A painter and a drummer. He was a member of The Magic Band of fellow painter Don Van Vliet, once known as Captain Beefheart, playing on Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) and Doc at the Radar Station. He was not the recipient of a Beefheartian nickname AFAIK - no "Robert Absinthe Pigment Williams", or some such; just the full name of "Robert Arthur Williams". He has also collaborated with Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers, most notably on the Nosferatu disque.