Indie Rage got in touch with Shane Told, Lead singer for Burlington Ontario's 'Silverstein.
One of the stand outs of the Indie scene , with only 2 years under their belts, Silverstein has managed to mix school with plenty of shows. With good support from a strong INDIE scene, they have all the right ingredients to take it all on. But Indie Rage is here to get the real digs on the behind the scenes life , & Shane gives it straight up.
JULY 29th/2002

INDIERAGE : What is your home town music scene like right now ?
SHANE : Right now, the scene in our area is stronger then it's ever been. Older bands like Grade, Jersey, and Moneen are spreading the word and newer bands like The Fullblast and The Pettit Project are on their way to much deserved success. Lots of kids are excited about shows and bands and it's a beautiful thing. I really like that kids are into all kinds of music, whether it be Ska, Metal, Emo whatever. It's good that we can have diverse show lineups and everyone is into it the whole time.

INDIERAGE : How often does the band rehearse ?
SHANE : about once a week, more if we aren't playing as many shows or less if we're on tour.

INDIERAGE : Do you guys work day jobs or is this your main focus right now ?
SHANE : 3 of us are in University/College, one is working and one is still in High School. We're planning on dropping all that when Sony calls though.

INDIERAGE : Has anything come about from out side Canada ?
SHANE : We've gotten emails from people in the weirdest places, Brazil, Italy, even Indonesia, and a lot in the states. We have a huge fear of crossing the border, but we are planning on going down the east coast for our next tour.

INDIERAGE : Do any of the members have any other jobs that are music releated
SHANE : Paul, our drummer, puts on a lot of shows in his spare time and Josh our guitar player has recorded a few bands at his house. I teach guitar lessons too. Bill, our bass player, puts out a zine every month and works as a photographer for bands. We're all very involved in Music, not just in Silverstein.

INDIERAGE : Who does your booking & how to you get most of your shows ?
SHANE : At first, we begged our way onto shows. Now almost everything we do we are asked to play. Paul books everything we do now and is frusterated as hell most of the time.

INDIERAGE : .What is your opinion (from your experiance) of the music scene right now for your genre of music ?
SHANE : Right now, Hardcore and Emo are really gaining popularity. Bands like Jimmy Eat World and Poison the Well are selling tons of records and are exposing a lot more people to this kind of music. I think bands like Thursday and New found GLory will also really make a lot of kids get into the more underground stuff.

INDIERAGE : How important is an email list to the succes of your band ?
SHANE : We don't have one. I don't think it's important at all. There were bands before the internet existed

INDIERAGE : Do you have any tips for young bands on how to efficiantly get their music heard by A&R reps etc.?
SHANE : Practice, then record a 3-4 song demo the best you can. Then hand it out to everyone. Play as much as you can. There's no real secrets. To get any big labels to hear you these days you need to either know someone or have a huge buzz about you. The only way to get a buzz is to start locally. Putting your stuff on mp3.com can really help too.

INDIERAGE : . If there was one question you could ask your favourite Rock Star, what would you ask him/her.?
SHANE : I'd ask Fat Mike of NOFX to sign my band.

INDIERAGE : Any final words you want to say that could be usefull to that aspiring kid who wants to be in a band ?
SHANE : Buy a guitar, even if you suck it's the time of your life.