SILO

Strathmore's favourite rock band, SILO, got a taste of the big leagues July 1 when they rocked the Bud Stage at this year's Boonstock festival.

While playing at one of Canada's premier music festival is exciting enough, opening for one of your musical influences is a dream come true.

"It was amazing," Clay Watson of SILO explained. "We ended opening up directly for Five Finger Death Punch so there were 20,000 people in the area while we were playing which is practically a dream come true."

Not deterred by the large fan base cheering them on, SILO nailed their 30-minute time slot and impressed the music lovers.

"It was pretty crazy," Watson said. "We probably had 5,000 directly in front of us in the area. The stages were side by side. Our side was the beer garden side and the other was all ages, and you had to come through a fence. When My Darkest Days played on the main stage right before us everybody ran to the other side to see us, and a lot of them where getting their spot for Five Finger Death Punch so when you looked along the fence there was probably 10,000 to 15,000 people."

Along with the exposure, SILO had the chance to meet the musicians behind some of their favourite bands.

"We were backstage and got to meet some bands, and got to talk to the guys from Five Finger Death Punch and My Darkest Days, a couple of guys from Three Days Grace came in," Watson said.

While the thousands of screaming fans could have expanded to the rockers' egos, SILO took advantage of the situation, making their experience about their fans.

"We gave up our VIP passes and took general camping so we could actually spend the weekend with our fans," Watson said. "We setup a SILO camp and invited anyone that wanted to come in, and we probably had around 30-40 people that were there specifically to see us. We had maybe 25 right in our camp, and we spent the weekend handing our flyers and by the end of the weekend we probably had over 100-150 that knew who we were and are ready to come see us."

Reflecting back on the experience, Watson was clear about his highlight of the weekend.

"Once we were finishing up and we were thanking everybody and everyone was cheering and we said 'Now get over there and watch Five Finger Death Punch' and people went nuts and started running over there," Watson said. "They are a huge influence on us and one of our favourite bands; it definitely was a dream come true."

The weekend festival proved to be a massive success for the band, whose fan base has jumped dramatically since they opened for Five Finger Death Punch.

"It was an awesome weekend all-round, even though we only played for half and hour and we were there for four days, it was well worth and we would love to go back," Watson said. "Once we got home, our Facebook page and our website just blew up, everything more than quadrupled with fans, it just created a huge buzz."

The rockers spent last weekend in Salmon Arm at the Sturgis North Motorcycle Rally and Music Festival in Salmon Arm B.C. - The Strathmore Standard

The band Silo is working on becoming a household name. The band was formed in 2007, but the current members have only been together for about a year and a half. Recently the band signed up with a management company and on April 25 they received good news.
“We just got released across Canada to 131 rock stations, our single just got released today (April 25),” said Clay Watson, lead singer for the band, known to his fans as Cash.
He said the management company is tracking the progress of the song “Paper Note” in Toronto, and is hoping with the release big things will happen for the guys.
Four of the members live in Strathmore, and one of them, Mat Rapuano and his business partners recently opened Strathmore’s first night club, COOTERS.
All of the members have a stage name; Mat Rapuano is the drummer and nicknamed Raps; Clayton Firmstone, lead guitar, is Young Blood; Mitch Webb, is vocals and rhythm guitar and is also known as Itchy; and Jordan Hogan, the bass player, is called Jordo.
“The reason we have the stage names is, because it kind of separates our personal life from our band life, and it just kind of gives us that alter-ego which is nice,” said Watson.
Watson started the band, and said the first person to leave was the drummer. He and Raps have rebuilt the band together.
“Ever since me and Raps hooked up, no looking back and we just took off and every year things are getting bigger and better. We have a couple of big opportunities after the summer festival tour,” said Watson.
Before Raps and the other guys joined the band, the name Silo was already chosen. Watson said the original guys couldn’t decide what to name the band, so he told everyone to write down every cool thing they saw over the following week.
“I was actually the one that saw the silo, and I said ‘you know we live in this area and there’s so many grain silos everywhere but to be cool there are missile silos as well’,” said Watson.
“I said, ‘what do you guys think about silo, its short, and sweet’. We kind of did a vote on it, and everybody voted for it. It’s kind of stuck with us ever since.”
The band is going to be busy over the summer months. They will be headlining at the Strathmore Poker Run on June 24 and 25, and the Harleys and Hotrods Poker Run on July 9. They will be playing at Boonstock, where they are opening for Perfect Circle, Three Days Grace, Five Finger Death Punch and a number of other bands.
“There’s a bunch of huge bands, and then two weeks later, we’re actually playing the main stage at the first ever Sturgis North motorbike festival in Salmon Arm, B.C,” said Watson.
The plan for the band is to one day quit their day jobs and make a living from their music. Watson said all the members are dedicated to making things work.
“It’s something you have to do though, you can’t just sit in one place and expect everything to happen, you have to get out, tour, collect fans, all that stuff,” said Watson.
While the band will do covers, they do write all of their own original music. To find out more about Silo, or to hear what they are putting out, visit www.thesilonation.com. - The Strathmore Times

