Maryland Spotlight: Silvertung
I got the chance to sit down with Baltimore’s own Silvertung before they played at The Holiday Six-Pack show in December to talk about the new EP Lighten Up and the new recently released DVD of the same name. What? You don’t know this band? If you live in and around the Baltimore/DC area, you know how great and high energy this band is. For those who do not, this band has been touring relentlessly up and down the east coast as well as the middle US states for some time now. Everywhere they play, they make a lasting imprint on you as a original hard rock band like no other. The band (lead singer Speed, guitarist Codey Red, new bassist TC, and drummer Danno) were kind enough to sit down with me, along with their manager David Snowden, for an exclusive interview you can only read here about what’s going on with the band with new releases, 2018, and more.
Shockwave: Tell me how the EP came about.
Danno: We had been doing some acoustic things with Shinedown and Bobby from Saliva and then the fans kept asking when are we going to do an acoustic album and Speed and I would look at each other and giggle because it’s really not our forte. We are a hard rock band. But we sat down and re-wrote some songs to test them out and they sounded great. It was all recorded live in one shot first of all which made us nervous to do. The six songs we chose were all singles and made it to the radio. “Devil’s Advocate” came out really different which I love.
Codey Red: We wanted to have fun with it as well. Along with taking these songs and turning them into something different. We wanted to give them a good feel to the audience about these songs in a new way. We didn’t want to overcompensate them. We wanted to make it simple.
Let’s talk about the new guy, TC. Is it official now that he is the new member?
Speed: This will be his first show with us tonight. TC was a fan of the band so when it came about we needed a bass player to fill in, he came to us and said he would be there whenever.
TC: Me and Danno were good friends and he went to them and put in a good word and now I’m here so it all worked out.
Is having your music out on social media more important than having an album out?
Speed: Yes
Why?
Speed: Because it’s all about a single nowadays. You don’t need an album. A single is the biggest thing. Everybody wants that one song. Now the key to that also is, you put out one single, but you have available five other singles. Social media is the new music business platform, but without that one single, nothing really matters. A lot of bands now have stopped doing 12-15 song albums to doing 5-7 song EPs. Why? Because it’s all about the single. Things are also more visual as well as more personal. The fans don’t give a shit if you live in a big rock star house or drive a million dollar car. If they can shake your hand now, that means more to them than anything else and that’s where we are lucky. We love meeting people and talking to them. We’re not gonna hide in the bus after a show, or even before a show. These people want to be a part of your life and the show and we welcome that.
The DVD. Let’s talk about it.
Speed: It’s a totally different and new experience for us as we have never released one before. It wasn’t planned and it shows us in more of a raw form, which the fans don’t get a chance to see us in a lot. There are going to be some extra tracks on it, there are going to be some special guests on it, and it’s going to be really cool. There’s a part in it too where you will get to find out a little bit more about each member that we didn’t even know about each other, especially from our manager, who reveals some things, but that’s what they are there for, to bust your balls (laughing).
Can you give me a hint on who the special guest is?
David: You can tell him who it is, Speed.
Speed: Ok. Well, Kelly Bell, the biggest blues guy around here is on a track called “Slow Me Down.” It was a real honor to have him on it and he is great friends with us. He has an incredible voice and it was just fantastic of him to be on it with us.
David: It’s also important to say that if you research Kelly’s career, Kelly doesn’t sing on any record but his own, but everybody wants to be on Kelly’s album. This is the first time he has ever done a guest vocal anywhere, and that makes this very special especially to do it with another band from the same region, that was special for him and he didn’t hesitate one bit to do it.
Codey Red: We didn’t do it to make it bluesy just because it was Kelly too. It was already a bluesy song to begin with and he just intensified it greatly.
David: Kelly did not rehearse with the band either for the recording of it. He sat down, in his Silvertung shirt mind you, and asked us what we wanted him to do and he just winged it. It was two takes with Kelly and it was done.
What’s in store for 2018?
Speed: Touring, touring and touring with some touring in between touring. There are a lot of places that have been dying for us to come out to and we have been dying to get out there to. The buzz is starting to get out there too about Silvertung and we are blessed and grateful for that because it’s been a lot of hard work but we know the long road ahead of us to make it big is to just keep working hard and keep putting it out there for everyone. People are buying our music and you’re pretty lucky if that happens. We want to do a new record as well. We have four tracks basically done and we will get more out. We would love to get to California too. We have yet to be out there as we just haven’t been able to find the best route for us there yet, but we do see it happening soon.
Codey Red: The new music will also involve TC in the writing and the recording process and that’s a good thing as his input will be new and exciting for us.
Danno: The new album will take us to the next level too I believe. I think it will really surprise everybody and take this to the new level. It will have the same Silvertung sound people expect, but kick it up a notch. We want to get out there though and show the fans what we can do.
The band will be performing at the great 80’s in the Park Festival February 18th in Cocoa Beach, Florida, February 25th in Spartanburg, SC, and April 7 in Charlestown, WV and locally back in Maryland very soon. Check their webpage for dates and information on how to order their new EP and DVD.
