A Conversation with Yasmin Williams

About this Episode

When I was in high school learning the guitar, I wanted to be a shredder. I wanted to play as fast as Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Joe Satriani, Hendrix, Steve Vai—you know, the guitar maestros who could tear up the fretboard. No dice. Couldn’t come close. And interestingly enough, Yasmin Williams never wanted to reach those heights. She was influenced by Nirvana and other grunge-rock bands. Then she beat the video game Guitar Hero 2 as a teenager, convinced her parents to buy her a guitar, and the rest is history. After getting bored with the electric guitar, she picked up an acoustic, learned some incredible picking techniques and continues to innovate to this day. Check out our interview where she talks about her styles, how she learned different techniques, and how she writes such hypnotic, peaceful, and beautiful songs.