Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
How long have The Silencers been together?
The Silencers have been together since April 2004.
Describe the influences and sound of the band.
The influences are a direct combination of 70's New York punk and 80's L.A. rock, an unusual amalgamation to be sure, but one that works and has given the band an original slant and a great sound. We're just plain simple rock 'n' roll!
Describe the members of The Silencers, starting with yourself.
Well, I play bass. I used to play in a band called Blvd. Strays before The Silencers but that band broke up. I am originally from Los Angeles. Darryl is our rock 'n' roll madman singer and rhythm guitarist. He played in The Hell Brothers before The Silencers and he is from Canada. Axel is our German lead guitarist. Darryl and I met him at a show in Oakland, and he was wearing a Dictators shirt. We knew he was our man! Will is our merry old drummer from the U.K. We got Will through Axel as our first drummer quit and Will was looking for a gig! He fucking rules. Plain and simple. As you can see we are a very international band. It's really cool like that!
You guys are based in the San Francisco area, what is the scene like there for sleazy rock'n'roll?
I wish I could say it was good. It's pretty lame actually. San Francisco is a great city but the rock scene here sucks. Back in the 80's when bands like Vain, Sea Hags, and Jetboy were around, San Francisco was amazing! We had our own little thing going on separate from Los Angeles or New York City. But when the whole dot-com thing came in that really hurt San Francisco because all the musicians were forced out of their studios by yuppies who made them into offices and a lot of clubs closed too. San Francisco has really never recovered from that. Today, San Francisco is a total scene for indie rock and electronica. We have a small rock scene here with bands like American Heartbreak, Flexx Bronco, The Substitutes, Golden Gods, and some others but it's far from being a staple for rock!
When can we expect a release from The Silencers?
We're putting out of small limited edition EP this month and we're doing a track on the new Heat Slick compilation too. After that, we'll be doing a split CD with NYC's, The Kowalskis, next year.
How much has MySpace helped to expose the band?
MySpace has helped a lot! It's a great avenue for free exposure. If you have a band and are not on it, get on it now!!! You're a fool if you don't!
You also run a well know record label called Heat Slick Records. When did you form the label?
I started Heat Slick in 2002.
What are your goals with Heat Slick?
My goals are to just release good rock 'n' roll by bands that can produce good rock 'n' roll! I am not in this for money or too quit my day job. I used to be like that but I finally decided that I didn't need that. I've always done it for the music and always will!
You have released a very successful compilation, with another one on the way. How did you get suck legendary bands such as Faster Pussycat, Hanoi
Rocks Junkyard etc. to submit tracks?
For the first compilation, I just contacted either the bands or their labels and licensed the tracks. Junkyard, I already licensed thier new EP so I just took the track of that. For the new compilation, I had Hanoi on it but their label backed out on the very last minute which really sucks!
That about wraps it up, do you have any last words?
Thanks for the interview Mike! I love The Erotics and cannot wait for new stuff from ya. Look out for the new Heat Slick compilation soon! The new Silencers release soon and lots more. And please visit www.thesilencers.net and www.heatslick.com.
- www.therockexplosion.com
Discography
Demo CD: 2004
Heat Slick Records Compilation #2: 2005
Full length CD: TBA 2005
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Spawned from the Ashes of several bands recently deceased, The Silencers have come together for one reason only. To put the fun and local camaraderie back into rock and roll. Something, which is sadly missing from the San Francisco music scene.
"We have had our serious 'Were gonna make it!' bands and now its time to just play and shut up" Darryl can often be heard muttering to himself while sucking back his Night Train from a brown paper bag. The ironic thing is, this is probably the best band any of these guys have ever played in. The influences are a direct combination of 70s New York punk and 80s L.A rock, an unusual amalgamation to be sure, but one that works and has given the band an original slant and a great sound.
After The Hell Brothers broke up in spring of 2003, Guitarist and Lead Singer Darryl Stapleton decided to take some time off, write a batch of new tunes, and watch from a distance while the bay area music scene slowly weeded out the pretentious gimmick bands and went back to an appreciation of real rock and roll. Sadly, this never happened but who the fuck cares. After a year of watching the paint peel, he decided it was time to rev up the engines again. The first to come into the fold was Scotty from The Blvd. Strays. As he quit that band, Scott was extremely available. They set up shop in Scotty's garage in the attractive and always exiting city of Oakland. The next to come in was Kento Winkler, former bass player from The Hell Brothers. Kent, like all San Franciscans thought crossing the bay bridge was akin to being sucked into a black hole, so he hung up the bass strings after 2 practices to continue his real passion of watching television. This was Axel Riekes cue to show up at a Motochrist gig Darryl and Scotty were attending at The Stork Club wearing a Dictators shirt and looking like he really belonged in this band! He was immediately chloroformed, tied up and made to listen to Darryl's last bands CD. Thus the core was solidified and The Silencers are now poised to make their mark on the local albeit vacant music scene.
The first drummer to join the band was Matt Hannon. Things were rolling along great when he suddenly got the urge to run his company properly, and spend more time being a responsible business man. A resident of Santa Rosa, Matt also got a sudden urge to stop driving 4 hours in blistering heat to downtown San Francisco to practice for 2 hours, something we can hardly blame the boy for. Sadly, the stars were not aligned for him to play rock and roll in a full time band so he bid us farewell, of course on very amicable terms.
The day Matt quit the band he knew Darryl was out the night before at a crack smoking convention, so he wisely phoned in his resignation at 9:45 AM Saturday morning, knowing Darryl would be too tired to yell at him.
But……………..Things always seem to have a way of working out for these boys. Lead Guitarist Axel Rieke knew of a former drummer who was yearning to play again, and before you could say pasty Englishman, Will Eglington was in the band. Now its time for the rest of the story to write itself.
Since forming in 2004, The Silencers have shared the stage with such notables at Bubble (members of Vixen, Dogs D'amour), Faster Pussycat, Chinatown, Flexx Bronco, and others. The band was also featured as the Pabst Blue Ribbon band of the week in the April 27th issue of the SF Weekly.
Maybe these guys are just what San Francisco needs.
Currently, The Silencers are working with Derek O'brien (Social Distortion, The Adolescents) on their full length debut.
The Silencers @ Myspace: www.myspace.com/thesilencers
The Silencers @ Pure Volume: www.purevolume.com/thesilencers
Links
