The prestige that accompanies the title “Maine’s Best Singer/Songwriter” (as won in the 2007 Maine Songwriter Showdown) is not lost on its holder Will Gattis, a Portland-native singer/songwriter whose influences range from The Beatles, The Who, and Queen to Ben Folds Five, Nobuo Uematsu, and David Bowie. Describing his translation of those influences into his own songwriting and performing style, Gattis quips that what fans hear is “the hypothetical result of Ben Folds sitting next to Freddie Mercury in a philosophy class taught by Paul McCartney." Gattis has already logged time as a headlining club act up and down the seaboard from Portland to Washington D.C., and onward to Florida and back. Finally coming full-circle as an acclaimed artist whose performances are garnering equal praise, one recent instance of the latter has been Mainetoday.com’s observation of Gattis’ ability to connect with his live audiences that while “sometimes it's hard for a young musician to keep a strong and persistent stage presence…Will did a very good job of it. He's very personable and playful with the audience. He often told little anecdotes about his songs, and the stories were well-received in the audience.” His hometown paper, the Portland Phoenix, meanwhile, has hailed Gattis as “an upcoming purveyor of quirky indie pop.” In another front-page cover story by Gattis’ hometown www.Mainetoday.com, the publication of Gattis’ future that “if you're a fan of Ben Folds, you will love the music that Will has to offer…He certainly has adopted his own style of playing and telling stories through his song.” In describing his song-writing style in context of his listening audience, Gattis explains that “I try to create a specific feeling for the listener. They’ll often be stories that I try to make either relatable or entertaining.” Gattis’ 3-piece band- simply called "Gattis"- consists of his position as lead singer/songwriter and Pianist, rounded out by Kate Driver on Bass, and Tim Webber on Drums. Of his 2005 studio debut, ‘Dullard,’ Music Critics Inc. praised Gattis’ songwriting gift as one “with a sense of humor that They Might Be Giants would admire, their music is playful and energetic, sad and sincere. The songs have a very exposed quality…What sets…(Gattis) apart from the rest is (his)…willingness to imbue emotion into his vocals and even shout if needed…Gattis and company aren't afraid to experiment and try different things. Be careful--some of these songs are ridiculously catchy…There is no doubt we can expect more humor and sincerity on any subsequent releases from the Will Gattis Trio…You definitely need to check out Dullard!” To do just that, visit Will online at www.myspace.com/gattistheband or contact him regarding his wildly popular live shows via (207) 837-5317or will@willgattis.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.