Father’s tribute to daughter, Vandy draws some big names, breakout bands

Larose native Steve Williams sings for the love of it these days.

The CEO of International Offshore Services, a multi-million dollar oilfield supply business, Williams has, by all accounts, already made it big.

But at age 40, the cover band musician-turned successful businessman-turned singer/songwriter has two CDs to his credit and a third soon on the way, has opened concerts for singer Edwin McCain and has caught the attention of major recording labels in Nashville, Tenn.

And on Dec. 8, Williams and a few of his favorite bands are coming to Vandebilt Catholic High School to deliver an afternoon of cutting-edge tunes at the Fall Music Fest. The concert starts at 2 p.m., and tickets are $20.

Sharing the stage in centerfield with the Steve Williams Band will be McCain, whose hits “I’ll Be” and “I Could Not Ask for More” topped the charts and his latest CD, “Lost in America” – released last April – has been described by critics as “a true rock ‘n’ roll collection.”

Civil Twilight, a trio out of Cape Town, South Africa, that Williams produces; Chasen, a South Carolina-based group whose single “Crazy Beautiful” had reached No. 21 on Christian music charts as of press time; and CRAVE, a Houma Christian band are also in the musical lineup.

“I guarantee people are going to look back six months from now at this lineup and say, ‘I got to see these bands in one place in Houma, La., one Saturday afternoon for one price.’ And it won’t be a fluke, either. These bands are that close to breaking out,” Williams said.

The music festival was Williams’ idea, another act of love. His daughter, Whitney, 15, is a sophomore at Vandebilt. The festival is Williams’ way of giving back to the school and spending quality time with his daughter.

“My second home is Greenville, S.C., and on one of my visits there I went to an outdoor concert at a minor league baseball field with Edwin (McCain),” Williams explained. “There was something about being outside, looking up at the stars and listening to music.”

When the school began bouncing about ideas for a fund-raiser, Williams volunteered.

“No one thought an outdoor music fest was within reach,” he said. “But I believe Houma can support such an event, and all of the musicians were quick to volunteer their time.”

They volunteered, in large part, because of the special connection they share with Whitney through her father.

It’s family relationships that led Steve Williams to music. Ironically, set to music, those relationships are garnering him attention on Nashville’s Music Row. The song “Better Man” off Williams’ latest ONG-produced CD, “Sometimes,” is based on the relationship he had with his father.

The product of what his Myspace page describes as a “typical, dysfunctional, middle class family,” Williams and his dad “had a tough time when I was coming up.”

The senior Williams’ adopted father had beaten him as a teen. Eventually, Williams’ dad moved out and started his own family.

It was years later, on a drive through the Gulf Coast area, that the senior Williams and his youngest son spotted the man who raised and then beat him. It would be the last time Steve Williams would see his grandfather alive. And it would be longer still, at Steve’s grandmother’s funeral, that his father would face the anger he’d kept pent up inside at the abuse.

The sight of his father unable to forgive, his grandfather addicted to alcohol and his grandmother’s inability to protect her son resulted in the Steve Williams Band’s “Better Man.” And it inadvertently led Williams to his follow-up hit, “A Love Like This.”

“My dad wasn’t able to break the chain … that’s what ‘Better Man’ conveys. It’s a song about a man who is able to end that cycle and build a better connection with family,” Williams said.

The song, which Williams said, “took 10 minutes to write and two weeks to sing without crying,” was penned for his daughter Whitney.

“I absolutely broke the chain with my daughter. We have a great relationship,” Williams said. “I never wanted to wait 38 years to have a good relationship with my dad, and I don’t want to miss a moment with my child. I’m a father first; I have plenty of time later to be her friend.”

Things are coming fast for Williams these days. Whether it’s seeing his daughter grow or his musical career blossom, the one-time cover band guitarist has come a long way.

Today, instead of covering other musician’s tunes as the opening act for The Producers or Molly Hatchet, Williams is coming into his own.

And with the soon-to-be-released combination of Williams and McCain guitarist Pete Riley, the Larose native is optimistic about his future. “I fully expect to be signed by a major label before the end of the year or shortly after,” he said. And after that? “The trend for singers with my style and at my age is country. I can easily see myself opening for a middle tier artist, a Dierks Bentley or someone like that.”

Steve Williams is pictured during filming of his video “Better Man” off his “Sometimes” CD, released by ONG Records.