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by J. SHARPE SMITH of Des Moines Register

When inspiration hits while he is composing his lyrical, melodic tunes, Wisconsin native Willy Porter grabs a mini-digital recorder, captures the moment and then makes a few cryptic chord and fingering notes, relying on muscle memory to fill in the rest.

"I look at songs as visitors, so I have to grab them quickly," Porter said via phone from Chico, Calif.

"If you get too intellectual about what is being offered when you're inspired, you sometimes miss the story or the point of the tune," he added.

A different type of memory informs the music on his latest album. Porter wrote, recorded and produced "Available Light" as his father was dying of cancer. He turned the painful process of grieving into a masterful recording.

He attempts to put his father's passing into perspective in the title track. " 'Available Light' has an underlying message of mortality in the chorus," Porter said. "I like the fact that it's optimistic without being saccharin."

Porter's musical journey began after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a psychology degree and moved to Madison, Wis., in 1987. He dove into playing guitar five hours a day, which resulted in his "The Trees Have Soul," album, released in 1990.

Four studio albums and one live recording later, Porter writes and records a seemingly unlimited range of genres, from folk and roots rock songs to experimental and instrumental tunes.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, recently said, "Willy Porter's music demonstrates admirably that the technical excellence of his guitar-playing will never overwhelm the essence of the song itself. In perfect symbiosis, the disciplines of performance and songwriting are combined."

Many musicians have had influence on Porter, but he points to Leo Kottke, the late Michael Hedges and Jeff Beck, in particular.

Porter's beautiful, expansive instrumental "Sleepy Little" and his reflective, atmospheric experimental piece "Where Are My Keys?" would have made Hedges smile. Porter tips his hat to Kottke on "Hairball."

The years also have brought tours with such rock luminaries as Paul Simon, Sting, Jeff Beck and Jethro Tull, as well as Rickie Lee Jones, Tori Amos and the Cranberries.

These days touring is not the first thing on Porter's mind. His priorities shifted to his own family as the father of a daughter, 8, and a son, 5.

"In the mid-'90s, I did a lot of touring, but I don't think it's good for human beings or for music. I prefer the security of anonymity and the shorter tours," Porter said with a chuckle.

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