MM - Hello! Please do introduce the band and give us
a brief history of where you're from and how you came to hook up with
each other etc ...
Paul
- Hello, I’m Paul Oates from
Sheffield, bass/backing vocals.
Jon
- Hi, Jon Hardcastle,
from the epicentre of rock ‘n’ roll, Barnsley (others
laugh), play Drums and (says proudly) occasional percussion.
Dave
- [pwaarpp, pwwarrrp, pwwwaaahhh] - (Dave playing harmonica) Hello,
Dave Kerr, from Sheffield, Guitar and
Vocals [pwaarpp, pwwarrrp, pwwwaaahh - Dave playing more harmonica].
Andy
-
[laughs] Andy Mewse from Doncaster/Sheffield, guitar and backing vocals.
Dave
- A brief history, ok, I’ll try. Myself and Andy (and Paul, but we’ll come
back to him in a bit), were in a band back in 2000 called Sweet Cyanide.
That sort of came to a natural end at which point me and Andy decided to
start something new, something we could call our own, us finding the bass
player, drummer and a vocalist to complete the band.
At that time Paul
helped out a bit with bass and writing but made it clear he didn’t want
the full time commitment of a band. So, we recruited a good friend Paul Gilliver on bass and eventually, following, a chance discussion between
our girlfriends in a nightclub toilet, we were introduced to Jon who
subsequently joined us back end of 2000 I guess?
Jon - Yeah, November 2000.
Dave - We stuck with that line up until early 2004 continually trying to recruit
a vocalist with little success. We then recruited another bass player who
was short lived......
Jon - Well basically Paul (Gilliver) had always said that he would stick around
as long as we wanted, but that what we were doing was not exactly his cup
of tea. When we thought we’d stumbled upon the right bass player who would
commit to us, we let Paul down gently and he was great, told us to do what
was best for the band, but in the end it just didn’t work out.
Dave - So at that point we had to persuade Paul (Oates) that it would be the best
thing he done in years to join us.
Paul -
I must have been mad (laughs).
Jon -
So for four years we had the musicians but no vocalist which in itself
began to become a big strain on the band. By June last year we were really
on the point of breaking up if a vocalist didn’t appear soon. For years I
had said that Dave ought to give the vocals a go but he was always
reluctant. But I think the thought of us splitting forced him to rethink
and he offered to give it a go, took a few lessons and here we are today,
a band with singer, and it works.
Andy - Personally,
I never thought it would visually work with Dave being at the
front with vocals and playing guitar. There was just something about
having a frontman, leading the band and me and Dave getting on with the
job of playing guitars. And I really think it took the first gig to
convince me it was right him being there, there’s no doubt now though it
was the right thing to do.
Jon - Definitely.
Paul - There ya go, nice and brief (laughs).
MM - Where does the band's name Silverjet' originally come from and can
you remember what other names were considered before agreeing on this one?
Dave - Wey hey. It comes from Jon’s Guitar, a Gretsch Silverjet (re-issue), very
cool sparkly silver guitar.
Jon - Yeah, we figured early last year that if we got a name, we could get a
website and start advertising more on the internet for a vocalist. But it
was hard work, we had forced brain storming sessions to get a name and we
came up with loads, a book full.
Andy - I can’t remember any of the other names...
Dave - That’s because we all come up with names and no-one liked em
(laughs).
Jon - We had Lotus.
Andy - I can’t remember that one.
Dave - Yeah, that because you didn’t like it.
Jon - Brother Jake.
Andy - Yeah, that was one that stuck in my mind and I’m sure there was another.
Jon - I
liked Hey Hey Mama’s (laughs).
Dave -
We suggested Kashmir but decided against it.
Andy - I think Brother Jake was the
strongest one behind Silverjet, don’t know if it had been done before
though.
MM - For anyone who isn't familiar with the band, how would you describe
your music and who do you see it most appealing to?
Paul
- ROCK 'N' ROLL (laughs)
Dave
- Yeah, what else can you say?
Paul
- It appeals to Rock 'n' Roll fans ....... And GIRLS (more laughs).
Dave
- It's good time Rock 'n' Roll, that's got catchy and infectious songs,
it's live ... it's raw.
MM - The band recently released their debut EP 'Amalgams Sessions'.
Can you tell us a little bit about each of the songs included on it. Won't See Me Bleedin'
Andy
- Well that one was a new song at the time we recorded it. I think
we did it in two takes.
Dave
- It was the first song we started playing with Paul when he joined us.
Jon
- It took ages before we added the guitar solo to it though because Dave
hadn't got anything in mind. In fact that solo didn't get recorded onto
the track until a week before we released it.
Dave
- But yeah it was the first song that we rehearsed with Paul, and he
titled it. South Of Soul
Dave
- That's an ancient song to us, it's been written years.
Jon
- Yeah it's got a bit of country honk about it, and it was a real labour of love
when it came to recording it,
adding the acoustic guitar, harmonica and handclaps.
Andy
- A lame excuse to do handclaps.
Paul
- Yeh, Dave and Jon got ridiculed by Andy for stopping hours to get em right. Andy
- Was I here when you recorded the hand claps?
