Conversations with William Toll

Today we’d like to introduce you to William Toll

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Well, if you would’ve told me when I was twelve that Christian Folk music would be anywhere near my life’s work, I’d have laughed you off. “I’m gonna be a big-time athlete,” I’d say. Back then, sports were everything—my identity, my place in the world. You could even call it my religion. But somewhere down the line, things started to shift. There was this old nylon-string guitar, forgotten in some dark and dusty corner of the home. One day I pulled it out, started screwing around, learned a few chords…I was hooked. I got the hang of it faster than most people I knew, and, frankly, I liked it a whole lot more than anything else, even sports. Not that I was ready to admit that.

I started playing Mumford and Sons, Jack Johnson, The Lumineers, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan, over and over in my room until my fingers could barely strum. Couple years later I wrote my first song, “Life and Times”—you’ll never hear it, but back then, it blew the roof off my little world. I didn’t think songwriting was supposed to work like that. I always figured it involved some kind of formal magic—music theory, sheet music, the whole shebang. But this song just showed up, slipped right into my head while I was strumming down by the water heater in that cold, concrete basement.

After that, writing songs became my new thing. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to do anything else—everything else just felt like a big waste of time. But there I was, wandering around, full of original songs and nowhere to go with them. I loved those songs, believed in them, but man, I hated playing live. And I didn’t know squat about producing, so I couldn’t record myself, and hiring a real producer? Forget it. Too broke. So I just sat there soul-searching, strumming my guitar, moping into my harmonica, playing sad melodies for no one. Well, no one except maybe God.

Then life threw me a curveball—some real loss, some real pain. I had my first big identity crisis. You know, the heavy questions: What’s life about? What’s the deal with death? What gives any of this meaning? And long story short, I threw all that confusion at Jesus and said, “Here, take it. I can’t figure this out on my own.” Shortly after that, it hit me—I’ve only got one life to live, and I sure as heck want to live it right. Eventually, I realized that if I couldn’t figure out how to produce my own music, I’d be stuck in this metaphorical basement forever. So the grind began.

I saved up for a Macbook and some production software, got some mics, an audio interface, and set up shop right here in Nashville. Now, I’m in a sweet spot. Everything’s starting to come together—acoustic guitar, folk songwriting, searching for meaning in a messy world, diving into scripture, following Jesus with the rest of the Christian Folk scene. And the key that helped it all come together was learning music production.

These days, I’m putting out singles regularly, collaborating, and even producing for other artists. As far as production goes, it’s a real joy to be in a position to help aspiring artists get their first songs out without making ’em go broke. These days I feel like I’ve finally found my place again, and I’m thankful for all of it. This new Christian Folk scene is a fun little world to be in. If you’re interested, you can hear what me and my friends are up to on my Spotify playlist, “This is Christian Folk.”

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. More like an uncharted forest full of swamps and the occasional booby trap. I’ve tried and failed in lots of different ways. But I’ve heard that’s a good thing, that as an entrepreneur you gotta fail fast and often. Yes, your decisions should be calculated, but gotta take fearless action and count the failures as wins, knowing that those experiences will create success down the road. You gotta have a short memory and keep your eyes ahead.

Meanwhile, I’ve done all kinds of jobs to keep the lights on—yeah, even joined the corporate world. That’s a struggle in it’s own way. But you gotta play the cards your dealt. I wake up hours before sunrise, to make music while the world’s still asleep. It’s a real hustle, I won’t lie. But you know what? I’ve come to see it all as part of God’s blessing. He’s been using every twist and turn to shape me, to sanctify me, and turn me into the person I’m supposed to be.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Some know me as a producer, some know me as a songwriter and artist. As far as songwriting goes, I guess I’m known for folk songs from a Christian worldview–writing about the struggles, triumphs, and mysteries of the human experience, with a bible at hand. A recent co-write of mine was just placed on the Spotify Editorial playlist, “All New Christian & Gospel.” It’s written through the eyes of the first disciples, imagining what it might’ve been like, walking around in that time and place, following Jesus while he was here on earth.

Secondly, my journey as a producer is a new one, but it’s quickly becoming a real thing. And since I’m pretty new, I still work pretty cheap. It’s a real joy to produce for aspiring songwriters and artists, to help them get their wheels turning without charging them an arm and a leg. Thirdly, creating content is a big part of what we are doing here in the Christian Folk scene. We go outside, find a creek and some trees, and film each other strumming along to our songs, trying to make some good short videos so that we can reach people online. So those are the three pillars: songwriting, producing, and creating content.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’d say I’m a risk-taker, but I’ve learned to be a bit more calculated about it. When I first dove into all this, I suddenly and dramatically quit my normal job to focus on music full-time, but I had no plan, no discipline, and not enough skills to make that work out. Turns out, it takes time, grit, and yeah, patience—something I didn’t have much of. I used to think the key was cutting out any work that pulled me away from my true passion. I thought it was best to just jump, take on all the risk at once, and consider any disturbances it may bring into my life as a necessary part of the process. But now, I see it differently. With all that time I bought myself, I wasn’t any more productive, because I didn’t have the character yet.

It’s kinda like time is an empty jar. Sure, you might have to take on a full-time job, and those hours are like big rocks filling the jar. But between those rocks? There’s space. I’ve learned to use that space. Helps to keep your world ordered while you pursue your dreams, not only for mental health but also because your creativity may suffer if your equilibrium is out of whack. Hah, learned this the hard way, that’s for sure. Everyone walks a different path, but to me it’s not about needing more time; it’s about applying more focus, more determination, to the time you do have. Funny enough, I get more done musically now, with a job, than I ever did without one. “You don’t need more time, you need more focus.” That’s the motto.

Pricing:

• $300 to have your song produced
• 50% split if you don’t want to pay upfront
• Also can meet somewhere in the middle (e.g. $150 up front, 25% split)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4qSPousf2j7sr6R4eDxRkt
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamtollmusic/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/0dgFljkfu6SadSqdHur8Lh