Back in 2012, Billy Mays III (AKA Infinite Third) discovered a simple way to involve friends and family in his music, regardless of whether or not they considered themselves “musicians.” In the year that followed, his idea of handing people a microphone and creating a safe environment for free vocal expression had grown into a formal offering; a captivating and refreshingly-inclusive experience called Mouth Council.

Now, over a decade later, Billy continues to explore the possibilities of the project. Each performance is completely unique as he gathers a circle of volunteers and invites them to contribute improvised vocal samples which he then mixes into one-of-a-kind songs on the spot.

He encourages each circle - comprised of strangers, fellow musicians, friends, temporary bandmates - that they "can't do anything wrong” as the microphone is passed around like a 21st-century talking stick. Each session is an electronically-supported culmination of human collaboration that lives and dies in the present moment.

Contact/Booking Inquiries: infinitethird@gmail.com

“The most amazing experience I’ve had with strangers that left us all in awe and smiling. Having the ability to share each others energy through sound and all connect to each other on a level that can’t be put to into words is beyond amazing. Mouth council is an experience where you can come out of our comfort zone and truly be yourself around others, express that inner creativity that is always wanting to come out of you, and do it with free expression. Group therapy at its finest!!”

- Vinnie Straub (Power Through People)

“Mouth Council is a unique interactive musical experience that is just as fun for the seasoned musician as it is for the first time improviser. Asking Billy for a Mouth Council session kinda feels like asking for a piggy back ride; I feel silly asking for it, but the prospect of it actually happening is so exciting that I can’t help it.”

- Zach Cooper (kuxxan SUUM)

“For those of you .. who love music and have not yet experienced Mouth Council, there’s something really incredible going on here with experimental sound as a mechanism of grassroots change. I’ve been fortunate to witness people from many backgrounds and cultures, coming together with their own sounds and voices to make music. Last night, Billy Mays III brought together total strangers at Wings Bookstore. We sat on meditation cushions in a circle, passed around a mic, and spoke or sang whatever came to mind. We listened to each other. Billy looped our voices, weaving them in and out. Our collective expressions repeated while Billy mixed them, distorted them, changed rhythm or tone. Our voices all maintained their own space and somehow simultaneously overlapped. I can’t really describe the spiritual healing of listening to all of these strangers’ voices, their thought harmony and dissonance, and recognizing: they are ALL beautiful. Even the clashing. I haven’t encountered something that artistically addresses exactly what I’m feeling the way Mouth Council does. I needed this last night. I need this kind of artistic community.”

- Sarah Lain (Poet)

“Billy Mays III shared the gift of Mouth Council at my Open Mic and blew the roof off the place. Quite a few people engaged and contributed creating a sense of community through art unlike any I’ve ever seen. If you have not experienced this, find a way to get to a venue where Billy shares this gift and revel in a unique experience unlike any you can imagine!”

- Mona Bethke (First Stop Poetry Open Mic)

“Mouth Council invokes and invites the muse into any space. These sessions make artists and musicians out of anyone who participates, regardless of musical background or skill level. Mouth Council connects us to the people around us, and grounds us to our truest art-self within. It’s a spiritual journey led by the Shaman/Guide/MC Billy Mays III.”

- Justin E. Hagerty (Spoken Word Poet)

“The first time that I saw Mouth Council was an appearance at The Amsterdam. When I saw what was happening, I thought it was one of the most creative and unique expressions of musical art that I had ever seen. I witnessed the genesis of a one on one connection with artist and observer. Shortly after, and as the mic was passed to the next person, the one on one connections with the observers began. Ultimately a deeper connection of a group evolved and that transitioned into its very own unique art form that will never be duplicated again! The artist and the observer(s) become one to co-create the art together. Each Mouth Council performance is its own 1 of 1 unique piece of art and each one is simply a beautiful and unifying experience. It’s absolutely brilliant and uplifting.”

- John Cullen

“I've always made weird noises and sang songs to myself. I also tell myself funny jokes and have been quoting movie lines to myself for as long as I could talk. Imagine my joy when Billy Mays III came up with a way for me to join with my best pals to make art.”

- Michael Patrick Couling (Direwood)

“A collaboration of sounds connecting people from all walks of life. The world needs more of this.. We are slowly breaking out of our shells through music and art.”

- Nicole Miller

“Communal gatherings are as traditional and essential as society itself. The sharing of personal emotions and individual perspective is a long time heritage that Billy Mays lll has tapped into spiritually, using a form that is both exciting and entertaining. It is so much Fun to experience the diversity and individual participation that grows exponentially as the microphone is passed from one to the next. There is much to be learned from these Mouth Council experiences that harken back to ancient days around the fire.”

- Rick Manners

“It feels older than language, better even.. like saying what comes to mind in universal tongue, all the while partaking in sound sports.”

- Joshua Stuller

Mouth Council has been the best community experience i have had inside of a bar in St Pete. The fun, exciting, and experimental nature of the music allows anyone and everyone to try their hand at making music. It is absolutely something you must try!”

- Matt Taylor

“Mouth Council is a Self Creating Portal of mass potential unfolding at the will of funky super self loving beings in this forever now moment of “holy crap, this is so much way better than any thing that isn’t this that I will go crazy mid quote just to express my looove iowuydfiwyeiuhydiawehy fdakgefdaygefdjkaey for Mouth Council!”

- Seay

“Mouth Council took me out of my comfort zone to create in new ways I felt expanded me powerfully. A unique and meaningful community experience.”

- Matt Jackson

“Community cacophony made groove-worthy.”

- Rupert

“Mouth Council flows. It is the primordial jam cipher.”

- Andrew Morizio