Okay, I hear a lot of bands, both as a music journalist and with my real job of being a recording engineer/producer. So to say I heard it all might be a little of a stretch as I still haven' heard a band that plays death metal polka, but I have heard most musical genres attempted by a lot of bands -- some good, some bad and some ugly

It takes a lot to make it in the music biz, not only do you have to play well, but you have to run your band or music career like a business or you wont last. However, the thing you must do -- and that you can' learn, it just has to come from inside your heart and soul -- is communicate. That's right, at the end of the day, it is the ability to communicate thoughts and emotions that determine whether or not you are an okay bar band or the next super group.

Now enter SILO, one of these bands that has what it takes to make it -- that's right they are fantastic musicians, but, they do more, they communicate and people are starting to flock to their live shows and websites to hear what the band has to say.

Hailing from Calgary, Canada, SILO is different that what you are used to seeing and hearing at the local club or bar. First, they have a stage show that is full of energy, which in their genre of hard rock is extremely important as much if this genre's appeal is feeling the energy of the music; fans want a real physical experience and SILO delivers!

And check this out, they even are smart enough to start branding their image by keeping a color theme going with their instruments and clothing, by using colors of red and black. That is a great idea and helps make the band stand out by removing them from the tired and beige looks of the typical rock band. And ladies, it means if one of these guys is single, he is probably and okay dresser so you won't be ashamed to go out with him in public but I digress.

The boys of SILO have even taken stage names. partly for an added effect to entertain fans, but also partly to keep their performance lives and their personal lives separate. Again, these guys are doing everything right, all they need is that important break, and they might have just gotten it.

Their song "Feeling Heavy" has been chosen to be included on an International Rock Compilation album entitled Road Riot Radio Compilation. There were only three bands selected from North America, and only one Canadian band, SILO!

With a release date of earl 2011, the compilation will be distributed internationally, followed by a European Promo Tour. The European Promo Tour could very well turn into a world tour.

But, don't think that you have to wait until that release to get your hands and ears on some SILO goodness! You can get their current release BAD LUCK at the usual sources -- Itunes and so forth.

But hey, still not convinced you should click on over and spend your hard earned cash on Silo? Then let me just add that if you love aggressive thrashing bass and drums that make you feel like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, lush harmonized guitar riffs with plenty of power and kick-ass attitude, and vocals that at times are edgy and in-your-face and at other times hauntingly melodic, then Silo is a necessity for your next musical purchase. - The Portal Magazine

SILO TAKES ON HOLLYWOOD SILO is EXCITED to announce that their new single “NO LINES”, has been invited to join the Rock Compilation Album “RIOT ON SUNSET - VOL. 16”, being released MAY 5 2009 through the Record Label “272 Records” out of Hollywood California! The Album will be released to Live365.com, and over 25 radio stations in California. The record will also be distributed for sale to Amoeba Music (Hollywood’s largest and most popular record store) and Amazon.com. It will also be released to 3 of the hottest Rock Shops on Hollywood Blvd, as well as various stores and tattoo shops on Sunset Blvd. and Melrose Ave. They will be giving away free copies of Riot On Sunset-Vol. 16 to their customers as well. For your copy, after APRIL 27 2009, please go to www.amazon.com, in the search engine type in “Riot on Sunset – Vol. 16. Once all the details have been worked out we will be having a BIG RELEASE PARTY to celebrate the Release of our NEW SELF TITLED EP along with the release of "NO LINES" on "RIOT ON SUNSET - VOL 16"………you won’t want to miss this party!! If you get a chance check us out on Facebook Group SILO CALGARY, www.myspace.com/silocalgary, www.purevolume.com/silocalgary. Let us know what you think of the news, the band, and anything else you want to yak about, we would love to hear from ya so LEAVE A COMMENT!! Thanks again Gang, Boyz of SILO ..
- Clay