Before launching into the opening song of his new band's debut show on a recent Tuesday night at The Elevens, Matt Silberstein took a moment to thank those friends who had turned out to see them play. More importantly, he acknowledged the one who couldn't make it.
"This set is for Tim [Young]," Silberstein said, referencing the beloved Valley music superfan who had passed away just days before. "It's been a really hard week. Tim was a great friend, and I miss him."
With that heartfelt dedication, the Matt Silberstein Band proper was born. Backed by local music scene veterans Brian Marchese on drums, John St. Onge on bass, and Sam Barnes on violin and keys, the group worked through a set of feel-good numbers that ranged from slow, mellow groovers to up-tempo stompers.
Silberstein—who writes and sings the tunes and is usually armed with an acoustic guitar for this project—took some time out to talk about his new band, the '70s, and Dr. Rock.
Valley Advocate: What's your musical background?
Matt Silberstein: Growing up in Staten Island, there was not many options. Most kids my age listened to metal or rap. I liked both, but was really into a lot of my dad's music—The Who, Rolling Stones, Cream. In the summer before sixth grade, my good friend Nick played me "I am the Walrus." This started my obsession with the Beatles. About five years later, I started playing guitar, because I wanted to be John Lennon. I thought that songs like "Revolution" would be so much fun to play on guitar. I was right, and I have not put down the guitar ever since. Along the way, I became interested in many other styles of music like jazz, bluegrass, electronica, which led me to try new instruments—bass, mandolin, keyboards. I feel that I try to keep a well rounded balance of my music, but not on purpose. It's just because I enjoy a lot of music.
Tell me about your new band.
John and I play in a band called the Swillmerchants. We play out fairly often and recently won Valley Advocate Best Rock Band. We've been playing music together for almost three years. I joined up with the Swillmerchants one night after jamming with them in the basement of a house party. We made a connection that night, and we have not stopped playing music since.
Sam Barnes I met at Sam's open mic. He had just finished playing an amazing solo on violin, and then he started playing some jazz-style piano, maybe a [Thelonious] Monk tune. Whatever it was, I was impressed. I thought, "Damn, this guy can play everything really well!" At the time the Swillmerchants were recording our album The Mint Hotel. We were looking for someone to do some violin parts on the record, so I introduced myself. Sam now plays with Swillmerchants as an auxiliary member at shows.
Brian I have known the longest time, but very oddly. When I went to University of Hartford, '97 to '01, I used to book a club called the Hawk's Nest. I would book local and national acts. Aloha Steamtrain, one of Brian's first bands, asked me for a gig. I offered them a breast cancer benefit show that was organized by the Women's Center. Unfortunately, the organizer of the event did no promo for it and it was a complete failure. I felt really bad. After graduation I moved to Western Mass. and started checking out the local music scene. To my surprise, Brian played drums for five bands that I really enjoyed. We were introduced through mutual friends, and when I went to record the EP for my songs, I asked him to play drums. Brian is the MVP drummer of Western Mass. I knew he would be perfect on my album.
I enjoyed your tune about life in New York City versus the Valley, and particularly your song for your mom. Are you mostly inspired by real-life events or situations?
For the most part, my songs are real-life events or loosely based on real-life events. I find it easier to write or play a song if I have some attachment to the content. Sometimes the content can be emotional, other times it's just the trials and errors in life. Everyone has a story of the one that got away or moving to a new town. I just put mine to song and hope that people can see where I'm coming from, literally and figuratively.
You guys have a real '70s feel—is that intentional?
It's definitely not intentional, but I can see how that comes across. I do enjoy a lot of music from the '70s—a lot of my favorite artists' careers thrived in the '70s: Neil Young, Frank Zappa, The Clash, Talking Heads, E.L.O, Grateful Dead, The Band, Steely Dan. In general, I think the '70s was an amazing decade for music. Musically, everything was moving forward and all songs were created to be these elaborate pieces. In the late '70s punk and disco changed that mindset a bit, but everyone was thinking big in those times.
Any band philosophy, or immediate goals?
Not really, just rock. If the song is in your face, you have to drop the g: rockin'. If it's a mellow ballad, then you add the g: rocking. Goals would be to get the next gig or at least release my EP.
Tell me about that upcoming release.
I did 75 percent of the guitars, all the keyboards and vocals, aside from the obvious harmonies in "Winter Home." My collaborator and co-producer Scott Marshall should get some credit—he plays bass on three songs, did the other 25 percent of the guitars, and sang that harmony part. He played in Prescription America with me, my former band, and decided when the band broke up to record my songs for me. He left the area after receiving his doctorate in geology—Dr. Rock being his nickname—and is a professor of geophysics at Appalachian State University. We have been mixing those tracks via FTP files. It was especially weird that Brian played drums to the tracks of Scott playing bass and the two have never met. I guess that is the information age at its finest!
For more information on the Matt Silberstein Band, visit www.myspace.com/mattsilberstein.
