Since this turning point in their career the Canadians guys put out three new releases
on a pretty short time frame: one EP mindfully titled “Transitions” (2010) and a full-length effort called “Rescue” (2011) which has been followed-up to this year's “Short Songs”. And this to me is undoubtedly a clear statement that the five-some are not really short of new ideas and ready to back out yet.
The new record packs both new tunes and a bunch of covers of punk hardcore primers like Gorilla Biscuits, Dead Kennedys (the title track is “Short Songs” off the outtakes packed compilation “Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death” dated 1987), Descendents, NOFX, Good Clean Fun to name but a few. And even the new songs they wrote are all short and to the point much in the fashion of the first hardcore punk wave with a clear-cut reference to band's roots (I've asked to elaborate on this and you'll have to await to read on the reply I got).
Whether their last offering has been fast and short the same cannot be said of this interview with Josh Bradford (founder and guitar player), who, seating down with me before their gig last April in Legnano, took some extra-time and passionately replied all our questions without sparing himself with words to best describe his much loved band, the latest effort, the Warped tour and the recent documentary dedicated to it, life on the road, post-hardcore and much much more.
Get to the end of this piece, you'll not regret it.
gan: Classic opening question. Please introduce your band, who you are and who are the other guys playing with you.
Josh: Okay, first off, my name is Josh and I play guitar in this band SILVERSTEIN. We are just a Canadian rock band. I guess this is easiest way to say it. We definitely come from kind of like punk hardcore metal background...that's what we've grown up listening to I think there's a bit of all that in our music. We try to do something...if it feels right to us incorporating that style into it. I play in this band Silverstein with Shane our singer, Neil the other guitar player...Paul our drummer and Bill the bass player. We've been a band for almost thirteen years now...so it's been a lot of time but it's been fun.
gan: How's this tour going?
Josh: It's been great! We've been over in Europe for a little over two weeks. It's been long...we started in Russia the first show was the 24th of March...it's been great. We have been to a bunch of places either we've never played before...it was exciting to go, play there, see the place...and places we had been to but which was a while since we've been there so it's nice to be back and meet our friends and those people again. I was actually a little worried...it's a pretty long tour to be oversea...away from my family and stuff like that...especially communicating over the ocean it would be a little tricky than when we tour Canada or the states. Anyway we're having a good time.
gan: And what about Italy. Yesterday you played Roma, right?
Josh: we've never been to Rome before so that was very exciting. We've been to Italy a couple of times but mostly in Milano...and I think we did Modena. So it was our first time in Rome and it's such cool place to go because threse's so much history there. After we set up we went to downtown...walked around to see the Coliseum, the Pan tenon, the Trevi fountain...all that stuff. All I see in Movies, TV shows and stuff like that...and that's amazing that some of those things...when you see those things in real life...they are huge and very very impressive in real life. And I hope to go back there and spend some more time because it's really a fantastic place.
gan: And the kids? Did you have many people coming out?
Josh: It was one of the smaller shows. One of the smaller one on this tour but, I mean, we've never been there before so we couldn't expect alot. But I feel like everybody there had a really really good time. Got to shake alot hands after the show...people were all really excited so that's the main thing. That's not how many people are but as long as people have a good time it's exciting for us.
gan: Roma has a really good scene...punk hardcore...
Josh: It seems pretty tight knit there. So it was our first opportunity to try and break in to that so hopefully we have put a foot in the door now and we would be go back and be bigger and better every time. We want to go back as soon as possible and as many times as possible.
gan: And what you wanna say about tonight?
Josh: It's Friday night so hopefully it's gonna be crazy. I think it's gonna be a bit nutty here. Ahh...some people will come for the show other for the drinks but I mean either ways I think it's gonna be exciting. Thanks to be back it's been a while...yeh...Last time we've been here it was with Billy Talent...a couple of years ago and it was a pretty good show that band is very big and good...a very good show so I enjoyed that now we're back and it's our headlining tour.
gan: What's your overall impression on Italian kids/fans?
Josh: very passionate! The shows are a lot later here. A lot of the fans will come a little bit earlier and I feel they need to get more energy but it seems people here have more than enough energy. It's fun!
gan: You played in NY during a special screening of “No Room For Rockstar” about the Vans Warped tour documentary.
