Interviews: Rat Silo

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Indie Rock band Rat Silo from Canada. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

The name Rat Silo was a working title for a project I tried in about 2004. The idea was to get 10 different musicians/composers to share stems and then adapt/remix everyone else's music. This was a bit after Nine Inch Nails gave away a bunch of stems so that anyone could do something at home. They are still doing it, and so is Moby. If there are 10 musicians and they all do something with everyone else's stuff, we would wind up with 90 pieces of music. It didn't work out. Couldn't get enough people involved, and we didn't really know what we were doing.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

This type of music is in our blood. My tastes are quite broad as I loved Led Zeppelin and then discovered Punk in the UK and fell in love with Stooges' Fun House. Along the way, I absorbed Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Grace Jones, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Joy Division, Killing Joke, John Coltrane, Public Image Limited, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Swans and about 400 or so others. All members have similar interests over the years, such as The Jam, The Clash, and Nine Inch Nails. Erkan (our textures/sampling player) comes from a very different route, as he was raised in Turkey. We are a Post-Punk band, essentially, and we like to play hard and aggressively. I like strong vocal hooks and try to get a chorus of a song that will be remembered by the listener.

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

Jim Newton (me, the singer) and Don Binns (bass) were in Sons Of Freedom (Slash / Warner then Chrysalis then Divine industries) from 1986 to 1995 or so. Rat Silo started up initially in 2007 with a different approach and lineup, made 3 cds then stopped in 2012 and started up again in 2016 with Erkan. Sean Stubbs, the drummer and Don have been in both versions of the Band. Dona and Jim have known Sean as a fellow musician since 1987 or so, when Sean was singing in Vancouver's Numb. Jim met Erkan through a mutual friend in 2011 or so.

4. Each band member's favourite band?

Pretty risky for me to state what everyone's favourite is, but I think this list will be close:

Jim: Stooges ( specifically Fun House).

Don: The Jam

Erkan: I actually have no idea, but he's very interested in DJ / House / Trap / Ambient / Trance.

Sean: Nine Inch Nails

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

I write the lyrics, and I work phonetically initially. Almost all of our music comes from jams where we are all playing together. At some point, once it seems that this idea will actually get finished, I have to get words to sing. I'm quite disappointed in human behaviour, and I think people have been encouraged to be mean and selfish over the last few decades. So what seems to be happening is that I am writing lyrics and themes about what is pissing me off at the time. E.g. Catholic Church's denial of sexual abuse by the clergy and reluctance to pay restitutions for it. Predatory foreign policies. Bullies. Cowards. That's me yelping about other people. Then I also write about inner turmoil - low self-esteem, self-doubt, existential angst. It's hard not to get all preachy about this stuff, and I work hard to make sure that the words "fit" into the melody properly - so that nothing jumps out from the music too much. At the same time, I feel that artists need to reflect on the world they live in. Recall the quote by Bertolt Brecht, “Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”

I see it as both - a chance to reflect and suggest to the listener that self-reflection is healthy (the mirror), also to prod the listener to explore changing how they see the world (the hammer).

6. Where was your last gig?

Portside Pub in Vancouver

7. Where would you like to act?

I guess this means where we would like to play live. Pretty much anywhere, but mostly in front of people who might be responsive to what we are doing.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

LCD Soundsystem, Bjork, Swans, Gorillaz, Radiohead, Massive Attack

9. Whom not?

Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, pretty much any "New Country" artists, and tribute bands. This issue has never come up, as pretty much all of the artists that we don't want to be associated with would never approach us to play with them anyway.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

I have, and a bit of stage fright is a good thing. What is a bad sign is when you USED to get stage fright, and then you don't anymore. It's a sign that you may not be concerned enough about doing a good job - maybe you have no more self-doubt, maybe you have become complacent and are not pushing yourself hard enough. I sing, and while nerves can make a singer wobble and lose control of pitch, it's actually a good instrument to have to play on stage. If you can get your breathing under control before you hit the stage, and then pay attention to what's going on with your breathing when you are on stage, you should be fine. Back in the day, I may have had a few drinks before playing. Let's say 3 or 4 drinks. So I am nice and relaxed and feeling no pain when I hit the stage. But by the time I'm into the 4th song, the adrenaline has worn off, and I realise that I am playing badly and not keeping good time, missing notes, etc.

I usually go on straight, and if I am nervous beforehand, by the time I'm into the second song, my nerves are under control - because I have just spent 4 minutes breathing huge amounts of air into my lungs. I think it's the same for drummers. Coordination is crucial for drummers more than anyone else in a band. They are using both legs and arms, typically, and so lots of blood running around - lots of air going in and out. Not many drummers play well after 3 drinks.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

I think I had that list earlier, but maybe the biggest inspiration - role models - have been ones that changed the template. Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Joy Division, David Bowie, T.Rex.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Nothing comes to mind, but we did a postcard/feedback thing in the old band, and it was an all-ages gig. So high school students. One kid said maybe we could mail him something, "anything really, even an old sock". It seemed hilarious that a kid would fill this card out and then mock us in a self-deprecating way like that. Never got offers to do drugs in a cave, join a cult, shoot alligators in the swamp, etc.

13. What do you think of your fans?

They are the kindest, most generous, open-minded people on the planet.

14. What do you think of our site?

Pretty slick, from what I could tell. Maybe just my browser, but it seems that there are about 25,000 bands listed there - had to keep refreshing the page...

15. Something to add?

Keep breathing, motherfucker.

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