Growing up in San Diego, Will was exposed to avant garde and experimental jazz at an early age. Surrounded by an eclectic group of master experimenters, Will developed a lifelong dedication to the exploration of sound. He became involved with UCSD, joining every guitar ensemble and new music composition class that would have him from ages 13-15. Thus earning a Fender scholarship to Berklee College of Music and ultimately moving on to UC Berkeley to study philosophy and music. During his time at Cal he wrote several plays - this brought him to LA, where they were produced at Skylight Theater. In LA composing music for Skylight Theater and The Beverly Hills Playhouse by day and playing guitar in the punk band ‘Slip Fall Die’ by night. SFD became a centerpiece of a thriving new punk scene in Hollywood. The band eventually merged with members from Terminal A and Egrets On Ergot to form the supergroup Tradeshow. Tradeshow's single ‘Andy Dick’ amassed a cult following and opened the door for Will to DJ at KXLU. He’s collaborated with the likes of; Ariel Pink, Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass, Esperanza Spalding, David Lindley, Peter Erskine, Fred Frith, Robert Fripp, and Richie Havens.
While acting in the Universal film ‘Lionheart,’ Will improvised a song for guitar and voice during a break. The director loved the piece and it was licensed through UMG for the final cut. This success encouraged his focus on the singer-songwriter world. He will be releasing his debut solo EP "Kid Lightning" later this year. Will enjoys working with scientists and environmentalists to create art that advocates stewardship and conservation. His multi-media performance piece “Brine Shrimp” was a collaboration with Scripps Institute Of Oceanography, the oldest institution of oceanography in the world. The performance piece demonstrated through immersive sound the fragile ecosystem of the ocean's food web. He worked with SIOO again to create fish sound sample packs that he gave to producers who have used them in a litany of dance, electronic, and hip-hop tracks. His latest creative project, “Piano In The Wild,” is an endurance concert series on a grand piano in the National Parks - Will performs an improvised, sunrise-to-sunset concert inspired by the natural beauty of the surroundings. For more information, check out: www.pianointhewild.org |