Dave
- No we sent you home because YOU CAN'T CLAP IN TIME (Clap-Clap Clap).
Jon
- And we sent Paul home because he had just bust his fingers playing American
Football. Keep 'em
Knockin'
Dave - That's just fast and furious song to get people dancing to that
one, no hidden meaning, it's Rock 'n' Roll. It's the one that we now
make everyone clap to in the middle (as well as the end).
MM - And
where our readers can purchase a copy?
Dave - Off our website
www.silver-jet.co.uk
by sending money via paypal or at any of our gigs.
MM - Are you
currently signed or unsigned at the moment?
Dave -
Unsigned ... for now. Paul - Booooo
MM - The last few months has seen the band busy touring with a variety of
bands around the country. How did they go and are you in a position to
consider a tour in your own right yet?
Jon - The support slots that we have done have all been well
received. We've played with Crash Kelly in Nottingham on only our second
gig and that was great, supported Mike Tramp on three dates (London, Sheffield
and Newcastle), Budgie in Sheffield and most recently we did two support slots
with the Dogs D'Amour in Doncaster and Sheffield, so we have been getting about
a bit, it's been a real rollercoaster ride the last 3 months.
Dave - Yeah the Dogs gigs were great and a good end to the year
really. But, I don't think we're ready for our own tour yet. We need
to continue building a fanbase by playing live to as many people as far and wide
as possible, to keep trying to get the same calibre of support slots so that we
are playing to the right audience.
Jon - No, I agree, we are
not in a position to do our own tour, sure we can play a headline gig locally
but not a tour. but we'll continue to gain a reputation for being a good
live band. Our goal for this year is to try and get a full support tour
(or tours) with appropriate headlining bands.
It's early days for us yet
but we will keep taking whatever support slots we think are right for us, we've
got a couple coming soon, one with Statetrooper and then our biggest gig to date
supporting The Quireboys on their February tour.
MM - How do you like to differentiate yourselves from
other bands in the same genre?
Paul - We're good!
(laughs)
Jon - Name
another band in the genre!
Andy -
I don't think there are many bands out there that do what we do. There are
bands that are clearly influenced by the same bands as us, but they don't sound
like us.
Dave - We
obviously have our influences, but not like we have cloned the sound, we've
kinda taken bits from all of them and made our own sound, I think.
Paul - Yeah, that's the
feedback we get, in fact that's what the Dogs guitarist said to us.
Dave - You can't make
original music any more because everything has been done before, really.
But as original as original gets is what we do. We pull from our
influences and shove 'em all in one pie and it's all good.
MM - What would you say is the trademark of Silverjet?
Dave - A 70's style incorporated with our own brand
of rock and roll.
Paul -
Bluesy rock, ... oh, and cowboy hats.
MM - Where
can our readers find out more about the band? Do you have an official website
they could check out? Also is there anywhere on the net people can listen
to some of your songs?
Dave - They can check out
www.silver-jet.co.uk, there's a
biography, photo's and snippets of all the songs on our EP plus other tracks and
a message board for our fans to discuss any Silverjet topics.
MM - If you could nominate just one song that you've
recorded to sum up the bands playing style and feel which one would it be?
Dave
- I think it would be difficult to pick just one
song but if we were forced to choose, I think it would probably be South of
Soul. I don't think that there really is one song that sums us up.
Jon - Yeah, I probably agree
with that. South of Soul has got elements of all genres of music that we
are influenced by, it's country, it's rock 'n' roll, it's southern, it's blues,
it's honky tonk, it's everything. You can hear at least one of those
elements in each of our songs.
Paul -
We're chosen the three songs on the CD to show the different styles we have.
Andy - All three of the songs
are different, and had we picked another three songs, they would be different as
well.
Dave - Yeah, but
they would still all sound like Silverjet songs, we have got our own sound and
style, but all the songs have a different feel that's why it's so hard to pick
just one song.
MM - Who writes the songs that you
perform, is it a solo effort or do you all have an input with ideas?
Jon - I did three words once (big laughs)
Dave - Well that really
depends where people want go go with that topic because as far as songwriting
goes, there is a lot I've done on my own and there is a lot me and Andy have
done together. Paul was responsible for a couple of the earlier songs.
There's 'She Sings', one of my favourite songs, Andy wrote the music and I wrote
the words, but do you go about telling people that, we all work on arranging the
songs and writing our own parts.
Andy -
Yeah it can get a bit complicated can't it. You might tell me the chords
but I might play the chords differently to how you would have, I might play
different chords around your chord pattern so you know, is that writing or not
writing?
Dave - As far
as I'm concerned, at the end of the day, everyone contributes and all our
compositions are written by Silverjet. Even if I come with an idea and
say, yeh Jon, the drums go like this, you play it in your own style, it might be
different but better and that's your idea and contribution.
Andy - It's how you class
writing. Is adding a drum part to an acoustic guitar demo writing a song?
Paul's bass parts might not be writing the song but it's writing the bass line
to fit around the song.
Dave -
Exactly, I think everybody's bits do contribute and make that song feel
different.
MM - Persuade our readers to come along
and check you out live. What could they expect from a Silverjet live
performance?
