Of Sound MIND LOCAL PRODUCER MAKES SURE THE ROCK’S ROCK STAYS IN TUNE

Eddie Williams, owner and founder of Full Circuit Sound, is known as Mr. Soundman of Bainbridge Island.

BY KERRIE HOUSTON REIGHTLEY PHOTOS BY TANNER REIGHTLEY

“He’s also an accomplished musician,” said Jim Ferguson, a.k.a. Roger Daltrey of his The Who tribute band, The Relay. “Anything having to do with sound around here, somehow involves Eddie.”

And involved he is, influenced by his Los Angeles radio and newspaper past, including interviewing and working with the likes of Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, The Ramones, Elvis Costello and Red Hot Chili Peppers. More recently, and closer to home, he has booked and managed sound for Greg Brown, James McMurtry, The Wailin’ Jennys, Tom Russell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, LeRoy Bell and many more. He’s also the official sound person for Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District, which includes the beloved Sounds of Summer concert series at Battle Point Park.

His love of music started at age 12, when in 1970, his foster mother brought home Van Morrison’s “Moondance” album. “Every night, I’d fall asleep with my headphones on, listening to him,” he said. “I’d wake to the sound of the record needle going ‘spedft, spedft, spedft’…”

His radio career began in the late 1970s, for the famed KROQ, which was “the voice” of the burgeoning Los Angeles new wave and punk scene. Williams did everything from answering request lines to getting publicity for unsigned bands.

“We were the first punk station in the country,” he said. “We were playing the Sex Pistols and The Clash before anyone else. I got to hitch my wagon to that star.”

Something about a girl and owning a Ford Econoline van eventually landed Williams on Bainbridge Island in the late ‘90s. “I came here to build a recording studio,” he said. “I got the idea to record live shows. I started with recordings, but something was ruining them, and I realized it was the sound guy. I learned I needed to do both. That turned out to be what I do best, and how I started making ‘real’ money, in 2000.”

He reminisced about the radio days of old, of how he’d splice tapes “on the diagonal” with a razor blade, contrasted with how today’s music can be managed digitally on an iPad. And how every venue poses a unique sound challenge.

For Ferguson’s “The Who” fundraiser, held years ago in the Bainbridge High School Commons—with its cement, tiered, seating—the setting devolved into a nightmarish echo chamber. “Any time you get hard surfaces, the sound waves bounce off of them,” Williams said. “The show was a success, but the sound was a disaster.”

In stark contrast is the intimate Treehouse Café, where Ranger & The Re-Arrangers recently honored the late Romani-Belgian jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt. Williams credits former Treehouse owner Arnie Sturham’s love of music with transforming the old space— formerly inhabited by Walt’s general store—into a room Williams described as completely made for sound. “We put in dampeners, red curtains and did everything we could to soften the room.”

“Although Covid destroyed my business, I will survive,” Williams said. His dream is to someday build a tiny home, retire with his two cats and listen to Van Morrison, “really loud!”

His advice to those entering the music business? “You need a lucky break. Everything you do might be that break. You just need to know when you’re having one.”