Phillious Williams | “I am from 1886 and my real name is Eli Williams”

Phillious Williams, Artist of the month on Net Emergence. We are trying to understand who is Phillious William. Not so easy. But for sure the man got stories to tell. True or not ? Is-it that important…

Who is Phillious Williams ?

Phillious Williams is maybe a real person or maybe my grandfather was just a good story teller. The tale came down from him. My Grandfather’s Grandfather, or maybe his Great Grandfather, ( ARE YOU STILL HERE ?) He is not here to ask how many greats, He has gone from this world.

Anyway, this Grandfathers Grandfather He sailed on a clipper ship…’The Cuttysark’ many years ago, His name can be found on the logbook, so I know this part is true.

So apparently there was this very old book that was passed around the ship, It had been handed down by many over the years, a collection of memoirs, songs and poems, it was all written by someone called ‘Phillious Williams’. The stories were often read aloud in the evening down below as not everyone could read so good , if at all!

The stories were witty, gripping and outrageous and supposed to be ‘Phillious Williams’s’ true adventures, the story of his crazy, dark messed up life.

So this relative of my Grandfather came back and found huge pleasure in re-telling what he could remember of these tales etc, and so the stories were passed down Father to son, until they eventually hit my ears when I was a small boy, ( By small I mean, just average for a child, I am not a circus dwarf and was not a ewok in starwars).

All I really remember was he gambled things that were not his to gamble, travelled a lot, drank constantly, got in heaps of trouble with women and it all made me laugh and cringe. I wish I could remember the stories well, but I was like 7 or 8, but I always remembered the name, hence, I took it and since I have no son it’ll probably die with me.

You were born in the 17th century during the bubonic plague… What keeps you busy after all these years ?

I was not born in 17th I am from 1886 and my real name is Eli Williams.

What’s the story of « Sweet Debris » ?

I can’t talk about it, real sorry.

Where can we find your previous EP « The London Beach »

Hmmm…I was gonna say you can’t find one, but I saw one on ebay just two weeks back and you know whats weirder than that ….it was in France…no shit I kid you not. There was only 500 done, I was gonna buy it cause I don’t have one, but then I thought thats one more person who won’t hear it, so I didn’t, I bought this movie called ‘one eye’d jacks’ with Marlon Brando and it was cool as anything I’d seen in ages.

What are the plans for 2010 and onwards ?

2010 … well it’s gotta be better than 2009, 08 and 07 huh.

I broke my back not long after the London Beach ep. I was a year or so in bed waiting for an operation, had the operation and then like another 6 months in bed getting used to the metal bar they put in my back! When I did eventually get up take a shower an breakfast and go out …I found walking and just day to day living tough. Also I had to kick the 17 pain pills a day I’d been on for 3 years, so last few years been hard,  it can only get better. But the good side was I wrote 200 songs in 2007-08 and also a 160.000 word fiction book ‘The life loves and trials of a cactus climber’ . Its a heavy western love story about a kid who has to climb cacti, ha ha but I guess the title says just that huh? Anyway it’s sad, pretty dark and very beautiful and I’m so happy I bust my back, just to have had the time and patience to have laid down this tale. I done 100 illustrations to go with it and also wrote 40 songs… one per chapter. The idea being you get a big book with drawings and a download for the music , I guess its a musical, if it was a film it’d be a musical, but not like one of them awful one’s where everyone bursts into song every 5 minutes., I mean I hate that when someone say’s « Would you like a cake Katie »? and then Katie hoist’s up her patchwork skirt, starts dancing around the room jumping off chairs , swinging from lights singing at the top of her voice « Yes Mary I’d love a cake , a great big fancy flowery cake, I’d take that cake , the cake you baked, and cram it in my silly face , for the cakes you make , make no mistake are the greatest bloody cakes to date! »……etc etc …  No no no…

When someone sings in my book, its for a good reason, i.e, they are on stage, or in a rocking chair on the front porch making entertainment instead of climbing a cactus, spying on the whore next door, doing opium or having sex.

