Neil McWilliam

(This press clipping has been added to show some press articles from Neil's previous endeavors. There has been much press for his last band The Sounds of Silence (currently not playing) but Neil is currently in the process of recording and producing his new CD "The Boy With No Face And No Sound" and there will be hopefully lots of press coverage of that once it is released in mid-2005. As for now, there is minimal press solely on Neil ... keep your eyes and ears peeled for upcoming press.)

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Determination is a concept not lost on The Sounds of Silence. The Riverview based band whose members are barely 20 years old have all decided to quit school to concentrate on their dream of musical success.

The four guys - Troy Fullerton, Sean Ryan, NEIL MCWILLIAM and Ricky Dikens -- all attended St. Mary's University in Halifax this past year. They formed their band in October. Ryan left SMU at Christmas and didn't return. For the remainder of the year, the guys met up for gigs as whenever they could.

This determination once led the boys all around two provinces right in the middle of exams. McWilliam's mother picked up the three bandmates who were still in school, drove them to Riverview where they all met up and headed to Fredericton. They played that night and sped back to Riverview. At 7 a.m. the next morning, the guys hopped a bus bound for Halifax so that they could write their exams. After exams, they traveled again to Riverview, then Saint John for a gig that night.

"I think it just shows that we have to do one or the other," says Ryan, of trying to balance school and music.

The band members are all living at home now. They say their parents are supportive of their goals, but they aren't exactly enjoying it.

"Even after all the yelling he did, he said 'I commend you, because I wouldn't do that," says Ryan of his father.

They boys all say they will return to school if the band doesn't get off the ground after two or three years. Ryan says his only real goal is to make enough money to live happily.

"My goal is to not have to work on the side," he says.

The Sounds of Silence came together in October 2003. The four members have been friends for years. All four graduated from Riverview High School, but were in different bands -- Fade Out and Low Down -- when they were in school. University had them all in the same city, so they got together.

"We had really, really (bad) gear," says Ryan, who didn't even own an amp at the time.

Two weeks spent in downtown Halifax, busking outside the local Sobey's in the freezing winter weather, helped buy the bassist the amp he wanted.

"It was funny -- Troy and I came out of the bar one night, drunk, and we saw Neil and Sean on the street busking," says Dikens.

While the band has only been together for short time, they have already accomplished quite a bit. They recorded a three-song DEMO CD and posted it on their website. Ryan posted a message on the message board of Darren Pfieffer, the drummer for the punk rock band Goldfinger (currently the manager for Billy Talent), asking him to check out their website. Pfieffer has worked with young bands before and responded to Ryan's post with an e-mail saying that he had checked out the Sounds of Silence's website and liked what he heard. He has since talked about helping the band get its name out.

The bands next step is a tour coming up this summer that it lucked into. A man from Hartland saw them play and decided to help them book shows across the maritimes and up into Quebec. The band is looking forward to their upcoming tour and possibly recording another album.

For more info on the band go to www.thesoundsofsilence.com - Times & Transcript [Metro Marquee}

Acoustic-based pop songs form the foundation of this singer-songwriter's debut release. What the CD is lacking in graphic design is more then made up for in terms of songwriting. Most easily identifiable with a band like Dashboard Confessional, McWilliam's vocals are clear and concise and seem to have a good range. The songs are well thought out, emotional but not whiny. Highlights include Fight The Urge To Give In, Hope For Rain and album opener Autumn or Eclipse.

Though a similarity running between the majority of the songs is somewhat obvious, the song's dynamics could greatly change with some additional instrumentation. Perhaps having some layers and other instruments added to the mix is something we will see on future releases. Until then, this is a very strong debut from somebody who has a promising future lying ahead. Support your local talent.

- Ken Kelley - [Here NB] Times & Transcript

new press articles are coming soon as Neil's newest material is currently under review ... Thanks for your patience.... - newpress