Josh: Yah!
gan: You played more than once on that tour, haven't you? What are some of your memories, good stories / bad stories related to it?
Josh: the Warped tour... we started playing it very earlier in our career...and...I think we were in for maybe just one show and then off on tour. It was amazing...we had a big crowd and it seemed the right place to be for our type of band. We had a great experience and the best thing about this is all the bands can park in the same areas...so park next everybody like...you walk in the alleys and there's NOFX, Pennywise there's...ah!...all these bands I've grown up listening to are right here with me I'm a part of this know. So you see a lot of opportunities to meet people and kind of gain experience through listening to their stories about what be in a band is all about. As you know lots of bands start out and as soon as they put out a record they think they made it but there's so much more to it I feel like I still haven't made it...we've been doing this over decades now so...it's a hard tour...lotta hard work...it's such a cool scene with kids...they just really matter who's playing they know Warped tour is gonna be a good time so they go. A way to check out new bands. One ticket price and you get to see all these different bands I think it's the coolest.
gan: Was this record kind of a intentional way to say the kids where you guys come from? I mean, the punk hardcore. Was it that the point behind “Short Songs”?
Josh: I don't think it was the point. It's started off almost as a fun project for us and we didn't really think everybody was gonna like it that much...we knew we were gonna get some old school people saying noo...they can't cover those songs...they can't those bands...like who did they think they are we thought it was gonna be some backlash from it but it was just a fun idea for us we love those bands that type of music...we're not claiming to be punk or claiming to be a hardcore band but it helped shape what we are so it is an important part to us and I've actually been surprised how many people have never paid attention to us before and have said like at first I was skeptical I didn't think you guys could pull off those bands and those songs but I'm impressed I'm gonna go back and start trying to listen to your stuff...I understand where you fit a little better right now then I ever did. So that's really cool...the fact they're giving us another chance is very cool. But the coolest thing I think is we had so many of them that said like I heard of this band around I've heard all of them but I just don't really know anything about them and I have never really thought to go backward and look this stuff but after hearing you guys pick on that one I wanted to hear how the original was like I go back and I learn...I'm so into learning now about the history...that's really cool. Because if we get help educate some of the youngsters we can help bring them back to where it all started and maybe change their tastes a little bit...get into the real stuff and leave the phoney bullshit at the side hehehe...
gan: Okay...what about writing some new stuff? Did you write some?
Josh: We had. We had so busy touring and doing “Short Songs” and...we've really worked on anything yet but we have a month off after this tour and we'll probably start jamming a little bit. We'll see what happens no solid plans yet but we're always thinking ahead. We'll probably will have our new record out some time next year but as I said we're so busy on the road and we need time to put everything together. We usually write separately each comes in with some ideas and we put them all together.
gan: But today for a band like yours what's the more important thing...I mean, touring Vs. releasing new stuff?
I think both are really important...we try and travel a lot and we started to going to more and more country every year and as you get there more you become tired because you have started something in that country and you have to get back within a short enough time so that they remember from when you were there the last time so you can build on that. So it gets tricky. We started touring in Asia a lot more. We've done Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia so we're starting to get into all the different corners of the earth...and it's a great amount of time and money to get into some of these parts...but I mean it's a need to go there to see the places just as a tourist and be able to play shows and make some of the living we're doing as well. It's amazing. So it seems like it takes two years between each record and then we would do another record and then we would tour for another two years. Do a US tour, do a Europe tour, do some stuff in Canada...Asia, South America...Australia. It's a big world and it's hard to do it all but we're trying.
gan: Does Silverstein pay your bills?
Josh: Yeah...it's been my only job for the last ten years and it's been very full time. We take long enough break to do laundry, pack up and go back on the road or we take a bit longer to write but it's not a really break because we're still like jamming five-six days a week so it is very much a full time job. I'm able to pay my bills while being creative for feeling my life enjoying it all...I can't think of anything better hehe...it's like a dream come true...maybe it's not the way all people would picture this life being...there's not a lot of glamor...it's long hard days but if you love it yeah...it's tricky.
gan: You did a lot over these years. What keeps you going? What's the next goal for Silverstein?
