Glad to Be Almost Famous

Smoky gaze

So Jodi and I live on Music Row in Nashville, TN and we do our laundry at a nearby laundromat every week. OK, every two weeks. OK, every time I run out of underwear. Anyway, one night just before closing time Keith Urban came in with some laundry to drop off. (Now if you don't know who Keith Urban is, hurry back to your cave before you get sunburned. And tell my Dad I said hi.)

At the time, the place was empty except for a middle-aged lady, two college girls, and me. I was curious to see if the ladies would mob him, so I watched over the top of my book as he crossed the room to the back counter. Nobody spoke to him but the laundry lady. He had finished, walked back out, and was climbing in a gray Hummer parked out front when the laundry lady said, "Did y'all not see who that was? That was Keith Urban!!" Well those two college girls hopped off the washer like it was on fire and started yelling, "Seriously? Oh my God it IS! He walked right by us!! Did you see him? Oh, I've GOT to tell Lisa, she's not going to BELIEVE this!" and they both whipped out their cell phones and started speed-dialing while they craned their necks to see his taillights disappear down the road.

Vacant stare

OK, fast forward to today---I'm walking in with my loads of laundry when a girl heading the other way looks at me funny. As I pass her she hesitates and says, "Excuse me, are you Zane Williams?" I said, "Uh....yeah." She said, "Hey---I love your music! I listen to it all the time!" Shocked that I could have a fan who wasn't an immediate family member, I asked her where she heard about me; she said she saw me a while back at the Bluebird Cafe. I introduced myself, said it was nice to meet her, and she went on her way.

So what's the moral of these two stories? That I am more recognizable than Keith Urban? Well, you could certainly draw that conclusion, no question. But no, what I really wanted to tell with these two stories is how truly content I am to just be me. To be able to share my music with all of you who are reading this, and with others who I may never even meet, is a blessing that I too often take for granted. So thanks for saying hi Katie, and reminding me how lucky I am to do this for a living. I hope to see the rest of you somewhere out on the road this fall---take care and keep in touch...