 Courtesy of the Artist
Born and raised surrounded by cornfields in southern Indiana, COYOTE’s songwriter and rhythm guitarist, Jessi Williams, is no stranger to country and bluegrass music. At 14, Williams studied the Neil Young guitar songbook, while her parents hosted regular pickin’ parties in the farmhouse kitchen. While her interest in bluegrass may have taken a backseat to her love of 60s and 70s rock and Motown, it has always remained a prominent style in her songwriting.
In 2008 Jessi moved to Los Angeles with her two-year-old daughter. As an outlet for her frustrations as a military wife and single mom, Jessi flooded her notebooks with stories of personal woe and interpretations of the world. Guitar in hand, she took to the stages of dive bars and coffee shops where she met Chris Sousa (bass), Robin Harris (guitar), former member Adrian Prohaska (mandolin), and Conan Skyrme (drums). Through their mutual adoration of folk music, the 5-piece folk rock band known as “Coyote” (pronounced Kye-Oat) was born. Eventually, Coyote found themselves in the live room of the historic EastWest Studios where they laid down eight tracks and prepared for their first release. However, around the same time, Jessi was touring with spaghetti-western influenced folk rock band, The Lonely Wild. Balancing a demanding tour schedule, a day job, and motherhood, she was forced to put Coyote on a hiatus. All the while the songs came, and now, are finally ready to be shared. Reemerging in 2018 as Jessi Williams and Coyote, the group, with The Lonely Wild member Ryan Ross have new songs in the works and are blowing the dust off of tunes that have ripened beautifully with age. On June 1st, the band will release the lead single from their upcoming EP, “Roam, Little Gypsy." Set to a lulling piano and twangy guitar, the moody waltz--penned by Williams for her fellow country songstress, and friend, Margo Price--“Roam, Little Gypsy” exudes biting lyrics examining the pressures and expectations faced when transitioning from a young, free-spirited woman to a wife and mother. "When I lived in Nashville, Margo and I would frequently get together to drink, smoke, and play Nirvana or Dylan songs in her basement,” says Williams. “We were a little wild back then, so these nights felt pretty responsible to us. When I got pregnant and moved to Kansas, my life was strikingly different than the life I'd been living. Margo wrote a song for me called ‘The Ballad of Jessi Williams.’ I remember it had a great line about trading cigarettes for apron strings. When Margo got married and subsequently pregnant with her boys a few years later, I wrote ‘Roam, Little Gypsy’ as a response song. She's heard it and is really supportive of this release.” Ahead of the single's release, Williams kindly took some time to talk about her roots, the single, and more. With your folks hosting picking parties, you were around music from a young age. Did you know it would eventually be your path? I started off playing trumpet and then guitar, but was intimidated by both my folks and step-brother, who was this incredible guitar player, so the idea of playing in front of people wasn’t something I was ever sure I would ever be ready for. I was always interested in music and knew I would always play it, but growing up in the Midwest, it never seemed like it was a realistic goal to pursue. So who or what encouraged you to finally make the jump? I started writing my own songs in college [Williams graduated with a Music Business degree] and when I moved to Nashville around 2003, I started hanging out and playing with Margo Price, who would book our first coffee house gigs. It was her show, but she really encouraged me to play a couple songs or sing harmony. Knowing someone who was at my level and establishing her career as I was mine, was incredibly encouraging to me. To this day, she is still one of my best friends. It's a special thing to have someone in the same situation who is also supportive of you. How did you eventually find your musical identity and the style you play? It really just came naturally. My parents played bluegrass, but I always loved Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, and The Band, who all have this rock and roll aspect to them along with a country one and that's a style which I gravitate to. 
This song, and upcoming release, with Coyote is a long time coming. When I moved to LA, I did the solo coffeehouse circuit and eventually met other musicians and started the band [Coyote]. We played for a year or so and recorded songs, but I was also playing with The Lonely Wild and we were touring constantly which left me unable to have time for both. Lately the older members [of Coyote] have been encouraging me to get the band back together, so we did. On June 1st, you will release your new single, “Roam, Little Gypsy” which you wrote for Margo Price. When I got married and had a baby, my life changed. At the time, Margo wrote me a little song about how I changed from party girl to mom. So when that happened to her two years later, I wrote this song as a response in the tradition of Neil Young and Ronnie Van Zandt. The song talks about change, so how do you balance music and motherhood which unlike most other jobs takes you away from home? That’s the toughest thing I think. We kept our tours short, never going out longer than a month, and we didn’t start until my daughter was 3 or 4. I also have a lot of family support. My dad lives out here and if the tour would be on the longer side, I might fly my mom from Tennessee or take my daughter to stay with her. I’m oldest of 7 and my daughter doesn’t get to see her cousins all the time, so it's partly a vacation for her, which makes it easier for me knowing she’s having fun with her cousins. I had another baby 9 months ago, so I haven’t had to navigate the waters of touring with two kids yet. Her dad's in the band with me, and I'm not sure if that will make it harder or easier, but we will find out when that time comes. “Roam, Little Gypsy” then is a bit of an older song, will the other songs on the EP be ones you had in your pocket as well? These songs are a bit older. We recorded them at EastWest Studios and the timing of it was the only reason we didn’t release them earlier. When I went back and listened though, I really didn’t want to change anything. I felt like they still kept their shape. I decided to release them now, but I have been writing and have tons of new material as well. Finally, I always love to know, what are you listening to? Lately, life was overtaken by wedding songs [Williams performed at her sister's wedding], but I’ve been listening to the Grateful Dead, who I hadn’t listened to in years, as well as the Talking Heads and the Rolling Stones. My daughter and I both love Motown and Tommy James too, so we’ve been listening to them a lot as well. WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // INSTAGRAM // TWITTER
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