Josh: Keep trying to go to even more countries...there's nothing better to being able to travel and get paid for it...more countries...yeh...we're gonna do China for the first time and New Zealand...I know they have a great hardcore scene so it could be cool. Get more into this global music scene...see the world and making music...that's the next step...I mean it's been the only step since day one but it's enough to keep us going...exciting for sure.
gan: You guys been a lot of years on Victory records and recently moved to Hopeless records. If you had to compare the two labels what would you say?
Josh: I feel we have a lot more freedom now...Victory was always very supportive they never made us send them demos before we did a record and as soon as we finished a record they said “okay, great! we're gonna put this out and do our best to make it big”. So they have always been very supportive but at the same time they liked to do things their way whereas Hopeless we come up with an idea we present it to them and they are usually very supportive on anything we want. We came up with the “Short Songs” idea just as a fun thing for us...and they said “awesome! put that out”...yeah I don't know...Victory would say no sometimes Hopeless has not said NO yet...if you're passionate in that, you believe in that they would believe in that...it's a nice place to be because everything is easy. We have to be creative and they care about the business hehe...it's comfortable.
gan: Does the label post hardcore fit or mean something to you?
Josh: It makes sense to me...I mean, everybody has a different opinion about what sounds like what but yeh...post hardcore makes sense to me because we have elements of hardcore in our music but we're not a hardcore band. We only exist because of hardcore so post hardcore makes perfect sense to me yah...that's the best way to describe it to me. Sometimes to generalize I just say rock because of drums and guitars and sweating...sweating people...you know? it's not pop...it's not classical...not jazz. Everybody gets something different from it.
gan: Okay thank you.
Josh: No problem...thanks very much hehehe...
gan: Classic opening question. Please introduce your band, who you are and who are the other guys playing with you.
Josh: Okay, first off, my name is Josh and I play guitar in this band SILVERSTEIN. We are just a Canadian rock band. I guess this is easiest way to say it. We definitely come from kind of like punk hardcore metal background...that's what we've grown up listening to I think there's a bit of all that in our music. We try to do something...if it feels right to us incorporating that style into it. I play in this band Silverstein with Shane our singer, Neil the other guitar player...Paul our drummer and Bill the bass player. We've been a band for almost thirteen years now...so it's been a lot of time but it's been fun.
gan: How's this tour going?
Josh: It's been great! We've been over in Europe for a little over two weeks. It's been long...we started in Russia the first show was the 24th of March...it's been great. We have been to a bunch of places either we've never played before...it was exciting to go, play there, see the place...and places we had been to but which was a while since we've been there so it's nice to be back and meet our friends and those people again. I was actually a little worried...it's a pretty long tour to be oversea...away from my family and stuff like that...especially communicating over the ocean it would be a little tricky than when we tour Canada or the states. Anyway we're having a good time.
gan: And what about Italy. Yesterday you played Roma, right?
Josh: we've never been to Rome before so that was very exciting. We've been to Italy a couple of times but mostly in Milano...and I think we did Modena. So it was our first time in Rome and it's such cool place to go because threse's so much history there. After we set up we went to downtown...walked around to see the Coliseum, the Pan tenon, the Trevi fountain...all that stuff. All I see in Movies, TV shows and stuff like that...and that's amazing that some of those things...when you see those things in real life...they are huge and very very impressive in real life. And I hope to go back there and spend some more time because it's really a fantastic place.
gan: And the kids? Did you have many people coming out?
Josh: It was one of the smaller shows. One of the smaller one on this tour but, I mean, we've never been there before so we couldn't expect alot. But I feel like everybody there had a really really good time. Got to shake alot hands after the show...people were all really excited so that's the main thing. That's not how many people are but as long as people have a good time it's exciting for us.
gan: Roma has a really good scene...punk hardcore...
Josh: It seems pretty tight knit there. So it was our first opportunity to try and break in to that so hopefully we have put a foot in the door now and we would be go back and be bigger and better every time. We want to go back as soon as possible and as many times as possible.
gan: And what you wanna say about tonight?
Josh: It's Friday night so hopefully it's gonna be crazy. I think it's gonna be a bit nutty here. Ahh...some people will come for the show other for the drinks but I mean either ways I think it's gonna be exciting. Thanks to be back it's been a while...yeh...Last time we've been here it was with Billy Talent...a couple of years ago and it was a pretty good show that band is very big and good...a very good show so I enjoyed that now we're back and it's our headlining tour.
gan: What's your overall impression on Italian kids/fans?
