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Silverstein: Where The Sidewalk Almost Ended
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 11-Oct-07 @ 03:48 PM|
After realizing their loftiest ambitions and leaving the sophomore slump in the dust, SILVERSTEIN were riding high on their accomplishments. That is, until profound personal losses challenged their will to continue. Story: Tristan Staddon Photos: Joey Lawrence They'd written an album that was technically and melodically superior to anything they'd ever attempted and that album outsold its predecessor. They spent a summer on Warped Tour, shared bills with Underoath, Hawthorne Heights and Simple Plan and headlined tours all over the globe. A fan even took one of their raging scream-alongs, "Smashed Into Pieces," into an American Idol audition-the first Idol competitor attempting to bring the pit to the princesses' pulpit, and provoking a wildly amusing/embarrassing (and televised) take on hardcore vocals from judge Randy Jackson in the process. The skies should have been absolutely sunny for Burlington/Oakville, Ontario's sharpest post-hardcore exports, Silverstein. But during the span of almost four years on the road, not all was well for the band. As their frequent flier miles piled up, so too did the baggage and wear of so much time spent away from family and loved ones. Since the release of their 2005 sophomore smash Discovering The Waterfront, vocalist Shane Told and bassist Billy Hamilton had to leave tours and fly home to mourn the passing of family members (in Told's case, a cousin he considers a brother; for Hamilton, his grandfather). Drummer Paul Koehler suffered insurmountable fractures in the long-distance relationship he shared with his British fiancee. "Obviously that relationship was pretty serious for me," says the drummer. "I ended up getting engaged and then it fell apart. There's nothing harder than being halfway across the world and missing somebody. It's probably the worst feeling in the world. Sometimes when you miss someone so much, it's hard to enjoy what you're doing." "[My grandfather's death] came very close to ruining me," remembers Hamilton. "On tour, anytime there's down time or alone time, it's almost a negative for me. It gives my mind time to think and to overthink things. That's when I can start ganging up on myself and letting negative thoughts get the best of me. We've all had to deal with this stuff that's beyond music." When Silverstein-rounded out by guitarists Neil Boshart and Josh Bradford-finally returned home last December for their first legitimate break in almost four years, their plan was to unwind with family and friends and then casually start writing new songs. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Told's personal life was rocked again. "I was in a seven-year relationship that came to an end over Christmas," says Told. "You're with someone for seven years, and then you're not. Your whole life changes and everything you know is different. There was a while there where I thought I was going to be married [with] kids, and that was going to be the driving force of my life. I felt like I was ready to. I'm 26, I'm financially secure and I'd been with someone for seven years. But now that's gone, I feel like this is starting over again. As hard as it's been, I almost look at it as a positive." What accounts for the difference in Told's attitude between then and now? He was able to channel the mix of raw heartache, confused emotions and overwhelming desire for personal catharsis into Silverstein's third album, Arrivals & Departures. Not surprisingly, the resulting lyrical confrontations are strikingly more personal (regardless of the perspective they're told from) for Told than the material he culled for Waterfront. "The lyrics are a lot more real to me than some of the ones on the last record," he confirms. "What was coming out was exactly how I was feeling it. And it was scaring me. If I tried to write about something else, it always reverted back to the way I was feeling. I'd start writing and get out a few lines and I'd have to stop. On the last record, I [even] wrote a song about a book I read, for Chrissakes'. But this album is pretty much my life over the last five months. And it's been a struggle." No question, the lyrical terrain the new disc covers is a guided tour through ground zero of Told's emotional torment. Though he's somewhat circumspect about what the catalyst was for his break up ("Part of it may be more what I did than what she did," is all he'll say on the subject), it's apparent on tracks like "Worlds Apart," "If You Could See Into My Soul" and "Sound Of The Sun" that the split was often his unhappy muse, whether he wanted to let it affect him creatively or not. But while the album's title clearly references the personal losses Silverstein's members have suffered over the past two years, as well as the nomadic nature of a touring lifestyle, there are considerable musical improvements and departures on the disc as well. "Love With Caution," for one, leans toward Lifetime with its spirited punk delivery; "True Romance" graces the disc with a slow-burning balladry; and then there's "Worlds Apart," a song Told wrote in Hawaii while vacationing with his ex-girlfriend that's so sonically huge, he's lucky the island beneath him didn't sink from the weight. Just as Silverstein's grown together in the face of serious adversity and loss, they also rallied around Told as they saw him piecing the new songs from the fragments of his failed relationship. "We definitely all saw things going on in Shane's relationship over the past few years," says Hamilton. "And his story kind of reflects the other four members of the band without him even planning it because we've all struggled with the same things about life on the road. He really dug deep and found some personal stuff, but it's not just personal for him because we've been here with him the whole time. I listen to this record and hear additional strain on my heart as well." Produced by Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Finch) and recorded in various studios around Hollywood this March, Arrivals & Departures isn't shy about keeping those signature strained vocals in Silverstein's sound, despite the fact that many bands that once employed guttural howls have abandoned them recently. Given the kind of content Told was writing, it made sense to go on improving their sound rather than drastically redefining it. "Typically, if you reinvent yourself, it's because you're [only] trying to be successful," says Koehler. "We just really wanted to improve each level of what we're trying to do. Hopefully we're better musicians, have better production and really out there, personally. That's really important for a band like us because we've always been so personal with our fans. We want to connect with those people and have them feel where we're coming from." Indeed, as the members of Silverstein have endured tragic losses and undergone significant personal growth during the last two years, their music's been about the only thing they can count on. As they prepare to set out on several more years of life on the road (beginning with a support slot on this summer's Rise Against tour) and the personal revelations unfolding while they're on it-they're quick to recognize that their craft is the reason for their survival. Not surprisingly, they're holding it closer than ever before. "Touring for four years straight is hard," says Told. "There were times when I wanted to quit. There were times where I didn't think I was going to make it. But there's just been such a big change in my life that I'm really revitalized. I feel like I'm younger. I'm really excited by this record and, now, I feel like I'm ready to do this." ALT |
