On April 19, Silverstein brought their headlining tour through Philadelphia in support of their recently released album A Shipwreck In The Sand. A few hours before the show, I sat down with vocalist Shane Told in the Trocadero to get some more insight on the band's new album, their tour and their unexpected fan base in Peru.
Behind The Barrier: Your new album was just recently released - how would you compare it to your other albums?
Shane Told: Well, the approach we took recording and writing this album was completely different. The last three records we did, we did kind of the same way where we just got in a room and jammed out the songs and that was it. And I was in charge of writing the words so I did that and later on after, we decided what order it would be and stuff. And this record is a lot different because the first one that we did was like a story, and then a whole concept for the record kinda followed so then it went like: concept, idea and then the music kinda went around that and then the lyrics tie into the story. So it was a little bit backwards but it was also a lot more creative to do it that way and we planned it out a lot more. So in terms of sound, I don't think it's too far off. But when you write it as an album instead of just a collection of songs, if that makes any sense, it's just a different... I don't know it makes it sound different because you're focusing on this big long piece of music that's 40 minutes, not three and half minutes.
BTB: Did you like it better, having it all planned out?
ST: In some ways I did but it was a lot harder because when you're trying to follow a concept, it's like you're constantly going back and forth and being like, "OK, does this make sense to what I just said in this song?" It's a lot harder. I'm happy we did it, and I'm really happy with how it came out and I'm actually amazed at how well it came out. But I mean would I do it again with the next record? I'm not sure.
BTB: There were some bonus tracks - you guys covered The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Saves the Day and NOFX - what made you guys want to cover them?
ST: Well, we... generally when you do a record these days, you always do extra songs, like B-sides. But, we didn't want to do original songs because it was kind of weird to do a concept album and then have it be more songs that don't have to do with the concept and so we decided to do some cover songs. So everyone in the band picked three that they might want to do and then we went through them all and these ended up being the ones we've got.
BTB: I really like the Fleetwood Mac one. I was like, "Ah, this is so good!"
ST: I'm glad you like it.
BTB: Yea, I like them all a lot.
ST: And then the acoustic ones, I just did in like an hour or whatever. That was kind of my thing.
BTB: So, this tour has been... a couple weeks now? Or has it been longer?
ST: It's been longer. What's today?
BTB: Today's the 19th.
ST: The 19th? Yea, it's been... almost a month now.
BTB: How does this tour compare to other tours that you've done?
ST: It's kind of an average, pretty straight up tour. All of the bands are really nice. We're friends with the guys in blessthefall, so it's good to see them again. It's been pretty mellow, like there hasn't been any kind of... like we've had weird drama between bands and stuff like that. And this tour has just been really chill. It's been good, the shows have been good and everything has just gone super smoothly.
BTB: Would you say that your live performance has changed at all since you guys first started out up to now?
ST: I think the most obvious thing is that we've gotten a lot better. A lot better at playing our instruments and a lot better at putting on a live show. To like, convey that energy and everything that goes with it. Um, we play a lot more songs nowadays. We used to do... it's hard because you keep putting out albums, but you don't want to stop playing the old songs so you just add to it. So now we've been playing, some nights we've played like 20 songs. That's just long, ya know? So that's kinda changed. Other than that, I don't know. I just try to give a lot of energy and just enjoy it.
BTB: I just read your article in Alternative Press and I read that you had some pretty crazy fan experiences in South America. How does it feel to have that kind of fan base so far from home, especially in places like Peru?
ST: Yea, it's weird. Totally weird. The weirdest thing with that is that we don't even have records out there. It's all just like the internet and Myspace and kids downloading the record. It's so bizarre that that spread as far as it has. I remember even us just, our first tour like going out to California, being that far from where we live and just having people know the songs there. It was weird. And we go to Australia and Japan and it's crazy to have people know the words and be excited. But that was rad. We didn't know what to expect and when we got there it was just crazy. Complete craziness from the second we landed until the second we took off. Do you know what I'm talking about, Josh?
Josh Bradford: South America?
ST: Peru. Peru especially. It was like really weird. They put us in this bus to take us from the airport to the venue, but I don't know why they did it now. It was so sketchy, they like drove us around the city for an hour. And we thought we were getting kidnapped.
BTB: For no reason?
ST: Yea, for no reason. We thought maybe that the show wasn't ready so they were trying to stall, and they told us the highway was closed. It was really sketchy. The two drivers didn't speak English at all.
BTB: Do you guys have any big plans for this year?
ST: I think we'll just support the album now. The hardest part is done, it's out. People are really excited about it and that's great. And now we'll just keep touring. We're doing the Warped Tour this summer for two weeks, we're going to Europe again. And then probably later in the year we'll hit up some of the other countries I mentioned and it'll be fun.
BTB: Is there any country you like touring the best?
ST: Australia. It's amazing. It's the best country. It's the best of everything put into one place.
BTB: I was always ask this because I love Philly - what do you guys think of Philadelphia?
ST: I like Philly. What I like about it is that its got a lot of character. It's still nice and a pretty clean city. I don't know, I enjoy being here. People here are really awesome and passionate about music. And our shows here, every tour we do the best show is Philly. People just go crazy.