Josh: very passionate! The shows are a lot later here. A lot of the fans will come a little bit earlier and I feel they need to get more energy but it seems people here have more than enough energy. It's fun!
gan: You played in NY during a special screening of “No Room For Rockstar” about the Vans Warped tour documentary.
Josh: Yah!
gan: You played more than once on that tour, haven't you? What are some of your memories, good stories / bad stories related to it?
Josh: the Warped tour... we started playing it very earlier in our career...and...I think we were in for maybe just one show and then off on tour. It was amazing...we had a big crowd and it seemed the right place to be for our type of band. We had a great experience and the best thing about this is all the bands can park in the same areas...so park next everybody like...you walk in the alleys and there's NOFX, Pennywise there's...ah!...all these bands I've grown up listening to are right here with me I'm a part of this know. So you see a lot of opportunities to meet people and kind of gain experience through listening to their stories about what be in a band is all about. As you know lots of bands start out and as soon as they put out a record they think they made it but there's so much more to it I feel like I still haven't made it...we've been doing this over decades now so...it's a hard tour...lotta hard work...it's such a cool scene with kids...they just really matter who's playing they know Warped tour is gonna be a good time so they go. A way to check out new bands. One ticket price and you get to see all these different bands I think it's the coolest.
gan: And what are your feeling about this documentary? Have you seen it?
Josh: I feel like it wasn't...it didn't seem to me as much about the Warped tour as I wanted it to be...like...it seems that it has a storyline to it that at times I was not understanding...it jumps around to all these artists on the Warped tour...some of which are very new and young artists that I don't wanna think they know much about what that tour is all about...the hard touring life. They're are living their good time early on in their career and don't know what Warped tour is about...working really hard consistently for a long period of time and doing it for the love of it. Especially because the documentary is called No Room For Rockstars but then they want to make a bunch of the people in the documentary seem like rockstars. I was confused by the message behind it. But I just need to see some behind the scenes life on that tour so I just watched it but I was not my favorite. It's just weird I don't know hehehe...
gan: You are on tour with WE ARE THE OCEAN. How did it come to have them on the road with you?
Josh: We just wanted a cool band that didn't sound like us. A bit of variety in shows. We just finished a tour in the states and the bands were really really heavy...hardcore metalcore...breakdown after breakdown...and I don't want to hear the same thing over and over again. And they have to make some sense in what they're playing. I don't want popstars with hardcore bands but at the same time having some variety in the sound is a good thing so I think they're doing a great job. Their songs are really really catchy...they definitely get the crowds pumped up. It's cool.
gan: I really hope kids will enjoy them...I'm not much of fan of these guys but I just want to take the chance to check'em out...
Josh: Check it out it's a very good laugh they're all a bunch of singers and they all sing well...it's pretty rock n roll. I think it's cool.
gan: You released this record titled “Short Songs”.
Josh: Yeah!
gan: Are you guys gonna shot a video to promote the record or is it not the case this time around?
Josh: Yeh we did one video for the really pop punk one called “Brookfield” and I think we're planning to do a couple more...this songs are really shorts hehehe...they're fun songs and I really enjoy them.
gan: And how did you chose the covers on this record?
Josh: We wanted to do bands that were around before we started this band. To kind of give an impression of like the stuff we were listening to as kids and the music that brought us into this low world because a lot of people don't find their way in this little corner of music world. They listen what's on the radio and that's it. But for some reasons certain people...something about it drew us in. And this is strange because this music doesn't have much of wide appeal so it's always interesting when people find their way to it and then find their way into making their own bands and stuff like that and I think it actually represents the variety of different bands and sounds we listened to that were available back then and hopefully maybe you can hear some of their influences in...especially in some of the short songs we wrote for that. I think you can hear all our influences in the music a little more. You can listen one of our records and say “they like Dead Kennedys” but we did grow up listening to that like long time ago that was punk rock there wasn't hardcore in the way that there is now. And I think it's really important to go backward to understand the history and the evolution of a sound. So it's fun hahaha...
gan: And what about the Good Clean Fun cover?
