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 A while back I received some email from a Davis, California band by the name Silvara. Unfamiliar with their music I soon got a CD of both of their demos, and simply put, I was totally impressed with the degree of musicality within. There have been some recent line-up changes, but what remains is the core of one of the more original up and coming bands I've heard lately. What follows is the beginning of an "interview through time", my idea being to periodically check back with the band and inundate them with thoughtful questions to try and watch them grow into the monstrous quartet I'm sure that they'll become. - Evan |
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RoR - Please, go over the history of the band again for me (briefly is fine), including the line up changes, songwriting, progression of the band, etc... You can address here why the vocal stylings managed to become so much more brutal over time.
Karl (Vocals, Guitar): This project began as a bunch of kids wanting to play instruments. It didn't form into a band until 1995 when we thought we had a dedicated crew but line up changes have been taking place ever since then. The first bass player left in 1998 and our other guitarist Nik Janos just announced his departure in January 2000 to pursue his academic career. Our current drummer, James McLeod has been with us since 1996 and Jim (Bass) has been with us since mid 1999. We just filled the second guitar slot about three weeks ago with Brendan Duffey. Silvara's sound was thrashy at the beginning with many improvised solos then morphed into power groove with melodisism and no solos. The early vocals were just loud screaming influenced by me "singing" along with MESHUGGAH while I drove to school. The newer material is heading into a melodic, death metal direction with high and low growls, perhaps relating to CARCASS, MORBID ANGEL, ARCH ENEMY and the likes. We definitely want to incorporate more solos of virtuostic nature with the newer material.
RoR - How difficult is it for a metal band to succeed in the Davis, California area? Was there much of a scene there to begin with?
Jim: We have played shows in Davis, including "Live in Studio A" on KDVS 90.3 fm. But there is no scene here, so we play in Sacramento or the Bay Area. Even though Davis is were we live it is not where Silvara lives, if you can understand what I mean.
RoR - What made you start to have interest in starting, of all things, an extreme metal band?!
Karl: I think the moment I decided I wanted to become a rockstar (joking) was while watching a POISON video on MTV. I took up the electric guitar when I was thirteen and got all my friends to take up other appropriate instruments to form a band. The first influences were bands like METALLICA, SEPULTURA and TESTAMENT, but I was always looking for heavier bands. I started trying to find death metal at a very early age and that is what I wanted to play. My other interest as a musician was to be an excellent guitar player and I figured that having a death metal band was the way to display everything I wanted.
RoR - There are times in a band's development when one member or several members aren't quite living up to their potential in terms of what they wish they could perform versus what their abilities are at the time. This is especially the case in a lot of younger bands, especially creative ones, where songwriting ideas exceed aptitude. Not to even IMPLY that you had to go through this, but it does seem as though you guys as a band have grown a lot together (evident in the change from demo one to demo two), was this ever an issue? Is it still an issue?
Karl: We went through early line-up changes because members weren't improving with the rest of the band. This band is improving every day it exists, so it puts pressure on all of us to improve together, even after years of playing our instruments. Creatively we are always changing as well. There is also the business issue. Everyone has to put money in to promote, record, and play out. There is no room for any one in this band to put half effort in.
RoR - If you had the opportunity to replace a "weaker" member with a stellar musician that you didn't really know, would you, or would you stay with the person that you've been with so far?
Jim: That is a difficult question. Since Karl started the band, enough lineup changes have occurred to leave him the only "original" member. So Silvara has seen a few departures, and not all have been friendly. But it takes more than stellar musicianship to be in a band. For example, Nik is one of the greatest guitarists I have known, he's truly one of the greats, but he chose a different path, and so he didn't work out with Silvara. I suppose the "strongest" member of a band might not be the best musician because a lot more goes into it than just great playing.
RoR - Of these two choices, which would you rather achieve with Silvara, to be an innovative band that is remembered for their creativity, or for refining an established sound and being remembered as the band that was the apex for that genre? Of course, why would you choose this?
Jim: That's a good one Evan!
Karl: We would choose to be known as a creative band because we tap from many resources and cover many genres as opposed to one. We are a focused band, but we are not focused on just one sound.
RoR - The direction I heard the band travelling in was a more progressive sound, but I haven't heard any of the newer material. How would you compare this newer stuff to what was released on the first two demos?
Karl: The newer stuff will be more progressive with added virtuosity. It will also be a step closer to death metal but wont lose the melodisism from the last demo. I am saddened to say that because of Nik's departure we also lost an epic, two-parter that was very impressive. This particular song may not be recorded or released now.
RoR - I noticed that you thanked James Murphy in your liner notes, what's the connection with him?
Jim: Ah James! Nik took lessons from James Murphy. We both had the pleasure of meeting him. James Murphy was a great mentor for Nik and I appreciate the guidance that he gave Nik. An ironic note is that Brendan, our new guitarist, took lessons from Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT) in Berkeley.
Karl: James Murphy also referred us to someone who mastered our CD very cheap.
RoR - How often do you get to play shows, have you travelled far to play?
Jim: As of late we have been playing 1-2 shows a month. The furthest we have travelled is San Francisco. We will be playing some shows in Santa Cruz. We have also been offered some shows up in Oregon and we are trying to work out the logistics for them.
RoR - Have you managed to create a core group of fans? If so, how did you build them up (radio airplay, mailing lists at shows, free concerts, ,etc...)?
Karl: We do the mailing list thing, we have played live on a local radio station, and sometimes give out free CD's at shows. We always seem to be playing for a new audience because we are still finding new places to play. We haven't played many venues twice so it is hard to say what kind of an impact we have left in each location. When we start "tagging" our fans with shirts and stickers we will have a better idea of what our impact has been in our widely spread area. Time, money, and continued persistence will tell.
Silvara - 2000
Karl Metts - Vocals, Guitar
Brendan Duffey - Guitar
Jim Russell - Bass
James McLeod - Drums
Silvara's Official Home Page can be found at: http://www.silvara.com
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