Two Current reporters win NJPA awards

Reporters Toni Evans, left, and Lorenda Knisel of The Current Newspapers pose with their New Jersey Press Association awards Thursday, April 3 at an awards banquet at the Marriott Hotel in Trenton. Knisel won a first-place award in the category of arts and entertainment for a weekly paper (circulation over 4,500) for her story “The Wiliamzboy,” about local folk-rock artist Billy Williams. Evans won a second-place award for interpretive writing for her article “Finding strength in dimes from heaven,” about Donnah Marvel, whose son was killed by a drunken driver.



Read the stories below:


“The Wiliamzboy’
This prolific singer-songwriter turns tragedy into folk-rock gold

                                                         
By LORENDA KNISEL
Staff Writer

EGG HARBOR CITY – “Tell yo’ momma the Wiliamzboy is coming to town!” sings folk-rock singer-songwriter Billy Williams, with a ferocity rumbling up through the depths of his soul.

With guitar in hand and harmonica strapped around his neck Bob Dylan-style, the 28-year-old city resident who grew up along the back bays of Absecon is taking the music world by storm with his brutally emotional live performances up and down the Jersey coast, Philadelphia and New York City.

A regular performer at legendary The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, the place where many major folk-rock artists got their start, this self-proclaimed blue-collar romantic will be gracing the stage in Atlantic City at the House of Blues Monday, March 5.

A natural storyteller, Williams, who goes by the stage name “The Wiliamzboy,” weaves his tales, sometimes raunchy and sometimes sweet, often blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, the truths of his life and those of others.
“Everything I write is truth for me,” he said. “Even if it’s a story.”

“I’m like a movie star in different roles. I’m the writer, director and actor in these movies that happen to just be on audio. I have multiple personalities; there’s crazy; there’s emotional; there’s strong … there’s the down-and-out; there’s the lover, the sexaholic and the sleepless drifter. Scrum all those together, and that’s me.”

His working-class roots have taught him to be one of the hardest-working musicians in the business, playing out about four times a week. He has performed his breed of folk music -- fusing the styles of funk, blues, alternative country and reggae -- at more than 100 venues over the past year, including local spots such as Le Grand Fromage, Firewaters and 10 West’s Battle of the Bands, as well as charity events. He is no stranger to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park and Grape Street Pub in Philly, and yet he will play open mikes at every no-name venue he hears of, even hosting his own open-mike night every Thursday at Buzz’s Tavern in Mount Holly.

“I will play any time, any place, anywhere,” the artist said. “It’s not about anything other than playing. The only time I feel normal is when I’m playing.”

Williams’ life has been fraught with drama – which has incited his writing of more than 600 songs. From growing up on welfare to his house burning down when he was a teenager to his mother acquiring multiple systems atrophy, he has dealt with a lot to fuel his creativity.

“The pain of my mother’s situation fuels the fire,” he said. “And I don’t want that fire to go out. … I play because I can’t afford the co-pay for a psychiatrist. It’s therapy.”

Williams’ hard work has certainly paid off. He recorded an EP at Garden Street Records in Hoboken with producer Dan McLaughlin, who has worked with Matchbox 20 and Weezer, and is currently working on a full-length album, that will be available on major music download sites like iTunes in the spring.

He said he will release his album only in MP3 format, eschewing a CD release completely, which many artists still are uncomfortable doing. It may seem unusual for a folkie to be so cutting edge. But, like Dylan, who was booed off the stage in 1965 for plugging into an amplifier, Williams knows folk singers, with their acoustic guitars, can still push the envelope and embrace new technology.

To hear songs off the Wiliamzboy’s EP or for information, log on to www.myspace.com/wiliamzboy.  For an extensive catalogue of his music, log on to www.tagworld.com/wiliamzboy and listen to his raw recordings – some with his dog barking in the background.