Josh: Yeh...we actually did a tour with the bass player of that band tour managing for another band and one of the other guy in that band was our tour manager for a bit so they're still new but they are very active in the music scene. It's a song with a good message...very short so fits the whole very perfectly...you know being on the road for a long time is easy to become friends and bond them...I think it has a very straight to the point message “You gotta stay positive”...and being on tour and missing your friends and family...and everything that happens in your life even if it's not a good thing it happened get over it...you gotta stay positive.
gan: And GCF guys are straight edge...
Josh: Yeah...we had a couple of sXe members. Paul is still straight edge and our bass player Bill was straight edge for a long time so that song is all about being straight edge and I think it was fun for them to pay homage to straight edge doing some of those. I have never been straight edge but it's definitely been part of the scene I've been involved with. I respect the people who have the strength to do that but...you know...hehehe...
gan: You are on tour with WE ARE THE OCEAN. How did it come to have them on the road with you?
Josh: We just wanted a cool band that didn't sound like us. A bit of variety in shows. We just finished a tour in the states and the bands were really really heavy...hardcore metalcore...breakdown after breakdown...and I don't want to hear the same thing over and over again. And they have to make some sense in what they're playing. I don't want popstars with hardcore bands but at the same time having some variety in the sound is a good thing so I think they're doing a great job. Their songs are really really catchy...they definitely get the crowds pumped up. It's cool.
gan: I really hope kids will enjoy them...I'm not much of fan of these guys but I just want to take the chance to check'em out...
Josh: Check it out it's a very good laugh they're all a bunch of singers and they all sing well...it's pretty rock n roll. I think it's cool.
gan: You released this record titled “Short Songs”.
Josh: Yeah!
gan: Are you guys gonna shot a video to promote the record or is it not the case this time around?
Josh: Yeh we did one video for the really pop punk one called “Brookfield” and I think we're planning to do a couple more...this songs are really shorts hehehe...they're fun songs and I really enjoy them.
gan: And how did you chose the covers on this record?
Josh: We wanted to do bands that were around before we started this band. To kind of give an impression of like the stuff we were listening to as kids and the music that brought us into this low world because a lot of people don't find their way in this little corner of music world. They listen what's on the radio and that's it. But for some reasons certain people...something about it drew us in. And this is strange because this music doesn't have much of wide appeal so it's always interesting when people find their way to it and then find their way into making their own bands and stuff like that and I think it actually represents the variety of different bands and sounds we listened to that were available back then and hopefully maybe you can hear some of their influences in...especially in some of the short songs we wrote for that. I think you can hear all our influences in the music a little more. You can listen one of our records and say “they like Dead Kennedys” but we did grow up listening to that like long time ago that was punk rock there wasn't hardcore in the way that there is now. And I think it's really important to go backward to understand the history and the evolution of a sound. So it's fun hahaha...
gan: And what about the Good Clean Fun cover?
Josh: Yeh...we actually did a tour with the bass player of that band tour managing for another band and one of the other guy in that band was our tour manager for a bit so they're still new but they are very active in the music scene. It's a song with a good message...very short so fits the whole very perfectly...you know being on the road for a long time is easy to become friends and bond them...I think it has a very straight to the point message “You gotta stay positive”...and being on tour and missing your friends and family...and everything that happens in your life even if it's not a good thing it happened get over it...you gotta stay positive.
gan: And GCF guys are straight edge...
Josh: Yeah...we had a couple of sXe members. Paul is still straight edge and our bass player Bill was straight edge for a long time so that song is all about being straight edge and I think it was fun for them to pay homage to straight edge doing some of those. I have never been straight edge but it's definitely been part of the scene I've been involved with. I respect the people who have the strength to do that but...you know...hehehe...
gan: Was this record kind of a intentional way to say the kids where you guys come from? I mean, the punk hardcore. Was it that the point behind “Short Songs”?
