Willie Ames

From the depths of the ocean off the coast of sunny San Diego (Poway), California, USA, North America, Planet Earth, Milky Way, the Universe and beyond, comes Willie Ames (guitarist/banjoist/singer/songwriter performing acoustic/folk/rock music). Willie first learned to play the guitar at the age of 5 with simple lessons from his father who taught him how to form the basic chords A through G. From then on, playing the guitar was a big hobby for Willie outside of school and sports. Self teaching himself songs by ear led the way for Willie to grab a solid grasp for playing songs on the guitar. At the age of 18, Willie became deeply inspired by the music of Mark Knopfler with Dire Straits and Lindsey Buckingham with Fleetwood Mac. While attending college, studying Mechanical Engineering, Willie decided that embarking on a music career had to be done when he discovered his true musical talents. Willie has written and continues to write his own original material that has listeners comparing his sound to his influences and other well known musicians. Willie does not use a pick and, rather, uses the bare skin of his finger tips to finger pick. This allows for a more versatile sound and reveals more taste in his guitar playing technique. He also uses a bare hand strumming/slap technique from time to time. Willie’s finger work can be heard in almost every music line he writes and is especially present in his instrumental track titled “Ice Breaker”.  In his songs that include vocals, Willie is picking the guitar/banjo and singing simultaneously. His track titled “Desert Run”, which happens to be the favorite according to his listeners, is a good example that proves his ability to finger pick his instrument while singing.  He does NOT use any machined sounds nor any special effects, just straight live finger work!  His lyrics are written with influence from everyday experiences as well as fictional/artistic thoughts and ideas.  Willie plays a 6 string acoustic guitar, both metal and nylon string. At age 23, Willie picked up a 5 string banjo. With his crisp and well developed finger work already established on the guitar, learning and self teaching himself the banjo came naturally. He began to write his instrumental tune titled "Black Widow" within 10 minutes of first picking up the banjo.  As many other banjo players play bluegrass style of banjo, Willie digs deep to find a harder/darker rock type of sound. A 6 string electric guitar also gets worked into the cycle of instrument use.  For years now, Willie has been non stop, performing showcases at music venues, festivals, party functions, corporate gigs, and weddings with his original music across all the United States with all 50 States covered to date! He's also toured internationally to Australia and Canada with his live performance. Willie manages to distribute his original CD to everyone in attendance at every show!  His current album Night Owl features 10 original tracks (with both his solo work and collaborations with other musicians) and a cover of Lindsey Buckingham's "Never Going Back Again" with Fleetwood Mac.  So far, Willie has released approximately 50,000 CDs to the public, from his hands to the people across all 50 States, Canada, and Australia, and he won’t be stopping anytime soon. His music is also available for digital download everywhere online, iTunes, and in physical CD form.  Willie performs 100% live, both solo and with other LIVE musicians