So hang on what was the question? Oh 2010 , I’m in the studio at the moment recording new stuff, so an ep this year, you know I can walk, jump and everything now so lots more gigs, I’m playing a couple acoustic shows in Brooklyn next month so hopefully this is the start of just getting out and about more. It really feels good to be myself again. I have a great backing band now, double bass drums and lapsteel and it’s more like kinda how I see it…, Phillious Williams has always been just two : Myself and Matt Lord, but Matt has been busy touring with Esser and previously to that Ladyfuzz, and then like I say I done my back in , so I kinda played lots acoustic shows and sometimes just me and a drummer…

Matt is moving to L.A pretty soon and we will always play together when he is around or I’m there , but for now…

I’ve put together this four piece , and it’s really sounding good, I’m excited about this year.

And I’m gonna get the book out and make everyone cry!!!

You made reference to western. We often thought to a mix between Sergio Leone’s universe and the night of the hunter. Are we crazy or you meant it ?

I love every western movie ever made, I must have like 4 or 500 and seen em all loads of times.I have loved em since I was like 3 or 4 years old!

I was not allowed to see fistful of dollars when I was a kid , so I stole it from the book store and kept it under my bed for ages, read it bout 5 times before I got my hands on the movie and then, when I saw it the 1st time , I knew then and there, I only ever wanted to be an actor or rob banks or write slow ballads for people on worn out horses.

I also LOVE ‘the night of the hunter’ that is so cool you referred to that! it really does it for me!

Yeah I’m kinda halfway between the lot really, I kinda do wear old suits and western tie’s, I have a shotgun, I have an old harley instead of a horse cause its faster and shits less,… I have not started robbing banks yet, but anything can happen!

I still wanna be an actor but hate cameras and being told what to do.

We also mentionned ghost, haunted soul. Who’s on that picture for example?

Oh thats me , like I said I hate camera’s so I took an invisible pill….next time I’ll take two.

what comes to your mind looking at this video ?

I’ve never seen it and am not looking now….haha! oh man, that suit! We were on the way back from a gig in wales, and late for the studio where they were gonna film us, I didn’t have a suit or time to go home and fetch one, so I went into the nearest charity store and came out in a green safari suit, I think i was still hung over from the night before, so I threw it on!

I only wear black or dark coloured suits now-day’s and always make sure they fit snug. But thats life huh, I don’t put this footage stuff up and if I could take it all of… I would.

Internet has changed a lot of thing regarding music since youre beginning: for worse or better ?

Internet does as much harm as good, like in everything not just music!

I don’t think I like internet at all, but it’s here and here to stay.

It’s Worse, but like , you still take it huh, I mean I’m emailing this to you, I’m on line,  it’s like a drug, you can run it down, get sick of it, say never again, you’ll still go back….  it’s got you by the balls and nothing you can do bout it.

One artist or band you’re dreaming to play with ?

Really can’t think of anyone I’d like to play with who is still alive, but when I die, I’m gonna ask to jam with Edith Piaf …without ‘hymn to love’ I don’t think I’d be here. She kills me, utterly kills me and I adore it, I love her style.

Most beautiful music story that happened to you ?

I really dunno, you what, I just love singing, writing  performing but I guess when you really know you’ve touched someone, like I’ve wrote some pretty sad songs and some funny dumb ones to … if someone is smiling and ranting how good a tune or gig that they just heard/saw or if some breaks a tear, cause a song just took em some place down memory lane… its all good, any reaction is cool… but mostly … if my little song hits me, then I’m over the moon… I’m selfish I’m always looking to get high of my sadness or maybe its just expressing it, I dunno … can’t answer this question properly. There are 1000s stories I wrote like over 1300 songs, they all mean something to me… but I can only remember 200 at anyone time my brain space is limited … but i have recorded everything… mostly just rough. I once played a gig and played 164 songs with one break, it went on four hours at some folk festival, it was kinda strange , my voice didn’t run dry, the room stayed full all day it went from silent on mellow sad songs to glass throwing dancing on tables on fast ones… up and down…that was probably my best gig, there were a few who saw the whole thing…. like from the opening song to me collapsing in the fireplace at the end and they still go on about ….it was beautiful.

Last word for Net Emergence (if you have a webcam, this is great. Otherwise, this is great too)

My last word is

Thank-you so very much for taking time to listen to our songs and write lovely words bout us, I wish you all good times ahead..always., kindest regards and the best wishes…

Eli Williams aka Mark Schubert mistakenly often referred to as Phillious Williams.

Viva la france.

Picture: Peter Brenchley