Page 90 - July ONLINE VERSION

Interview Series
William (Bill) Criss is a musician, superb sketch artist, and a profound lyri-
cist. Criss is the embodiment of a humanitarian. His ideologies on life, love,
and the pursuit of internal happiness are inspirational.
ZGP: When did music start for you?
BC: I had listened all my life, but in 1978 at the age
of 26, I bought my first drum set from Cecil’s Band-
stand. I was working for the recreation department
and showed up one day with the drum set in
1978: The Late Ricky Deaton (Guitar) and Bill Criss (Drums).
the back of my car and my supervisor said, “Well,
look at that you just wasted your money.” We agreed
to disagree on that one. That drum set brought me
a lot of joy. That drum set allowed me to play with
some great guys – David Deaton, Charlie Baker,
Ricky Deaton, and Willie Evans in 1979. I had no
idea what I was doing, looking back I was proba-
bly awful, but they let me play with them anyway. I
learned to play along the way. I did take some les-
sons from Byron Chaney and Chris Dickerson. Oth-
er than that, my entire drumming career I played
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By Tammy Yosich
by ear. Byron and Chris are just brilliant and taught
me things I didn’t know I could do; like double
stroke rolls during solos that stuns the world. Once I
learned to do these, I found they weren’t as difficult
as I perceived them to be.
ZGP: Have you always been in Jackson,
Tennessee?
BC: No, I was born in Grenada, Mississippi. My
family and I moved here before I started first grade.
I lived here from first grade until I was sworn into
the Marines in December 25, 1968 on my 17th
birthday. My service wasn’t remarkable but I’m cer-
tainly proud to have served.
ZGP: I am grateful for your service. All
military service, in my opinion, is remark-
able. It is signing up to defend the Ameri-
can way of life with all that a service man
or woman has to offer, including their life.
1970’s: Bill Criss (L) with fellow Marine
ZGP Magazine
ZGP: Where are some places your music
has taken you?
BC: Back in the 1980’s I played locally with the
legendary Rayburn Anthony; a great guy, musi-
cian, singer/songwriter. Anthony would go on the
road with country music star Melba Montgomery.
Because of the connection I had with Anthony, I
got some road time with Montgomery as well. But
most of my gigs have been in bars. The way I see it,
if you love what you are doing, when I’m playing my
music for people everything feels right in the world
at that moment. Just doing what you love is truly
satisfying and joyous. The interaction of a smaller
ground is energizing. I had the pleasure of seeing
Led Zeppelin in 1972 in Long Beach, Pink Floyd
that same year at the Hollywood Ball – the Dark
Side of the Moon tour. The concerts were great but
unless you are on the front row, or even like today
have some close-up visuals through a big screen,
you are watching these tiny figures way off.
ZGP: Who are some of your musical influ-
ences?
BC: John Bonham, also referred to as “Bonzo”, he
was also a self-taught drummer. Keith Moon, I
mean I just love these wild guys. Back in the day,
classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s – bands were so
distinctive. When you heard a certain band, you
knew instantly who it was because each member
had a certain style. If you took John Bonham out of
Led Zeppelin or Keith Moon out of The Who and
switched them it would change the sound of each
band. Today, in my opinion, studio cuts are more
homogenized and lose some of the distinction from
the classic rock era. Studio guys are amazing, they
can walk in put a chart in front of them, Steely Dan
would do that, they would bring in these guys like
Chuck Rainey, who went to Lane College here back
in 1959 I think, and they could just sit down and
play it.
ZGP: Do you think technology has helped
or hurt the music industry?
BC: That is hard to say because there has been some
great stuff that has come out that is timeless and
classic before they had all the gadgets they have
today. The Beatles started out with four track they
recorded on and it still sounds really good to me. If
anything, technology can cause things to be over-
ZGP Magazine www.zoegracepublishing.com
produced but used in the right way, technology is a
great asset.
ZGP: Do you think there is a genuine con-
nection between music and the soul?
BC: Absolutely, the purest music is an expression of
something someone feels and their ability to put it
down, arranging chords and placing melodies in a
certain way. When that comes out, it is like one soul
talking to other souls: the audience. The audience
is extremely important because expressing yourself
melodically without someone to share it with, is
like a painter without someone to appreciate the
creation. Sharing one’s own creative process with
others helps them to connect to their own emotions.
ZGP: Sharing is vulnerability?
BC: Sure, I mean I put things out there only to later
wonder if it was terrible. You are opening your soul
up for positive or negative interpretation. Trying to
force an emotion into a poetic box; it becomes clear
if what I’ve written was emotionally inspired or if I
was just trying to be a wordsmith. However, there
are times that people come along and can poetically
express themselves and put those lyrically to music,
like Paul Simon. The music could be removed from
the music and it would still be brilliant, like “Vin-
cent (Starry Starry Night)” by Don McLean. Often
the most touching words come from a place of pain.
Blues music was derived from pain, but ironically
blues music also brings great joy to so many people.
ZGP: Is there freedom in honest, trans-
parent expression?
BC: I believe there is a great deal of satisfaction
in knowing that your creativity touched people,
changed them for the better in some way. All forms
of art provides for this transparency that I beleive
people appreciate and develop a connection.
Bill Criss not only expresses himself musically but
also through superb sketch artistry. Such as this
portrait honoring his older brother Frank. “I like
that I was able to capture his affable and good-na-
tured demeanor,” says Bill.
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