Interviews: Silent Theory

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Rock band, Silent Theory from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

I wish we had a really cool story for how we got our band name, but unfortunately the story is kind of lame. We were transitioning between bands were already booked for some live shows and needed a name for the poster. We had bounced ideas back and forth but nothing really stuck, so one afternoon we all met up at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and ordered a few pitchers of margaritas and swore we weren’t leaving until we had a name that everyone was happy with. Long story short, and many pitchers later, someone had suggested Silent Theory and we all dug it.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

We all collectively have fairly eclectic music tastes but all like the new modern rock sound and feel that is where our natural writing abilities land. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to play live because it’s high energy and we can wail on the instruments.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Most of us knew each other prior to the band; Scott, George and I are all brothers and have been playing music together since we were kids. I met Bob about 14 years ago when we worked together at an auto shop and knew that he played the bass, so when we were at a crossroads in the band in 2007, we brought Bob in. We met Dakota in 2013 when we were searching for a new singer. It was a friend of a friend sort of situation. He had come up from Boise to audition for our band we knew immediately we had our guy.

4. Each band member favourite band?

Mitch: That’s a toss up for me, but I’d say either Weezer or Rush

Scott: He’s been listening to the Veer Union and The Amity Affliction a lot lately

George: Currently, he’s really into I Prevail and Asking Alexandria

Bob: He’s been listening to a lot of A Day to Remember and Thrice recently 

Dakota: Linkin Park

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

I think we get most of our inspiration from what’s happening around us. It could be current events, current feelings, etc. For example, in 2016 when we were at the height of the presidential election and the chaos that was ensuing during the debates, it inspired Dakota and I to write Watch Me Burn. The song itself isn’t necessarily political, but the chaos we watched motivated the song.

6. Where was your last gig?

We played the Snake River Rock Fest in Lewiston, Idaho last August.

7. Where would you like to act?

A bucket list venue for me is Red Rocks in Colorado.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

That’s a tough question and I’ve gone back and forth on a lot of people I think would be awesome to do a song with, however I keep landing on Ed Sloan from the band Crossfade. He’s got an absolutely incredible voice and if you haven’t heard some of his recent solo stuff, you need to. I think his lower range would pair really nicely with Dakota’s higher ranges.

9. Whom not?

I’m not sure that I have an answer for this one. I think if done right, any one could be a contributor so I don’t think I’d write anyone off yet.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

I used to have horrid stage fright. I mean absolutely horrid. It was the reason I didn’t become part of a band until my adulthood because I would only play the drums in my basement at home. I would have been a nervous wreck knowing someone outside of my family may have been listening. What I did was not at all what I would recommend to anyone else, but it’s part of my story so I’ll tell it. For the first year or so of playing live music, I would get fairly drunk before playing. There were a few times I’d polish off a stupid amount of alcohol and then the liquid courage is what got me on stage to play. Don’t do that. I was a garbage drummer at those shows because of it and usually let my band down. There were times I fell off the stage, kicked over drums on accident and straight up forgot what song I was even playing. It was bad and made me look like a total amateur. Eventually I had had enough stage time that I started to not be nervous anymore, and now I don’t even think about it. My advice (without the alcohol!) is to just jump in and play. It’ll be scary, and you’ll panic. But just get out there and do it. You’re probably going to have some rough shows, it happens. But each time you’re up there, you’ll gain more experience and get better and better. The alcohol for me was a crutch and I looked, acted and sounded absolutely ridiculous.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

The list is absolutely gigantic and I could probably write a novel on the bands that really inspired me to be a musician, but a few that are essential to me are Rush, Kiss, The Moody Blues, Queen and Motley Crue. When you’re watching those bands live, you aren’t just listening to music. They seriously take you through a musical journey. Aside from just loving their music, I always appreciated them for wanting to give you an experience for a concert. You can tell they want you to leave the show blown away, and you do.

12. What do you think of your fans?

They are 100% of the reason we do this at all. The music industry is absolutely brutal and cutthroat and there are tons of times you just want to walk away from it all, but it’s knowing your true fans count on you that keeps you going. We write and perform our music for them. They are what’s most important.

13. What do you think of our site?

I like it. It’s like a “one stop shop” for your musical needs and you can tell it’s very fan focused and driven.

15. Something add?

I always like to use this opportunity to do some shameless plugs for the band. We just released our latest single, Shaking Cages, and you can listen to that and the rest of our catalog on whichever musical platform you choose. We are on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc. We also take a lot of pride in our music videos so please consider subscribing to our channel at www.youtube.com/silenttheorymusic. If you’re old school like me, you can still buy our CDs and other merch at our merch store: https://silenttheory.square.site/.

Lastly, as the country begins to open back up, be on the lookout for us to play near you!