Interview with singer-songwriter Duff Daddy

We are sharing our recent interview with Singer/songwriter Dave “Duff Daddy” Williams.

Twist Online : First of all please introduce yourself to our readers?
Duff Daddy: I’m a singer-songwriter currently living in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix. I’ve been writing songs for a number of years, but just recently started working to record and release some of them. Last year, I released “That Golf Song”, which was a fun tribute to a game that I’ve always enjoyed playing. People really responded well, especially to the video, so that was great. This new song is something that I also have a passion about. I try to write songs that inspire me in one way or another.

Twist Online : You took some music training or it’s all natural talent?
Duff Daddy : Well, I took a few guitar lessons when I was really young, but I wasn’t very good at it, so I got frustrated and I stopped playing for a number of years. Later on, I really just learned basic rhythm guitar by playing Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young songs after school with a friend as a teenager. I wouldn’t say that I have any special musical talent, except that I love music, and I know what I like when I hear it.

Twist Online : Tell us about your upcoming release “Like a Rocket on the 4th of July”?
Duff Daddy : I started writing that last year, right around the middle of June. My wife and I have always loved going up to this cabin up in the Sierras for the 4th of July. We sit out on a deck that overlooks this little lake, and the community always does this amazing fireworks display over the lake. It’s one of our favorite things every year. Like in a lot of small towns, there’s also a 4th of July parade that we go to, and it’s just a great thing. Typically there are some veterans in the parade, sometimes firefighters – people who’ve risked their lives in service to others – and they’re genuine heroes in my view. It’s a patriotic day where we also celebrate a lot of things that are great about America. And it’s a wonderful day for sunshine, outdoor activities, great food, and fireworks.

What gets lost sometimes, I think, is that the 4th is a day when we celebrate the founding of our country by some really brave people, who risked everything to make it happen.

Nearly every community in the U.S. has a big celebration on the 4th that includes music. So why aren’t there more current, original songs that celebrate this holiday? It seems like the default soundtrack for the 4th of July is John Phillip Sousa. Not that there’s anything wrong with marching tunes – but all that music is a hundred years old.

So I got back in touch with Tom Samulak, who’s doing great things as a producer and guitarist in Nashville, and we co-produced this track

Twist Online : What kind of response you are expecting from the release?
Duff Daddy : The official release is May 15, but people who’ve heard the song really like it. I’ve been told that it has a great hook. And Tom did a killer guitar solo in the middle – just pure ear candy. So it all came together really well.

Twist Online : What’s your favorite music genre?
Duff Daddy : Growing up, it was all rock n roll. Now I listen almost exclusively to Country, which in a lot of cases now sounds so much like rock n roll that there’s not a lot of point in drawing a distinction. But music is music. I enjoy all kinds of things.

Twist Online : What’s the best part of being a music artist?
Duff Daddy : Just being able to create a song in my head and then work with others to translate it into a recording. The great thing about this one, for me, is that it sounds pretty much exactly the way that I initially heard it in my head. It’s just a fantastic thing when you have the opportunity to do that, and then share it with others.

Twist Online : What’s up next?
Duff Daddy : Just working on writing some new songs. Working through the lyrics and the changes. Trying to make each one special in its own way. It’s a lot of fun.