Silence

What can you expect from a group named Silence? Well it's anything but a meditative new age sound. The name is there more to not define what our music is. They are not so much a genre band, but one that plays what they feel. Silence has a mystique that keeps people guessing. They are currently a melodic band with big harmonies, and strong writing.
their sound has been received well in the industry as shown by their extensive travel schedule. Silence has played around the world, and opened for several national bands like Foreigner, Bad Company, Cinderella, Poison, and others.
Silence looks poised and ready to leave their mark on the industry. - Deanna Gloyd

Sounds of Silence
BHS grad finding new success with longtime band

By Mitch Pugh, Enterprise Staff Writer
December 10, 2003

It's been a busy year for Broomfield High School graduate Robert Sanders and longtime band Silence.

The group has been touring since July, playing everywhere from Las Vegas' Palms Brendan Theatre to the Cutting Edge Music Festival in New Orleans to Madison Square Garden and the International Film and Music Festival in New York. The success of 2003 has been gratifying for the trio and especially so for Sanders, who quit his job at Jonas Brothers taxidermy studio two years ago to pursue music on a full-time basis.


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On Friday, the 1986 BHS grad will make his first appearance in Broomfield in more than a year, slowing down a bit for an acoustic performance at the new Capri Coffee store in the Broadlands marketplace shopping complex.

"Since I left (work), we've pretty much been on tour," Sanders said last week from his home on the Broomfield-Thornton border. "So far so good."

Sanders began singing and playing guitar about 17 years ago, getting his first big break on a tour for Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign out of high school. After he returned, he formed Silence with drummer Dave Curnow of Denver and bass player and guitarist Billy Schlitter of Aurora.

The band has produced two full-length CDs ("Sound of the Rain" and "Silence" on New Pants Entertainment) and, through their marketing company Disk Marketing, has landed a song in the film "America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy, Jr. Story" and earned a spot on the playlist of Air Force One. The music is an acoustic pop/rock fusion that evokes the likes of Edwin McCain, Marc Cohn and even bluesy rocker Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you go:
WHAT • Solo acoustic performance by Broomfield High School graduate Robert Sanders
WHEN • Friday, Dec. 12, 7 to 9 p.m.
WHERE • Capri Coffee in the Broadlands at 144th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard
COST • Free
INFO • www.robertmsanders.com



For his part, Sanders said his time spent promoting the "Just Say No" campaign was more than just a break. It's influenced him to continue to produce what he calls challenging, yet positive music.

"It was pretty impacting, watching kids walk up and truly looking up to you," Sanders said of the tour, which featured cover material from popular 80s bands like Whitesnake and Bon Jovi. "They were amazed we weren't on drugs."

The acoustic performance on Friday will feature many Silence originals, including local audience favorite "Eldorado Song," as well as covers from artists like Matchbox 20 and Josh Kelly. Sanders said it will be a laid back performance and he plans on recruiting members from the audience to join him on stage.

"I have a great fan base here of friends and other people who never miss a show," Sanders said. "I still know a lot of people in Broomfield and this area and it's the biggest community of support I have."

After the Broomfield show and the holidays, Sanders said the group will likely play a few local shows at venues such as Herman's Hideaway in Denver before hitting the road again. In addition, Sanders does voice-over work for local commericals and has dabbled in acting with the Animal Planet Network to pay the bills.

"It's always, 'What can I do to make this work next week,'" Sanders said, crediting the support of his bandmates and wife of six years, Lauren. "Right when you think you're about done, someone or something comes out of the woodwork and you get right back on track."

- Broomfield Enterprise

www.robertmsanders.com

January 16, 2004

Having spent 13 years fronting Denver's Silence, Robert Sanders has seized on a new — and, these days, increasingly unconventional — way to spread his band's acoustic-based funk and blues: giving it away. At each local show, Sanders and bandmates Billy Schlitter and Dave Curnow give away dozens of CDs to concertgoers. "They only cost us 50 cents a CD, so I'd rather give away $50 worth of discs than sell three," Sanders reasons. "They give me something by showing up, so we're giving them something back."

Check out the band yourself — and score a free disc — when Silence performs an unplugged set Feb. 27 at Capri Coffee Break in Broomfield, or at an electric show March 20 at Herman's Hideaway in Denver. Watch Silence's Web site for more shows.


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The Camera recently caught up with Sanders:

So what's Silence up to?

"We took some time off over Christmas, but now we're currently recording some new stuff and putting together some tunes. We have a ton of material that we're trying to finish. We'll hopefully have a whole album finished by March."

What kind of sound are you going for?

"I'm going to call it a little more blues-funk than some of our previous stuff. I guess it's acoustic blues-funk. That's the only thing I can really call it. We didn't set out writing in any particular style; the songs just come out. If you listen to everything we've done, it goes from easy listening to metal to funk. We're all over the board, and I've gotten a lot of flack over that. People say, 'Why don't you pick a style?' But to me, variety's the spice of life. Why get stuck in a rut? We like to do things differently and mix it up."

I understand you played Madison Square Garden in November?

"Yeah, I was out there in New York for a music conference. I did a solo show, part of a showcase at Madison Square Garden. There must have been thousands of people there. It was a little overwhelming, actually. But it was a very cool thing to have done. Then I went over and did a set at CBGB's. That went well, too. For whatever reason, I end up doing very well in New York."

Where do you hope to go with all this?

"For Silence, it's a very simple goal: making a living doing what we enjoy. Period. It's not about being a rock star or making a ton of money. We just want to be able to earn a decent living making the music that we love."

And are you there yet?

"It's getting close. We've got a licensing deal with a company called Disc Marketing in L.A., and they market our music toward TV shows and movies. We've gotten little clips in 'South Park' and a movie on HBO about JFK Jr. They're continually shopping our songs to bigger producers, like Paramount Pictures, so one of these times hopefully something big comes out of it. But you know, as long as things keep moving forward, we're happy."

- Daily Camera