Interview: Silverstein

In the beginning of 2013 the post-hardcore band Silverstein released their latest album This is How the Wind Shifts and since then have been relentlessly touring all over the world. We saw them live in Berlin where they put up a great show.

You can see the rest of the photos in our gallery. We also had some questions to ask Silverstein and their drummer Paul Koehler was kind enough to find time and talk to us.

THE INTERVIEW

Alex : Throughout the years you have done a lot of touring. It is no secret when it comes to tour dates that most of them are in the West  with of course few exceptions - Eastern Europe and South America. My personal experience as fan is that people from countries who are generally less toured are really excited when they get the chance to see live a band they like. What's your experience when it comes to touring such places. Different vibe, a bit more excitement perhaps coming from the fans?

Paul : As a band, we’ve toured 36 different countries over the span of our 13 year career.  We love touring close to home, but also really enjoy traveling to far and exotic places.  It’s exciting for us just to be in some of those places, that it really creates a different playing experience for us.  The fans may vary from place to place, but they’re always very supportive – from the poorest places we’ve been to the modern developed ones.  It’s amazing that music transcends culture, geography, anything really.

Alex: Your band’s name - Silverstein, comes from the popular children’s author Sheldon Allan Silverstein, who you liked to read as kids. Right off the top of my head I can name Atreyu - another band’s name which was inspired this time by a character from a children’s book.  Can you please comments on this?

Paul : We draw a lot of inspiration for other culture (books, movies, television, music) and often translate that into our own music.  We like to be broaden individuals who are aware of what’s going on, what’s popular, and try to find new ways of doings things.  Some artists may prefer to never hear or read anything new, but that new continues to pushes the boundaries of the old.

Alex: If it was not for Silverstein what could have been the band’s name today? What were the other options?

Paul : I honestly don’t recall any other options since it’s been so long, and the debate was short lived.  We settled with something simple because we didn’t want a name that would infer a sound of the band.  You can hear our band name and won’t be able to make an inference without really hearing us.  Maybe there’s some mystery in the simplicity of it, but it’s for sure different.

Alex: What's the coolest way that you've seen someone using your music? Are there any interesting stories about a fan's YouTube video, tattoos, covers, paintings or posters?

Paul : Aside from people just listening to it and singing along, all of the tattoos, covers, paintings, interpretations are really overwhelming.  Our fans have been incredibly indulgent in our art.  We put a lot of effort into everything from the riffs to lyrics to artwork to packaging – and even sometimes with deeper concepts.  They continue to blow us away with how much they care about it.

Alex: You have been a band for 13 years now, have the sources of inspiration changed compared to back then when you first started? Have you found new ones?

Paul : We allow our inspirations to evolve with the times.  We are not set on the same few albums or movies that perked our interests 13 years ago.  It’s important to be self-aware and culturally-aware to understand the possibilities of music.  I’d say books and other music remain the most important of inspirations though.

Alex: Can you tell us something about the artwork of your latest album? It is a really good execution, this solitary buffalo which is peacefully grazing.

Early on we would spend a long time analyzing our own music and attempting to put together a visual representation.  However, for the 3^rd album in a row, we've allowed our artist, Martin Wittfooth, to interpret the concepts/lyrics into his own artistic ideas.  It’s allowed us to push the ideas to the extreme and have someone else extrapolate them to the cover.

Alex: Do you have any piece of advice to give to young bands you are touring with? Share your wisdom with new and upcoming bands.

Paul: Spend time writing, writing, writing and then record your very best songs.  Practice those songs, and continue to work hard.  So many bands enter this scene after utilizing all of the studio tricks and can’t even perform their carelessly written songs.  Regardless of the style or how heavy music is, a good solid song that is performed well will push a band further than anything else.

Alex: You are really active online. The band has a tumblr, twitter account, facebook page; each one of you is also tweeting. It must take a lot of your time? Do you think this is something a band must have - being active online/promoting /interacting with fans?

Paul : It actually doesn’t take much time at all since so many people use these platforms to simply communicate with each other these days.  I do think it’s important to remain accessible to your fans.  You don’t need to share all of your secrets, but remaining approachable sheds a positive light for fans.

Alex: Is there a part of being a band that you enjoy most? Is it touring, writing new music, the process of recording, interaction with fans, etc.?

Paul : I think for us, the enjoyment shifts in a cycle.  We love traveling and performing all over the world but there comes a time when it’s nice to get home and write new music.  The creative process comes in shifts, but when we’re focused on it, we really love it too.