The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Helping others is music to his ears
Local singer-songwriter releases new CD, will donate half of proceeds to local charities
“Torrington’s arts and culture scene is very important, and we have to make sure we support our local artists in a way that helps the community.” Musician Jacque Williams
TORRINGTON — Since he arrived in Torrington in the early 1990s, Jacque Williams has found his niche in the arts and culture scene, and has made his mark with fundraising for local charities.
After years of promoting other people’s music, Williams recently recorded his first CD in many years, “This Guy,” which will be released Monday on Spotify, Amazon and iTunes. Half of any proceeds he earns will be donated to city organizations including Friendly Hands Food Bank and the FISH homeless shelter.
An EP from the CD was released in January during an online
fundraiser. Williams invited members of the nonprofit community, as well as friends and supporters, to collect money for those groups in a telethon format. The event raised $5,000.
“Friendly Hands Food Bank is honored to be among the recipients of this endeavor, bringing together music, the arts and awareness to the plight of food insecurity,” said Karen Thomas, executive director of Friendly Hands Food Bank. She said the money is being used to keep the food bank’s shelves filled.
Likewise, “FISH NWCT is honored and thrilled to be recognized by Jacque Williams and Culture 4 A Cause with a donation,” said FISH Executive Director Deirder DiCara. “Truly, Jacque and his wonderful communitybased group understand the need to support the organizations serving the hungry and the homeless of NWCT.
“Many in our community struggle with food insecurity every day,” she said. “And I’m personally excited for my friend Jacque, at the release of his album, and commend him for his generosity and service to those in need.”
Williams, whose stage name is Jacque JJ, said his involvement in the city is twofold: to support other artists and businesses, and to help people in need.
“Torrington’s arts and culture scene is very important, and we have to make sure we support our local artists in a way that helps the community,” he said. “We also have to get people downtown, because foot traffic will make all the difference. Even if you have to help businesses until they get a foothold, and help sustain them, you should. We need them. They’ll be there for the next generation in the city.”
He also started Culture4aCause, a nonprofit that uses art and music to promote his missions, and is a DJ on WAPJ radio, also in Torrington.
“Culture4aCause is just another way to help the greater good. The time was right for me to use the music I’ve produced for a cause, to have a collective community impact with it,” he said. “Donating the sales — I feel totally comfortable doing that. Some say that’s crazy, and maybe it is, but that’s OK.”
Musicians today have many more options to get their music out into the world, thanks to social media, Williams said.
“We’re living in a day and a time when artists can make a difference,” he said. “They need to support themselves, but down the road, the ability for them to help people while they’re doing their work, is coming.”
Williams is an Ohio native who grew up in Dayton, and was drawn to the music scene there. “In the 1980s, it was the place to be,” he said. “I was hanging around with friends and got to meet some celebrities during that time.”
One of those celebrities was Rob Lowe, who was celebrating his 26th birthday at the time in a TGIFriday’s, where a friend worked. “My friend called me up and said, “He’s here, and I can get you on the VIP list if you want to come down.’
“So I had a chance to meet and talk to him, and he left me with some gems of wisdom that I’ve carried with me through the years,” Williams said. “Rob Lowe told me, ‘If you want to get certain roles (or play music) and stay relevant, you have to create an element of mystique.’ ... That was good advice.”
He has worked with Marshall Jones, a bass player with the then-popular group The Ohio Players. “Marshall Jones planted that funk seed in me,” Williams said. “Dayton was somewhat of a hotbed for a lot of R&B acts back in the day. It was a cool time for the arts.”
Williams wanted to pursue his own music career, but in the late 1980s, rap music began to gain popularity. “That style of music wasn’t in my wheelhouse at the time,” he said. “Some of the guys I was working with said, ‘If you really love the business, and want to stay relevant, you might have to consider moving to LA or New York City.’”
He relocated to New York City and found more ways to diversify his work by connecting to Broadcast Music Inc.
“I developed a relationship with that company,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to make it unless I put myself in a totally new environment with people I didn’t know, who had no preconception of me as a performer.”
He was living in New Haven and commuting to the city, and got a job at a local Marriott hotel as a bartender near New Haven. “I worked all kinds of hours,” he said. “One night I got a call at 3 a.m. to come in, and when I got there, here comes Tim Lauder and the Marshall Tucker Band. I learned that after the groups that played at Toad’s Place were done with their gigs, they’d come back to the hotel after hours and relax. I got to meet tons of people in the music business that way, too.”
As New Haven’s music scene changed in the late 1990s, Williams was invited to visit Torrington.
“I was working with a guy who was a graduate of the Hartt School of Music and he was talking about this little town in the northwest hills of Connecticut that had a nice little art vibe,” he said.
“I wanted to get away from New Haven. At that time, Torrington was a happening little town, with cafes aplenty, the whole karaoke thing was taking off . ... I had DJ experience, and I thought, this is a good way to build my brand while working on my music.”
In the years that followed, the impact of 9/11 and the recession in 2009-10 made working in the music business a challenge. But Williams stuck it out. Then, around 2009, then-Torrington Mayor Ryan Bingham established the first Arts and Culture Commission.
“Mayor Bingham and Rose Ponte asked me to serve, and it offered me a way to to work in the local arts community and help other artists produce their work, and get their music out there,” Williams said. “It was a pleasure to do that, and in a lot of ways, it helped refuel this arts renaissance that’s taking place throughout the Northwest Corner.”
That renaissance, he said, is what inspired him to record “This Guy.”
“What was happening around me compelled me to record again, and I made that transition, but it was a little harder than I thought,” Williams said. “In the last 10 years, I’ve been pretty focused on community efforts and my DJ business. But when it comes to songwriting, it took a lot of work . ... But these days we have the tool of social media to work with. It’s completely changed the way you can get your music out into the world.”
“This Guy” is representative of the changes he’s seen over the years, since those days in the clubs in Dayton. Williams is also focused on promoting the city’s venues, and is working on a dance party at Bad Dog Brewery, which opened in the old firehouse museum on Migeon Avenue in late January.
“We’re just kind of taking notes and perfecting this event, to make it fun for everyone,” he said. “They have these beautiful rooms upstairs, and it should be good.”
Those who helped Williams record “This Guy” include sound engineer Justin Pfaender, a theater audio tech at the Warner Theatre, “one of the most talented producers I’ve ever worked with,” he said.
“He really is responsible for the quality of the songs I’m writing,” Williams said. “I also have to mention my publisher, P. Debbie Publishing, and Tim Grogean of Red Tube Records in Dayton, who’ve been promoting and publishing my music for the last 25 years; and Dan Morrison and Dustin for my digital album artwork.”
The CD “This Guy” can be purchased at Spotify, I-tunes and Amazon March 1. To learn more about Williams’ nonprofit, go to www.facebook.com/ Culture4aCause.