Singer/songwriter/guitarist Cristina Williams embodies a hybrid of musical influences you probably haven’t come across in the current pop rock climate. Imagine the self-possessed rock attitude of Chrissie Hynde channeling Linda Rondstadt’s 70’s California folk/rock cool. Yeah, wild.” – Gail Worley
After living in the two biggest cities in the country, being in the desert has created some extra space in my head – almost by default. Maybe it’s the lack of pollution – maybe it’s the physical whitespace: gaps between buildings, gaps between the rooftops and the blue, blue sky. What ever it is, I’m shedding things and thoughts and baggage. I don’t need them anymore. Which makes me think, what do I need? Time and space to write, sing, rock out and be.
Some Tucsonans know me from the neo-psychedelic rock band Silver Cloud Express but I’ve been doing the singer/songwriter thing for most of my life. Steeped in folk music while growing up in Florida – me and my acoustic guitar. Then moved to New York City and got hooked on rock n roll – switched to electric and started playing with a band. Met the love of my life, a sonic wizard named Jamie Laboz and we moved to LA, and started rocking together as The Modeens. But now that I’ve been getting my rock off (heh) – I’m lately drawn to my folkier, quieter side – country songs keep coming out of my pen. And not just country – don’t know what to call my sound these days, but I’m ready to share some of my own little world.
What some folks who know music have said about me over the years
What Did I Do?, the debut release from Cristina Williams Band, is an album of contradictions without compromise. Hailing from Florida and raised in a Cuban-American family, she incorporates reggae sounds “Make You Happy” along with the blues of title song. When Williams branches off into the spoken word of “Summer Moon” or the brooding “I’ll Let You Go” the breadth of her emotion is striking. Comparisons to Maria McKee and Melissa Etheridge are deserved as Williams is clearly a songwriter before all else. But she also has the ability to bring her personal and plaintive lyrics to life. Backed by a strong band, What Did I Do? has the feel of a live performance, with Williams’ energy breaking through each song.”
— Amplifier magazine
“A laudable collection that unearths such notable newcomers as…Jacksonville, FL, native, Cristina Williams.” (from a review of East Side of Fascination compilation which featured two tracks from What Did I Do?) ” — Billboard Magazine
“To answer the question the title poses, you made a damn good disc, Cristina…A song like “Make You Happy” does precisely that. It starts off in a surf-genre mood before bouncing off with a chorus featuring a Farfisa-organ sound, and a hooky nature that could have been culled from a ’60s TV show. (I can picture the girls in white go-go boots and heavy black mascara.) She’s not your typical guitar-strumming coffeehouse singer, mind you, as her voice has plenty of depth to it. Her lyrics show an investment of time as well, like on “I’ll Let You Go,” a bittersweet tale if there ever were one. Again, a really good disc.” — NYRock.com
“Imagine the self-possessed rock attitude of Chrissie Hynde channeling Linda Rondstadt’s 70’s California folk/rock cool. Yeah, wild.” — Gail Worley
