216;Put it to blues,&#8217; and I did that,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;I&#8217;m fitting my music to a Tom Waits type of thing. The lyrics are a bit darker. I tried to add music that would bring it out but also to have it be different.&#8221;</p><p>A chance encounter with a classic vehicle and its gregarious owner provided an iconic image for both album art and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPtX4bsgvQ&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">an accompanying video</a> for the title cut.</p><p>&#8220;I walked out of a store in Tunkhannock and there was a 1961 pink Cadillac sitting there,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;It belongs to a Mehoopany resident named Keith Verbjar, who graciously let us take photographs with it.&#8221;</p><p>The video has amassed over 500 views to date, and the single has been picked up for airplay by several radio stations and nationally syndicated radio show &#8220;Soul of the Blues with Cassie J. Fox.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re getting some good reviews, and we&#8217;re excited,&#8221; Williams said.</p><p>The album, recorded at Republic Audio Studio in Clarks Summit with producer Clyde Rosencrance, features more layered production than &#8220;Mixed Bag&#8221; and, in addition to Williams&#8217; usual band of bassist Bob Strunk, drummer Jack Roberts and harmonicist Eddie &#8220;The Harp&#8221; Czarkowski, solicits the talents of percussionist Dominick Piccione, keyboard player Eric Brody, multi-instrumentalist Giles Davis and vocalist Ekat Pereyra. There&#8217;s even a guest appearance on cajon drum by Williams&#8217; daughter Leslie Williams.</p><p>&#8220;I invited musicians to not only play the songs, but to contribute their own unique talents to the recordings,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;That gave the producer and I a lot of fine material to (use toward) the final product. By nature of the new material I have, I had to pick four uniquely distinct songs but have it be tied together with what I do live and what I present to the public.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The production is something I&#8217;m really proud of,&#8221; Williams continued. &#8220;I smile when I hear it.&#8221;</p><p>Williams also released a live album, &#8220;Smokin Hot,&#8221; earlier in 2017, and the record features his work with a cigar box guitar.</p><p>The veteran blues player said he&#8217;s looking forward to recording more new material in 2018 and returning to the Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival in York for the second year in a row.</p><p>Upcoming local performances include appearances at Crotti&#8217;s on Ash and Ale Mary&#8217;s in Scranton and the Windsor Inn in Jermyn.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">JP Williams&#8217; latest studio effort, &#8216;Stolen Cadillac,&#8217; documents the Tunkhannock musician&#8217;s work as he turns from honoring the blues players who came before him to focusing on his original music and the creativity he has to offer the ever-changing genre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_DSC00042.jpg</photo0><caption0>JP Williams&#8217; latest studio effort, &#8216;Stolen Cadillac,&#8217; documents the Tunkhannock musician&#8217;s work as he turns from honoring the blues players who came before him to focusing on his original music and the creativity he has to offer the ever-changing genre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Courtesy of Mike Lehman </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_SC-JP-Dana-Inside.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">JP Williams, pictured with wife Dana Williams, released &#8216;Stolen Cadillac&#8217; in November. His second studio release since returning to making blues music, the EP features four distinctly different approaches to the blues. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_SC-JP-Dana-Inside.jpg</photo1><caption1>JP Williams, pictured with wife Dana Williams, released &#8216;Stolen Cadillac&#8217; in November. His second studio release since returning to making blues music, the EP features four distinctly different approaches to the blues. </caption1><photoCredit1>Courtesy of Mike Lehman </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>&#8216;Stolen Cadillac&#8217; displays diversity, originality for JP Williams</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>&#8216;Stolen Cadillac&#8217; </strong>and other releases by JP Williams are available for download on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and CDBaby and in both physical and digital formats at <a href="https://www.bluesbrokerrecords.com/" target="_blank">BluesBrokerRecords.com</a> as well as at all local JP Williams Band performances.</p><p><strong>Upcoming performances</strong> include appearances at 8 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Windsor Inn in Jermyn and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at McNally&#8217;s in Scranton.</p><p><strong>For more information </strong>on JP Williams&#8217; music and future performances, visit <a href="https://www.reverbnation.com/jpwilliams2" target="_blank">www.JP-Williams.com</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JPW.Pa" target="_blank">www.Facebook.com/JPW.PA</a>.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or on Twitter @TimesLeaderMatt.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Tunkhannock bluesman lets original music shine on new studio record