You may not be familiar with the name Tim Williams, but as long as you have been around a television during the last half decade, you will recognize his face and especially his voice. The Houston native is the North American spokesperson for Trivago, and now Williams is giving that famous voice of his another spotlight with his country debut album Magnolia City released this past September.
We caught up with Tim right before the holidays to talk about his journey in acting and music, his new album, and what’s to come in 2019.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
TW: I’m an easy going guy from Houston that currently lives in Berlin. You may recognize me as I have been the face and voice of travel company Trivago for the last six years. Hotel? Trivago.
CN: You grew up in Houston and New York City, both urban areas but different in probably almost every other way. How did your experiences in those cities mold you into the person you are today?
TW: You really get wrapped into the hustle and bustle in both cities. Living in Houston and NYC keeps you on your toes and I felt like I was always running to get where I wanted to go. I was fortunate that I got the best of both worlds: the fast paced city life and the slower paced southern city atmosphere.
CN: During your teenage years you discovered both acting and music. What was it about each that grabbed your attention?
TW: Both allow you to reach large audiences and provide you with opportunities to share your experiences with others.
CN: Which musicians have influenced you both personally and as an artist?
TW: In the country market, I would say acts like Willie, Waylon, Merle and Johnny had the biggest influence. Outside of that, I remember vividly the impact that U2 brought to the culture and music scene. I was impressed by how they were able to get their message across in their music and live performances.
CN: One can be surrounded by something, but never really discover it. For example, growing up in Texas you were surrounded by country music, but when did you personally discover it?
TW: I first recall hearing country music at the rodeos. We would go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Simonton Rodeo when I was a kid and country music was being blared from the speakers.
CN: After high school you moved from Houston back to NYC to pursue a job in acting. What made you decide to attempt the acting route versus a career in music?
TW: I wanted to be seen and heard and acting appealed to me first. I was good at imitating other people and, when I first went to New York, I thought I wanted to do comedy work, but as the roles were acquired my goals changed.
CN: With credits to you name in shows like The Sopranos, My So-Called Life, and Law and Order, you then took your career to Germany. How did that opportunity come about?
TW: I was living in New York and auditioned for a movie called “the Search for the Impotent Man” and landed it. I traveled to Germany in late 2000 and early 2001 to shoot that film. There, I fell in love and have stayed ever since.
CN: That move overseas ended up being a chance well taken for in addition to numerous parts in TV and movies, you landed the role that brought you into everyone’s home in North America: the voice and face of Trivago. In what non-obvious ways did that opportunity change your life’s path?
TW: Trivago provided me with stability and opened-up free time for me to pursue my music career.
CN: You’ve now come full circle as you are giving that famous voice a chance at music. Magnolia City, your debut album released on September 28th, not only pays tribute to the greats of Merle, Johnny and Willie but the tracks are also very personal to you. These songs are somewhat of a diary for you, tackling feelings like the homesickness you felt being so away from home, love, and travel. How does it feel to record these songs and share them with the world?
TW: It’s just an incredible blessing. When I first started this conversation with my producer and we started writing, it took us around eight months to go from penning these songs to getting the final versions in the studio. It was an incredible opportunity that I am happy to share.
CN: Can you share with us your songwriting process?
TW: Most of these songs were written with my producer Norbert Hamm. We would sit down and bounce around lyrics and content ideas and he had this immeasurable talent for crafting those ideas into a song.
CN: How did you go about choosing the ten tracks for the album?
TW: Each song was written for this record and told a piece of my story. They all kind of fit together when the project was finished.
CN: Last month you released the lyric video for the title track, “Magnolia City.” As the opening lyrics appear over black and white film, we see you dressed up in, obviously, a NASA astronaut suit. Did this idea for the video come to mind as you wrote the lyrics?
TW: It was actually Norbert’s idea. That must have been in the back of his mind when we were writing “Magnolia City.” We knew we wanted to shoot video content for this song and, while I wanted to shoot it in my hometown of Houston, we were thousands of miles away in Berlin. So the closest we could get was via a costume shop in the area that had a suit.
CN: In addition to the story-telling songs, the musicianship of the album is wonderful with parts being very traditional. Can you tell us about the talented musicians that performed on Magnolia City?
TW: Larry Beaird found the musicians in Nashville. They were all so immensely talented. Watching them play through a song once and capture a cut for the record was mind-blowing. In the country market, I feel like you can only get that experience in Nashville.
CN: Is there a country music scene in Germany?
TW: No, that’s always been a hurdle for me with my German fans. I hope we can play this music live for them as there aren’t a lot of opportunities in the country to be exposed to country music.
CN: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?
TW: Persistent, actually relentlessly persistent. I had to work for the success that I have now and each part of that journey, even though it wasn’t all easy, was worth it to get to this point where I can actively pursue both an acting and music career.
CN: Do you have a dream collaboration?
TW: If I could bring him back, it would be Merle. Of those living, I would say Willie Nelson.
CN: With 2019 right around the corner, do you have any plans set for the new year? Tour dates?
TW: I’ll be returning to Berlin after spending the holidays with my family in Houston to go on a film set for a few months. However, we are currently looking for opportunities to get on the road in the summer of 2019.
For more information Tim Williams, visit his website at www.williamstim.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.