 William
Kenneth Provost was born in Flint, Michigan but
raised in the small town of Gulliver in the
Upper Peninsula. He first picked up a guitar at
the age of 13 and soon was fully pulled into the
instrument due to an obsession with classic rock
legends like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and of
course The Beatles. It wasn't long before he had
learned enough guitar to start writing his own
songs. Being in a small town environment however
made finding other like-minded musicians a
problem so he began to play bass, drums, and
sing. His first forays into the music world as a
one man band were simple 4-track demos recorded
at home. As he molded his musicianship and
recording skills doing cover songs and early
demos on that little 4-track, some of the first
official William Kenneth songs began to surface.
"I wrote a couple songs back then, 'Battered and
Broken Man" was actually the first song I wrote.
Lyrics and everything. Even though I was writing
and recording my own material I don't think it
was until far later that I myself even took it
seriously. It was just a love of mine, to sit
down and create something like that." Years
later he had built up a good group of his own
songs but reached a bit of a stalemate. "I had
probably 7 or 8 songs that I'd play for friends
and family but that was all I thought I'd do
with them." At the insistence of his friends and
family he went the extra mile and got into the
field of digital recording. With the new
technology William Kenneth re-recorded his old
songs, wrote some new ones, and before long
everyone knew something was forming.
"People
really liked the early demos and that made me
feel a bit more confident. As a musician I
really am hard on myself, so I let other people
tell me their opinions and everyone was very
supportive so I decided to take the next step.
That's when Bill Provost became William Kenneth.
(laughing)" The next step was a big one. Between
finding a way to make the album look and sound
professional and at the same time write some new
songs, there was a lot of work to be done. As a
part of the process William Kenneth learned
piano in the course of a few months in order to
add that element to his music. "I knew I wanted
piano in 'So Far Apart' then when I wrote 'I
Still Love Her' and 'Hannah' I knew those songs
needed something more, too." Speaking of the two
latter songs, they ended up comprising William
Kenneth's first single. "'I Still Love Her and
'Hannah' both stood out to me as being different
from the album and so I felt they belonged
together in a separate entity. I loved both
songs but I knew they wouldn't be at home on the CD.
Putting them on a single together separate from
the album was a good way to get more songs out
there and a good way to build a foundation from
which I could constantly improve. I feel the
single was good, but not as good as the album
was going to be. I feel growing is a part of
music." The "ALBUM" that keeps being mentioned
is "Drown Out The Silence". With songs on it
ranging from 'Battered and Broken Man' (which
was written around 2000) all the way up to 'Life
Goes On'
 (which was written only about a month
before the album was released) the amazing thing
is how well it still tells a story throughout.
"It's true that the album may have songs that
are in a certain order to tell a story, but they
weren't all written in that order. Also, they
certainly weren't written about any one
situation. I think the reason it all came into
one story is because I had about 9 songs with a
similar thread amongst them and I wrote a couple
more to weave them together. I've always loved
songs that tell a story so I thought it would be
neat if each song told a story that served a
larger purpose." From the pop-rock of 'Together
Forever' and 'Half Way Home'..... to the pain of
'Nowhere' and 'Not My Time'..... and finally to
the peaceful resolution of songs like 'Hold On'
and 'True Friend', the album flows with ease and
does fit a larger purpose by telling a story of
overcoming hardship. "Yeah, overcoming things
that seem like the end of the world at the time
was a big message I guess kept showing up. It
all came to me very naturally though. I never
told myself I was going to write anything with
the story in mind." The songs are both eerily
haunting and beautiful with many of the shades
of his early influences like The Beatles and
Simon and Garfunkel. "The amount of acoustic
guitar used on this album can be blamed on those
bands from the 60's. The Beatles, Simon and
Garfunkel, Erin Clapton, etc. All those guys had
a way of making it all sound so emotional and
natural. That's what these songs were supposed
to be. Emotional and natural." With his debut
album's release behind him and some live shows
under his belt a lot has changed in the world of
William Kenneth. "I'm growing up a lot but at
the same time I feel like I'm taking it all less
serious. At least not so serious that it stops
being fun. I know that first statement sounds
like it contradicts itself, but it's true. I'm
learning a lot not only about music but about
myself and I'm
 starting
to write more complex songs both musically and
lyrically. Yet, at the same time I'm starting to
have fun with all of it and write some goofy
songs that showcase who I really am. I'm very
proud of Drown Out The Silence, but I want to
eventually add onto that album by putting some
of my other sides out there. I love a lot of
music that is not represented with just my
mellow acoustic style." William Kenneth still
sites his primary influences as The Beatles,
Simon and Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, John
Frusciante, but acts as diverse as the Queens of
the Stone Age have changed the way he views
music. "Listening to heavier rock bands has
added a lot to my more recent songwriting. I've
always loved bands like Queens of the Stone Age
and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but now I'm
finding ways of channeling that energy into my
style." So what's next for William Kenneth?
"Well, I'd love to be able to play live shows
every night but being a full-time student is
currently making that impossible. I looked over
my options and I think the best thing for me to
do right now is to get some songs together for
another album. As I've said before, Drown Out
The Silence represents only a small part of my
musical style so I'd love to get some more
fast-paced, upbeat songs out there. I'm really
being influenced a lot by albums like Abbey Road
by the Beatles where the songs range from
rockers like 'Come Together' to ballad-type
songs like 'Something', I'm going more in that
direction. My first album was like a story from
beginning to end so it was in a way like one
long flowing song that goes in different
directions but never strays too far from the
style it's in. I'm using the electric guitar a
lot more and becoming a better singing and
drummer, so it'll be interesting to see what
results from all of that. I'll be disappointed
in myself if I don't have another CD ready for
the summer. Two CD's released within half a year
of each other would be cool, right?" That type
of dedication along with the songs themselves is
what separates William Kenneth from other modern
singer/songwriters. Is he the next John Lennon
or Paul McCartney? "Blasphemy! Don't even say
that!" he said with a chuckle.
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