Shane Told-Vocals
Paul Koehler-Drums
Neil Boshart-Guitar
Josh Bradford-Guitar
Billy Hamilton-Bass
Silverstein’s lead vocalist, Shane Told took the time to chat a bit about their latest CD, “Shipwreck in the Sand” and the upcoming Van’s Warped Tour:
Congratulations on your new CD “Shipwreck in the Sand.” What is the meaning behind the title?
The title actually is kind of interesting. The title reflects on a story within the story. The main story is about a family who is going through some hard times. In the middle of the story, there is a part where the husband reads a storybook to his daughter and the storybook is called “The Shipwreck in the Sand.” The idea is that the storybook he’s reading to her is an analogy for what they are going through in their life, in the main story, so that’s what the title is.
Was it your concept? Who came up with the concept?
I came up with the idea actually. I really simplified what the story is. It is a story of a family, an American family, but it really goes deeper than that, and the reason I wrote it is, because the world is so messed up right now, and there’s so many people struggling because of the way the system is and it has finally caught up with us. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about and I’ve seen even with my own family, being a middle class family that I come from, I’ve even seen my parents fall into hard times just because of investments and things they thought were secure that weren’t and it’s a major problem for the average person. That’s where the concept idea came from.
Do you have any particular favorites to play from the album?
Actually, all of them have been pretty cool and pretty fun to play live. We started playing “Vices”, which is our first single off the record, and people have been so into it and now we’ve been getting more and more songs, and now we’re playing a song called “American Dream” live and that song is going really well, so I think that’s probably my favorite right now.
How would you describe Silverstein’s sound to a new listener?
Well, we’re a heavy band primarily. We enjoy that. We enjoy being aggressive, but at the same time we want to write good songs and we want our songs to make sense and we want them to be catchy and memorable, so that’s what we think about when we write songs.
Who influences you? Growing up, who did you admire and who influences you now?
Growing up I was way into metal. That’s kind of my first love, I guess. I heard Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth from my older sister and that’s the reason I picked up a guitar. As I got more into metal and extreme metal, I found punk rock and got into bands like NOFX, Pennywise, Lagwagon and Rancid. It taught me that music can have an attitude and in your face without having to be metal and what metal music is about typically, so that really changed me. Then, getting more into punk rock and hardcore bands and the local hardcore scene and I kind of discovered the post hardcore music, which was like softer punk rock, I guess, emotional hardcore and all that stuff and that really shaped me. That’s why we started this band. It was bands like the Get Up Kids, and Mineral, Knapsack, Sunny Day Real Estate; those were some bands that really made us decide to start Silverstein.
What are you listening to now? What is on your iPod?
It’s funny…I still listen to a lot of old stuff. A lot of bands that I like that are coming out now and coming out with new records and stuff, but generally, I’m the kind of guy that when I throw on my iPod, I just want to listen to something old. It’s hard for me to listen to a new record unless I really get into it. Some new stuff I like, I really like the new A Day To Remember record. I think they did a really great job and they’re really great kids. The new Morrissey record is really great too. I didn’t like the last one too much, but I like the new one. There’s a band a lot of people still don’t know about, they’re called Leather Box, and they’re a great band too. They sound a little like Say Anything and they’re a really great band.
You are part of the upcoming Van’s Warped Tour. Is there anyone you are looking forward to seeing live and touring with?
NOFX mostly. They were one of my favorite bands growing up as a kid and now we toured with them on the Warped Tour in 2006 and became pretty close friends. I’m looking forward to hanging out with those guys. Also, my friends in Underoath and A Day To Remember are on the tour again. It’s like every band we know a little bit at least, so the tour is a lot of fun.
Many thanks to Shane for taking the time to chat!
Catch Silverstein at the following dates on the Van’s Warped Tour 2009!
07/10 Toronto, ON
07/11 Montreal, QC
08/12 Calgary, AB
08/14 Vancouver, BC
08/15 Seattle, WA
08/16 Portland, OR
08/19 Fresno, CA
08/20 Mountain View, CA
08/21 Sacramento, CA
08/22 San Diego, CA
08/23 Los Angeles, CA
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http://www.youtube.com/user/SilversteinOfficial
http://www.purevolume.com/silverstein
http://silverstein.buzznet.com/user/
http://twitter.com/silverstein
Silverstein Tour Dates:
U.S.A.
Apr 28 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Apr 29 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
Apr 30 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
May 01 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Zoo
May 02 Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head
May 03 East Rutherford, NJ @ Bamboozle
EUROPE
May 09 Bochum, Germany @ Zeche
May 10 Köln, Germany @ Live Music Hall
May 11 Amsterdam, Holland @ Melkweg
May 12 Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Club
May 13 Hamburg, Germany @ Grunspan
May 14 München, Germany @ Backstage Werk
May 16 Schaffen, Belgium @ RockFest
May 17 Cardiff, U.K. @ University – Solus Bar
May 18 Yeovil, U.K. @ Westland Complex
May 20 Manchester, U.K. @ Academy 2
May 21 Norwich, U.K. @ Waterfront
May 22 Wolves, U.K. @ Wulfrun Hall
May 24 Leeds, U.K. @ University
May 25 Glasgow, U.K. @ Queen Margaret Union
May 27 Newcastle, U.K. @ University
May 28 Liverpool, U.K. @ O2 Academy
May 29 London, U.K. @ HMV Forum
CANADA
Jun 27 Winnipeg, MB @ Canad Inns Stadium
Jul 10 Toronto, ON @ Arrow Hall
Jul 11 Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
Aug 12 Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
Aug 14 Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
U.S.A.
Aug 15 Seattle, WA @ Gorge Amphitheater
Aug 16 Portland, OR @ Washington County Fairgrounds
Aug 19 Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
Aug 20 San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
Aug 21 Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheater
Aug 22 San Diego, CA @ Cricket Amphitheater
Aug 23 Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center