The Wiliamzboy will play Bull Shots Pub, 2395 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City, 10:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16. His gig at the House of Blues at Showboat casino will be 7 to 10 p.m. Monday, March 5.  He will play The Bitter End 8 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22 and 29. His open-mike night is 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. every Thursday at Buzz’s Tavern, 100 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly. The Wiliamzboy may be contacted at mjwilliams78@msn.com.

To comment on this story, e-mail Lorenda.Knisel@catamaranmedia.com.




Finding strength in dimes from heaven
The grueling trial behind her, Donnah Marvel vows to continue crusade against drunken driving 

By T.S. EVANS
Staff Writer

SOMERS POINT – On Nov. 16, 2004, Donnah Marvel lived a parent’s worst nightmare.  She was preparing for bed when a friend arrived to tell her to dress quickly because there had been a bad accident. Her son was in the hospital.

She recalls asking for details and driving very carefully from her Somers Point home to the AtlantiCare Regional Trauma Center with her daughter, Dana, who had just turned 13. She was sent to the trauma room while they worked on her son.
When the doctor came to see her she knew by his facial expression that the news was bad.  He told her that Nickolas, her oldest child, had “expired.”

All she could think at that moment was that credit cards and milk expire by a certain date. What was this man saying to her?  She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t form the words.

She didn’t even have the luxury of collapsing because her daughter, who was standing next to her, started to faint and she had to catch her.

“I felt her fall against me,” Marvel said last week in an interview. “I knew this child needed me. Even though I felt like my heart was being ripped out, I couldn’t fall apart. I had to be strong.”

She said she has to continue to be strong to set an example for Dana.

Marvel’s son was killed while walking south along Route 9 in Linwood by a woman who was convicted last week of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Sentencing for Paula Cicchinelli, 58, of Somers Point is set for Dec. 7. Her appeal is scheduled to be heard Oct. 17.

Nickolas Marvel’s two friends, who were on his right, saw him struck and immediately flagged down a car to get help. He was rushed to the hospital, where they were able to save his eyes, the sack around his heart, skin, bone, and veins from the hip down for organ donation, his mother said.  His skull had been crushed, lungs punctured, ribs broken and there was internal bleeding.  He was buried three days before his mother’s birthday, shortly before Thanksgiving.

Donnah Marvel cooked a turkey that year, but said she doesn’t even remember doing it. She said it was the worst meal she has ever prepared, but no one felt like eating anyway.  The family’s holidays are now horror days.  There is someone missing from their lives.

After hearing the jury come back with the guilty verdict last week, Marvel said she realized that nobody wins. It gives her some sense of closure, but doesn’t bring her son back.

“I’ll never see him grow to be a man or enjoy his children,” Marvel said. “His life was taken away when the driver got behind the wheel after drinking a bottle of wine with her friends.” She said his sister will never get to enjoy arguing with her brother or sharing with a sibling. 

“Nikk’s two friends, Doug and Andy, are also victims,” said Marvel.  “They saw what happened.  They were traumatized. Nikk’s blood was all over Andy’s jacket, but he wouldn’t let anybody wash it.  I finally gave him a new jacket that was Nikk’s.”
Marvel said she is not and has never been mad at God for what happened that night. She said she is stubborn, and she is putting her stubbornness to good use. 

“I plan to continue with the scholarship fund and continue giving presentations to schools and people in general about being responsible for their actions. You cannot drink and drive.  Do you really want to risk taking someone’s life and destroying the lives of the people who loved him?”

This is Donnah Marvel’s message. She wants to see zero tolerance for drinking and driving.

Marvel said that when Nikk was little he asked her if pennies really came from heaven.

“I told him if anyone I knew died, I wanted them to send me dimes because they’re worth 10 times as much and they make you smile,” said Marvel.

“Now I keep finding dimes, and so do my relatives and friends. We find them in the oddest places. When I have a bad day I find a dime and I smile,” she said.

“I think Nikk is sending me a sign. When I walked into the courthouse the day of the sentencing, I found a dime as I entered the door.  I held that dime when the jury read the verdict, and that dime will be mounted as a necklace.

“Nikk was sending me a sign.”