Willy Steg; Resident Singer, Zealot, and Funny Guy

Will Stegman, more commonly known to listeners as “Willy Steg” is an up and coming indie artist based in Austin. He’s a member of The Irons, a band I’ve had the pleasure of writing about before. Willy is also branching further out in his solo career, releasing his second album “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are” on February 20th.

His music is reminiscent of indie artists of yesteryear, with Mac DeMarco being the most recognizable influence in his songs. His first album “Opus” was released in 2021, soon after he started creating music. His jump into the music scene was swift, he has a drive to create that is tough to come by. Will is severely underrated — boasting a Spotify following that is far smaller than what he deserves — so if you’re looking for a new artist to add to your indie-pop playlist, he’s got a discography sure to suit your taste.
Will originally wanted to meet with me at a skatepark, a place he said he visits often despite his “mediocre ability” (his words, not mine). It was clear to me within the first few moments of our meeting that he isn’t afraid to take risks, in life or with his music. Since the skatepark was too loud to record in, we settled in at a coffee shop called Hank’s near his home. We chatted for a few hours on all things music, religion, and philosophy; he made for some pretty interesting conversation.
We began by discussing his background. Will grew up in Dallas and went to a Christian school, before moving to Austin to go to the University of Texas. He moved out in 2017 and studied Psychology. I asked whether or not he found himself to be using his major as a musician. He told me that he uses psychology “sometimes, on the street”. This answer confused me a bit, but he went into further detail. He enjoys talking to strangers (much to his mother’s chagrin) and oftentimes delves into the psyches of people he meets. He explained that he just “like[s] to listen to people”, which is the best way he’s made use of his Psychology major thus far.
He did tell me that he tires of Austin on occasion, but he does admire the freedom of living where he lives. He reiterated to me a couple times that he “lives in a shed” of which I wasn’t sure whether to take figuratively or literally. He says that his living space allows him to ‘get up and practice whenever he wants’. He described it as a “comfort zone,” where him, his drum set, and Seinfeld are available at all times.
He mentioned his history with Christianity actually being what brought him to start playing music. His origins as a musician stem from piano sessions after church. He said that he used to play piano at his grandma’s house, but the real catalyst for his headfirst dive into performing was, “one day … listening to the hymns at church. One caught [his] ear and [he] just tried to figure out how to play it on the piano”.
His family never put him in lessons, something he has always been “ slightly peeved at [his] parents for,” but they supported him nonetheless. He specified that they supported him from afar because as “a junior in high school, feeling all the depths of hormonal depression”, he felt hard to support. He laughed and joked, saying that it’s not like he would have “welcomed them coming into [his] room and being like: ‘What’re you doing buddy?” Will’s ups and downs throughout highschool translate very well into his music, and allow the listener to understand him — and themselves — in a deeper way.
His self proclaimed bitter attitude has dissolved since high school. He now says that “everything is just funny to [him]”, qualifying that statement with: “probably too funny”. If there is one thing about Will, he definitely does not take himself too seriously, and the quotes provided in this article are just a small sliver of his personality. He’s bubbly, and fun, and claims he likes to approach situations with an “outlook of blind optimism”. He says that he believes that unwavering positivity does come across in some aspects of his music. Not only are his songs typically funky and rhythmic, he incorporates lyrics that are nonsensical. He thinks “not trying to make every song mean something is cool,” which definitely comes across in both his debut and upcoming albums. He mentioned his appreciation for Beck, and Bob Dylan’s “nonsensical songwriting” with underlying meanings, but a specific admiration for Alex G, of whom he says is one of his most important influences. He says that in Alex G songs, “there’s definitely a story, but he refuses to explain it” which is something Will tries to capture in his own writing.
Will joined The Irons out of happenstance in late 2021. He was a budding solo artist before joining and was scheduled to play a Fourth of July show when his drummer was unable to perform. He was dreading the idea of playing without backup, saying that he “did not want to be a guy at a party, just singing songs and playing guitar,”; that would be “[his] Hell.” Early in the night, he saw some guys that he had seen play before walking in. Will approached them and asked if they could quickly learn some songs and perform with him. Sure enough, they agreed. Nathan Pittman (The Iron’s drummer), and Robby Spittle (one of The Iron’s guitarists), backed him up that night. They became friends, and when Will heard they were in need of a bassist, he seized his opportunity. He now lives and performs with the group and loves every second of it. I then questioned whether or not he preferred playing alone or with the band. He said he prefers performing his own music, but gets more nervous when doing so. He specified that he is partial to his own music because of his ability to “get lost in it,” and “to steer the ship.” Will believes the reason he meshes so well with The Irons is that they both wish to provide a unique concert going experience, describing it as “performance art” (an unintentional nod to a song on his new album). He expounded upon that, saying that none of them like the traditional concert experience, a sort of “this is my concert, I’m gonna play, and you’re gonna listen” atmosphere that’s expected from some performers — but never from them.
Further into our conversation, we dug heavily into the concept of religion. In late highschool, Will was “a strong atheist.” He said that, “all of that pent up anger just untethered overtime,” and that he is now in a place where he believes that “God is within all of us”. He is not what you would typically think of when you hear the word Christian, despite, in a way, resembling Western depictions of Jesus. He maintains that “[Religion] can be something abstract,” and how that thought is the thing that has allowed him to find peace with God. His attitude towards religion is definitely evident within both his music and personal attitude. He focuses distinctly on self exploration, especially visible in his song “God, Yom Kippur”. Though he is not Jewish, he was struck with the concept of Yom Kippur; Will mentioned that it was a “cool concept for a holiday,” specifically recognizing what it requires from its participants. “Like, not being contriving happy, and just retracting into yourself and thinking, how can I be better?” He says that song in particular (which is currently available as a single on streaming platforms) as well as many other songs on the album, are “letter[s] to [his] bitter high school self”. He tries to showcase the idea that “if you first start loving yourself, then maybe you can love God.”
His new album, releasing on February 20th, is called “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are”. The title is another reference to his high school self, both in meaning and in origin. It stems from a line his friend spoke in a one act play they did during his Junior year: his friend was playing a grandfather, and he had just gotten back from a college commencement. In the living room, he is stressed about how the event went, and looks at a decorative cage of snakes and utters, “You don’t know how lucky you are.”
Will sees his younger self as the snakes that comment was targeted towards. He says “that line always stuck out to [him] because it’s such a funny thing to say to someone who is ignorant to all of the blessings that are there for them,” (an instance where, yet again, his “everything is funny” attitude emerges). He has experienced so much since then, so many ups and downs, and when he looks back he just realizes all of the positivity that surrounded him that went unnoticed.
His album will be christened with a funeral: a statement he so casually mentioned that caught me off guard. When Will mentioned he was “going to have a funeral soon”, I thought I had missed a song on the samples he had sent me. Turns out it wasn’t a song title (albeit a damn good one), but the truth. On February 20th, Will’s close friends will gather near his beloved shed and mourn him. His album will play as his body is propped up and people will come and speak about his life. Will chose to do this act for his album release (mirroring his attitude towards on stage shenanigans) when he realized that the intimacy of people listening to his recorded music makes him uncomfortable. He figured that the “best way to get over that is to just… be dead.”
So, should a ghost that makes indie-pop sound appealing to you, check out Willy Steg on all streaming services and look out for his new album on the 20th.