Will Anderson (singer)

Will Anderson
Anderson performing at the Knitting Factory, New York in 2008
Background information
Birth name	William Charles Anderson
Born	(1986-05-05) May 5, 1986 Sacramento, California, United States
Genres	Pop, pop rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard

William Charles Anderson (born May 5, 1986) is the main songwriter and lead vocalist in the pop-rock band Parachute.

Early life

Anderson was born in Sacramento, California but his family later moved to Charlottesville, Virginia.^[1] His father, Mark, is a physician and a professor of radiology and orthopaedic surgery at the University of Virginia.^[2] He has two brothers, Charles and John, and a sister, Jane.^[3][4] He began taking piano lessons at a young age^[5] and his parents bought him his first guitar as a Christmas present when he was eleven years old.^[3] He worked as a lifeguard in both high school and college.^[6][7] Anderson graduated from the University of Virginia in 2008, having majored in music.^[3]

Career

Anderson formed the band Sparky's Flaw in high school with his classmates Kit French, Johnny Stubblefield, and Alex Hargrave. He met Nate McFarland while studying at the University of Virginia; they were both members of The Virginia Gentlemen.^[8] McFarland joined the band as a lead guitarist and Sparky's Flaw released two independent EPs.^[9] They later changed their band name to Parachute.^[10] Parachute played many college shows^[11] and were signed to Mercury Records during Anderson's third year of college in 2007.^[12]

"Losing Sleep", Parachute's debut album, was released in May 2009. They recorded the album with producer John Shanks during Anderson's final year of college.^[12][13] Anderson wrote six of the album's ten songs alone; the remaining four were co-written with Dan Wilson, John Shanks, Nate McFarland and Chris Keup.^[14] In a three-star review, AllMusic remarked that "every move here seems to be made with Top 40 radio in mind ... but ambition is good for any young band, and Parachute is talented enough to warrant the starry-eyed approach."^[14] HitFix drew comparisons to Ben Folds, Maroon 5 and The Fray: "If you like tame pop rock that's soft around the edges, this will be right in your sweet spot."^[15] Anderson and his bandmates made many promotional appearances in support of the album: they were featured on Daryl Hall's Live From Daryl's House,^[16] CBS's The Early Show and "Second Cup Cafe".^[17] Parachute performed "She Is Love" in Times Square, New York City on New Year's Eve in 2008, as part of a televised event which also featured Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers and Lionel Richie.^[18]

The Way It Was, Parachute's sophomore album, was produced by John Fields and was released in May 2011. Anderson wrote eight of the album's nine songs alone. The ninth song, "Kiss Me Slowly", was co-written with his friends Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum.^[19] In a three-star review, Allmusic commented: "Everything sounds vaguely familiar, but that’s because it’s supposed to; Parachute don’t want to rewrite the rulebook as much as master the rules themselves ... Tired of the mainstream? Avoid this album. Looking for a stylish reboot of the Goo Goo Dolls sound? You’re in the right place."^[19] Parachute has toured with artists including Switchfoot, All-American Rejects, Kelly Clarkson, Duffy, Jon McLaughlin, The Script, Secondhand Serenade, Mat Kearney, and The Cab.

Influences

In his teenage years, Anderson was a fan of Ben Folds Five,^[20] John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band: "Honestly, I think Dave Matthews Band is pretty much the reason we all wanted to be in a band. They were huge at the time we were coming together."^[21][22] Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt and Motorcade of Generosity by Cake were the first albums he ever bought.^[1][23] He has named Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder as his top four songwriting influences, characterizing them as "classic singer-songwriters".^[13][24] He describes Sam Cooke as his favorite singer "of all time".^[25] Anderson has also cited Bruce Springsteen, The Police, U2, Marvin Gaye, Peter Gabriel, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket and Augustana as influences.^{[22][24][26][27][28]} In a summer playlist created for Teen Vogue, Anderson selected tracks by artists including Katy Perry, King Harvest, Baha Men and Weezer.^[29]

Personal life

Anderson moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2010.^[30] "Everything here is about music, at least amongst my friends and I. It’s fun to be in a place where everybody is thinking about writing ... and just loves talking about it."^[25] He owns two Labrador dogs called Lincoln and Jackson.^[3] Anderson describes Taylor Swift as "one of my best friends".^[31]

References

External links

• Will Anderson at Twitter