BTB: Well, that's all the questions I had but is there anything else you want to add or think I should know?
ST: I don't think so. I mean, we have a new record out and I just encourage people to check it out.
To read my review of the show, visit Campus Philly.
Shane Told: Well, the approach we took recording and writing this album was completely different. The last three records we did, we did kind of the same way where we just got in a room and jammed out the songs and that was it. And I was in charge of writing the words so I did that and later on after, we decided what order it would be and stuff. And this record is a lot different because the first one that we did was like a story, and then a whole concept for the record kinda followed so then it went like: concept, idea and then the music kinda went around that and then the lyrics tie into the story. So it was a little bit backwards but it was also a lot more creative to do it that way and we planned it out a lot more. So in terms of sound, I don't think it's too far off. But when you write it as an album instead of just a collection of songs, if that makes any sense, it's just a different... I don't know it makes it sound different because you're focusing on this big long piece of music that's 40 minutes, not three and half minutes.
BTB: Did you like it better, having it all planned out?
ST: In some ways I did but it was a lot harder because when you're trying to follow a concept, it's like you're constantly going back and forth and being like, "OK, does this make sense to what I just said in this song?" It's a lot harder. I'm happy we did it, and I'm really happy with how it came out and I'm actually amazed at how well it came out. But I mean would I do it again with the next record? I'm not sure.
BTB: There were some bonus tracks - you guys covered The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Saves the Day and NOFX - what made you guys want to cover them?
ST: Well, we... generally when you do a record these days, you always do extra songs, like B-sides. But, we didn't want to do original songs because it was kind of weird to do a concept album and then have it be more songs that don't have to do with the concept and so we decided to do some cover songs. So everyone in the band picked three that they might want to do and then we went through them all and these ended up being the ones we've got.
BTB: I really like the Fleetwood Mac one. I was like, "Ah, this is so good!"
ST: I'm glad you like it.
BTB: Yea, I like them all a lot.
ST: And then the acoustic ones, I just did in like an hour or whatever. That was kind of my thing.
BTB: So, this tour has been... a couple weeks now? Or has it been longer?
ST: It's been longer. What's today?
BTB: Today's the 19th.
ST: The 19th? Yea, it's been... almost a month now.
BTB: How does this tour compare to other tours that you've done?
ST: It's kind of an average, pretty straight up tour. All of the bands are really nice. We're friends with the guys in blessthefall, so it's good to see them again. It's been pretty mellow, like there hasn't been any kind of... like we've had weird drama between bands and stuff like that. And this tour has just been really chill. It's been good, the shows have been good and everything has just gone super smoothly.
BTB: Would you say that your live performance has changed at all since you guys first started out up to now?
ST: I think the most obvious thing is that we've gotten a lot better. A lot better at playing our instruments and a lot better at putting on a live show. To like, convey that energy and everything that goes with it. Um, we play a lot more songs nowadays. We used to do... it's hard because you keep putting out albums, but you don't want to stop playing the old songs so you just add to it. So now we've been playing, some nights we've played like 20 songs. That's just long, ya know? So that's kinda changed. Other than that, I don't know. I just try to give a lot of energy and just enjoy it.
BTB: I just read your article in Alternative Press and I read that you had some pretty crazy fan experiences in South America. How does it feel to have that kind of fan base so far from home, especially in places like Peru?
ST: Yea, it's weird. Totally weird. The weirdest thing with that is that we don't even have records out there. It's all just like the internet and Myspace and kids downloading the record. It's so bizarre that that spread as far as it has. I remember even us just, our first tour like going out to California, being that far from where we live and just having people know the songs there. It was weird. And we go to Australia and Japan and it's crazy to have people know the words and be excited. But that was rad. We didn't know what to expect and when we got there it was just crazy. Complete craziness from the second we landed until the second we took off. Do you know what I'm talking about, Josh?
Josh Bradford: South America?
ST: Peru. Peru especially. It was like really weird. They put us in this bus to take us from the airport to the venue, but I don't know why they did it now. It was so sketchy, they like drove us around the city for an hour. And we thought we were getting kidnapped.
BTB: For no reason?
ST: Yea, for no reason. We thought maybe that the show wasn't ready so they were trying to stall, and they told us the highway was closed. It was really sketchy. The two drivers didn't speak English at all.
BTB: Do you guys have any big plans for this year?
ST: I think we'll just support the album now. The hardest part is done, it's out. People are really excited about it and that's great. And now we'll just keep touring. We're doing the Warped Tour this summer for two weeks, we're going to Europe again. And then probably later in the year we'll hit up some of the other countries I mentioned and it'll be fun.
BTB: Is there any country you like touring the best?
ST: Australia. It's amazing. It's the best country. It's the best of everything put into one place.
BTB: I was always ask this because I love Philly - what do you guys think of Philadelphia?
ST: I like Philly. What I like about it is that its got a lot of character. It's still nice and a pretty clean city. I don't know, I enjoy being here. People here are really awesome and passionate about music. And our shows here, every tour we do the best show is Philly. People just go crazy.
BTB: Well, that's all the questions I had but is there anything else you want to add or think I should know?
ST: I don't think so. I mean, we have a new record out and I just encourage people to check it out.
To read my review of the show, visit Campus Philly.
