The graffiti outside the Bedford Avenue subway stop these days reads “Welcome to Condoburg,” which may be well on its way to being true. But you don’t have to venture far from that ground zero in the struggle between condo and Converse to find a still-gritty corner of Williamsburg-Greenpoint. Hang a left at Soundfix as we did on Wednesday afternoon, and a few blocks northeast you’ll discover condom- and coke-bag-strewn pavements, loading docks and the smell of fish wafting through the air, along with the sound of music. There, in a little triangular building, are bands galore, ensconced in converted rehearsal studios, each doing their thing.

We were there to pay a visit to White Williams, maybe not so much “band” as “musical project” — the creation of 23-year-old Joe Williams, a native of Cleveland, longtime pal and musical cohort of Gregg “Girl Talk” Gillis, and a DIY musical whiz kid whose crazy pastiche of a computer-based record, Smoke, provided last fall with an unexpectedly enjoyable burst of electro pop.

Between heaps of praise for the album and even more heaps of live dates, opening for the likes of Battles, Dirty Projectors, Dan Deacon and Girl Talk, White Williams have clawed their way onto the indie radar, enough so that they launched their first headlining tour Saturday in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In an hour-long conversation with Joe and his touring bandmates, guitarist Hayes Shanesy and bass player Tyler Drosdeck, we discussed the response to Smoke, Joe’s perhaps undeserved rep as a cool, aloof performer, and his love of rap and disdain for most of what passes for current rock music. Look for more on that in the coming days at MTVNews.com.

And of course, we also talked touring, how their extensive live work as a support act in the last few months has served as “on-the-job rehearsal,” considering they really only came together as a band in August, four weeks before their first-ever live show. Joe conceded that the songs he had created alone in his bedroom, with only a computer, synth and a handful of other instruments, were a challenge to translate to a live setting but that he felt more confident about them now than ever.

Joe then gave us a short demonstration of the bizarro textures and effects and blips and re-pitched sounds that make Smoke so unique, by dissecting its infectious single “New Violence.” And finally the band played for us the song it had been rehearsing that day — “Going Down,” the smooth, African-styled track that would not sound out of place next to Vampire Weekend.

White Williams won’t be back in Brooklyn until February 10 — bad news for us — but good news for you. Joe and the boys will likely be playing a town near you.

Check out all of John Norris’ uploads at yourhere.mtv.com…