Devin Williams

After nine years and hundreds of reviews, I find myself more and more seeking out challenges.



Case in point: I'm not a religious guy. Spiritual, yes; religious, no. There's been too much intolerance and destruction waged "in the name of God" for me to put my faith in any human being's interpretation of the sacred. All of which makes the frankly evangelical Christian hard rock trio Mouthpiece a challenge for me to review.



It's one I'm up for, though, in large part because Devin Williams, the singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/mastermind behind Mouthpiece, is clearly a talented guy. His sound could be described as Creed squared -- a similar combination of fat guitar crunch, urgent melodies and spiritually-tinged lyrics, but with substantially heavier music and more overtly religious lyrics. Listening to this disc, I was impressed with how well this combination works -- faith is an intense, emotional subject that matches up surprisingly well with throbbing hard rock.



The intensity of numbers like "Coming Home" and the dynamic opener "The Rok" may in fact catch CCM listeners off guard. Williams may be preaching the gospel, but the dude still manages to rock pretty formidably. The Creed parallel becomes clearer on more power-ballad-y numbers like "Kiss The Son" (get it?), but far from dominating the album, slower cuts are the exception. More typical are muscular tracks like "Standing So Close" and the hammering closer "Can You Feel."



I can't properly call myself a fan of Mouthpiece -- these songs are too relentlessly evangelical in perspective for my tastes -- but I have a lot of respect for the quality and artistry of the music, which is consistently powerful and well-crafted. Special kudos to Williams and Chuck Butler on the production side, as this disc features a crystal-clean sound that amplifies the potency of Williams' huge riffs.



Bottom line? Devin Williams is a very talented guitarist and singer, and Where Do I Begin? is a dynamic, entertaining entree of hard rock, with an extra-large side of New Testament. The lyrics might not have been my thing, but I sure didn't suffer while cranking this disc up loud.



[For more information, visit http://www.mouthpieceonline.com/]




RATING: B+

- Jason Warburg at www.dailyvault.com

Mouthpiece, Where Do I Begin?


Jeff Russell 12.JUN.08
Rating: 4 Pulses

With the recent re-release of Where Do I Begin? and another album due in the fall, Devin Williams has bridged the gap between alternative rock and the Christian music scene.

With his band, Mouthpiece, Williams has managed to delve into a deep world of twisted aggression and frustration where people have turned to find their faith in a world where politics and pop culture are the ruling majority. Williams’ words depict the evangelical fight for faith and the never-ending struggle to attain peace within the soul. Although the basis of the album’s lyrical content has a strong Christian religious basis, Williams’ writing covers the trials of everyday life without using the overused clichés of the typical Christian rock band.

Although the lyrical content identifies with struggles of spirituality and faith, the album boasts strong influences from the early ‘90s underground to mainstream grunge scene, ranging from Mudhoney to Soundgarden, while still tipping its hat to bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

Overall, the musical content is brilliant and driven, displaying the rough, bluesy vocals of Williams, and the fat, distortion-grinding rhythmic leads from his excellent guitar work. The music is straight-ahead and determined, full of complex rhythm and intensity. With songs such as “Cover Me” and “Coming Home,” Williams weaves hypnotic sound and driving rhythm while his vocals twist and turn with emotional intensity, placing no neglect upon the evocative, uplifting feel. The tempo ranges from song to song, taking the listener to euphoric highs while Williams describes the disillusionment of life, confessing his own fears of enlightenment with words such as “the rays don’t fall in this room like they used to--what’s left here is the Winter Chill.”

The web of intricate music with the epic nature of the lyrics presents a unique parallel by presenting a Christian background, yet still allowing the average listener to identify with the struggles placed upon the common man in today’s world.

Mouthpiece’s music may not be particularly original, but this does not compromise the overall effect of the album. The driving, straight-ahead guitar work, rhythmic bass thumping and intense drumming prove to be top-notch, never straying to a mainstream pop ideal. Every verse has purpose, and the music takes the lyrics to high crescendos, leaving the listener hanging on every line.