Josh: I don't think it was the point. It's started off almost as a fun project for us and we didn't really think everybody was gonna like it that much...we knew we were gonna get some old school people saying noo...they can't cover those songs...they can't those bands...like who did they think they are we thought it was gonna be some backlash from it but it was just a fun idea for us we love those bands that type of music...we're not claiming to be punk or claiming to be a hardcore band but it helped shape what we are so it is an important part to us and I've actually been surprised how many people have never paid attention to us before and have said like at first I was skeptical I didn't think you guys could pull off those bands and those songs but I'm impressed I'm gonna go back and start trying to listen to your stuff...I understand where you fit a little better right now then I ever did. So that's really cool...the fact they're giving us another chance is very cool. But the coolest thing I think is we had so many of them that said like I heard of this band around I've heard all of them but I just don't really know anything about them and I have never really thought to go backward and look this stuff but after hearing you guys pick on that one I wanted to hear how the original was like I go back and I learn...I'm so into learning now about the history...that's really cool. Because if we get help educate some of the youngsters we can help bring them back to where it all started and maybe change their tastes a little bit...get into the real stuff and leave the phoney bullshit at the side hehehe...
gan: Okay...what about writing some new stuff? Did you write some?
Josh: We had. We had so busy touring and doing “Short Songs” and...we've really worked on anything yet but we have a month off after this tour and we'll probably start jamming a little bit. We'll see what happens no solid plans yet but we're always thinking ahead. We'll probably will have our new record out some time next year but as I said we're so busy on the road and we need time to put everything together. We usually write separately each comes in with some ideas and we put them all together.
gan: But today for a band like yours what's the more important thing...I mean, touring Vs. releasing new stuff?
I think both are really important...we try and travel a lot and we started to going to more and more country every year and as you get there more you become tired because you have started something in that country and you have to get back within a short enough time so that they remember from when you were there the last time so you can build on that. So it gets tricky. We started touring in Asia a lot more. We've done Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia so we're starting to get into all the different corners of the earth...and it's a great amount of time and money to get into some of these parts...but I mean it's a need to go there to see the places just as a tourist and be able to play shows and make some of the living we're doing as well. It's amazing. So it seems like it takes two years between each record and then we would do another record and then we would tour for another two years. Do a US tour, do a Europe tour, do some stuff in Canada...Asia, South America...Australia. It's a big world and it's hard to do it all but we're trying.
gan: Does Silverstein pay your bills?
Josh: Yeah...it's been my only job for the last ten years and it's been very full time. We take long enough break to do laundry, pack up and go back on the road or we take a bit longer to write but it's not a really break because we're still like jamming five-six days a week so it is very much a full time job. I'm able to pay my bills while being creative for feeling my life enjoying it all...I can't think of anything better hehe...it's like a dream come true...maybe it's not the way all people would picture this life being...there's not a lot of glamor...it's long hard days but if you love it yeah...it's tricky.
gan: You did a lot over these years. What keeps you going? What's the next goal for Silverstein?
Josh: Keep trying to go to even more countries...there's nothing better to being able to travel and get paid for it...more countries...yeh...we're gonna do China for the first time and New Zealand...I know they have a great hardcore scene so it could be cool. Get more into this global music scene...see the world and making music...that's the next step...I mean it's been the only step since day one but it's enough to keep us going...exciting for sure.
gan: You guys been a lot of years on Victory records and recently moved to Hopeless records. If you had to compare the two labels what would you say?
Josh: I feel we have a lot more freedom now...Victory was always very supportive they never made us send them demos before we did a record and as soon as we finished a record they said “okay, great! we're gonna put this out and do our best to make it big”. So they have always been very supportive but at the same time they liked to do things their way whereas Hopeless we come up with an idea we present it to them and they are usually very supportive on anything we want. We came up with the “Short Songs” idea just as a fun thing for us...and they said “awesome! put that out”...yeah I don't know...Victory would say no sometimes Hopeless has not said NO yet...if you're passionate in that, you believe in that they would believe in that...it's a nice place to be because everything is easy. We have to be creative and they care about the business hehe...it's comfortable.
gan: Does the label post hardcore fit or mean something to you?
Josh: It makes sense to me...I mean, everybody has a different opinion about what sounds like what but yeh...post hardcore makes sense to me because we have elements of hardcore in our music but we're not a hardcore band. We only exist because of hardcore so post hardcore makes perfect sense to me yah...that's the best way to describe it to me. Sometimes to generalize I just say rock because of drums and guitars and sweating...sweating people...you know? it's not pop...it's not classical...not jazz. Everybody gets something different from it.
gan: Okay thank you.
Josh: No problem...thanks very much hehehe...
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