Recorded at The Velvet Elvis in Nashville and Backbone Studios in Goodletsville, Williams has put an album out that’s honest and true. With the help of Chuck Butler on the engineering side, Mouthpiece’s effort has become not only a well-recorded rock album, but it is a voice of truth for the listeners who are looking to find some hope, some spiritual guidance, and friendly advice for their tough journey in life. With a new lineup featuring Biff Kitti on bass and Zak Shumate on drums, Mouthpiece will begin an aggressive new fall tour and a new album due sometime in September.

Williams has put his heart and soul into this work, and his infectious, straightforward sound will be promising for the road ahead. This album may take you to a new level in spirituality, or it may just let you know you are not alone.

Then again, it just may save you. - Murfreesboro Pulse at http://boropulse.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=1541&

ASHLAND — A local musician is finding a new life to his career after leaving his previous band and making a solo album.

Devin Williams, formerly of the band Mouthpiece, has released a solo praise and worship album titled “Pour It Out.”

“The music sounds like something in the vein of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Jeremy Camp mixed together,” the Fairview High School graduate said.

Williams, 30, who now lives in Nashville, debuted the album last month and is booking tour dates in the South east and he said he would like to perform at the Paramount Arts Center, too.

“I would love to come to Ashland but I would need some help from the local churches for promotion and perhaps even sponsoring the event,” he said. “I am excited about the new CD and I believe that these songs will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”

Born in Selma, Calif., Williams is the youngest of five children. His father, Patterson Anderson “P.A.” Williams, of Greenup played piano in a band with Chuck Woolery when he was a teenager. While traveling in a band, he met his future wife with whom he formed a band.

“She was an excellent vocalist and my father played a mean B3 organ,” Williams said of his parents. “They covered songs from the likes of Aretha Franklin to Steve Miller to Fleetwood Mac and performed all over the United States until they finally settled in Los Angeles.”

As a professional musician himself, he decided it was time to move to Nashville in 2001, which led to a difficult few months. Just after the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy, work was not easy to find, but he thought the time was right. Even his band was against the move.

“They said that they would be willing to move to New York, Los Angeles, anywhere except Nashville,” he recalled “‘Nashville is the home of country music and we play alternative rock. They’re not going to know what to do with us!’ they said.”

Williams said he still has reason to believe moving to Nashville was the right thing to do.

“In the last eight years, I have released two CDs independently,” Williams said. “God has given me two amazing sons, and my wife and I purchased our first home on the north side of town in Hendersonville (home of Johnny Cash).”

He said Nashville is comfortable for him, as sessions players enjoy playing all kinds of music, and all kinds of music are being made in the area.

“Nashville actually reminds me a lot of Ashland. There is this sense of community and the people are friendly,” he said. “Just going out to dinner you may run into a music legend. I was at a Waffle House grabbing lunch one day and randomly met Steve Cropper, who wrote the hit songs ‘Sitting On the Dock of the Bay’ and ‘In the Midnight Hour!’”

Williams’ most recent CD, “Pour It Out,” was released in February, after about eight months of work.

“This CD was one of the toughest projects I’ve worked on yet and it’s probably some of the best work I’ve accomplished in my career,” he said. Delays because of finances gave him more time to work on the songs, which resulted in better songs, he said.

“We laid down the basic tracks for the songs in two days. Then, I went back to my house and setup my spare room as a studio and my closet as an isolation vocal booth,” he said, adding friend Jeff Deyo, former lead vocalist for Sonic Flood, lent him some equipment so he could record guitars and vocals at his house.

“Here is where it gets crazy,” he said. “I started recording at home on the project in May and at the same time, my wife was nine months pregnant with our second child when she began to develop signs of preeclampsia, a pretty serious issue and can be fatal if not monitored very closely.

“By God’s grace, both my wife and our baby boy made it through, but it was pretty hectic for about six weeks before and after the delivery. After I finished recording all of the various instruments and vocals, I found a guy to do the mixes but because of my low budget, he had to work on the songs when he had time, so it took him about two months to mix down the CD, but it was well worth the wait.”

The effort that went into the CD helps explain the title.

“To me, it feels like my blood, sweat, and tears are in the making of this record,” Williams said. “That is one of the reasons I named the project ‘Pour It Out,’ because not only does God pour His love out on us but sometimes He asks us to pour ourselves out.” - Ashland Daily Independent