Dave - Your feet will be tapping, and
your heads will be nodding within seconds (laughs).
Paul - Expect to lose your
voice screaming (big laughs), just talk to someone who's seen us.
Jon - Linda, you should know,
you answer it for us. (OK, I'd say all of the
above and a whole lot more. Two songs into the gig and these guys had me
hooked. If you get the chance to go along and check them out, I'm sure
their music will have you hooked too).
MM - With all the changes that music has gone through over the years, what
do you personally think of the current music scene?
Jon -
Well, it's definitely better than it was five years ago. It has become
more guitar orientated than it was.
Dave -
Yeah, it's better than it was, and it's getting better.
Paul - There is still some
crap out there but the live music scene is good at the minute. People want
to see live bands. There are lots of opportunities for a band like us to
get out and play live in good music venues.
Jon -
It's definitely the right time to be in a band playing live.
Andy - Yeah, would we have
been able to have done what we have in the last three months five years ago, I
doubt it.
MM - What's the best bit of advice you've
ever been given by someone?
Dave - Not anyone in
particular, but we've always had a lot of support from friends and family around
us who, through the four years we were practising without a vocalist, always
told us to 'never give up'.
Andy -
The other thing is a lot of people over them four years have said 'why don't you
get Dave to sing' or 'what are you looking for a sing for'. We've even had
singers come down who heard Dave sing and they've said 'Dave, you should sing'.
Dave - Especially Jon, who's been saying it for
years.
Jon - I did say
it a lot, you should have listened to me and everybody else sooner (laughs).
Andy - Yeah, but at that particular time it wasn't
the right thing for us, Dave didn't sing then like he does now.
Dave - That's right. Ah well, it all worked
out in the end.
MM - Do you think it's weird
that without bands, music channels, magazines, labels and venues would not even
exist but now they exert so much influence over bands that they almost control
them?
Dave - Yes, it is weird. They do try to
dominate bands, it is difficult to be successful without satisfying these
people.
Jon - At the
moment it's easy to say that you wouldn't be influenced by anything that the
industry wanted you to do but you just don't know how far you would go until the
time came.
Andy -
Without music channels, I'm sure Aerosmith wouldn't have done that sloppy ballad
video stuff. They didn't need to do that, obviously it made them a lot
more successful though.
MM - What are you listening
to these days yourselves? Old classics or modern bands?
Dave -
I never listen much to many modern bands, maybe the Stereophonics last two
albums or Jet, but not really that much.
Andy -
Then there's stuff like Velvet Revolver that's people who you associate with old
classics doing something new.
Paul -
Like The Quireboys new album.
Dave -
There seems to be a lot of bands that are coming back, that have been away and
quiet for a while.
Andy -
Yes, it's good to hear old bands doing new material.
MM - Do you ever listen to music that is very different from what you do, if so
what?
Paul - Although he is associated very much as
a rock 'n' roller, some of Lenny Kravtiz's stuff is much more synth based,
hardly any guitars, but it's still something I like listening to. I like
listening to some old stuff as well. I love the Goo Goo Dolls as well
although they've been around a while, I prefer their newer stuff.
Jon - I'm sure we've all got
a bit of stuff that's different to what we do, you know the stuff you normally
put on the hi-fi on a Sunday morning. I like listening to a lot of blues
stuff and southern rock.
Andy -
I have got Maroon 5's last two cd's and can listen to Jamie Callum.
Dave - I would say the only really different thing
that I listen to would be perhaps Bob Marley, although I'm not a big reggae fan,
I do like him a lot. And, Duran Duran and disco.
Paul - Oh now we're talkin'.
I like Gloria Gaynor, 'I will Survive' (HUGE laughs), one of the greatest songs
ever written, I'm sorry but it just is (more laughs).
Dave - I'm always putting
some 70's disco on, ya know, Sly and the Family Stone. I mean, come on,
the Black Crowes are a rock 'n' roll version of them.
Jon - The only thing we need to do now Paul is
properly educate Dave with Southern Rock given that we get a lot of comparisons
but he's heard very little of that style of stuff.
Dave - Well, seeing as The
Black Crowes are one of my favourite bands and they are Southern Rock, I don't
think you can educate me much more than that. I know Skynard staff that's
cool.
Paul -
Apart for those, it's a steady diet of Quireboys, Crowes, AC/DC, Dogs and
Aerosmith. And Lynyrd Skynard when me and Jon got control of the stereo in
the van!
MM - Describe each member of the band's
personality with three words per person.
Jon - Big,
badass, drummer (by Andy) (generates lots of
laughs).
Andy -
Cool, laid back, whatever (absolutely the most laidback person ever - by Jon). Dave - Work shy frontman (by
Paul, referring to Dave's new attained frontman status and the all too frequent
disappearing acts that he seems to do as soon as there's band equipment to be
shifted). Paul- Pissed Karaoke King (by Jon, referring to Paul's singing antics on recent return
trips from gigs, generally on minibuses playing cheesey sing-a-long songs on
naff radio stations at three o' clock in the morning).
Paul - I resent the
allegation that I need a naff radio station to get me singing on the way home!
I'll sing whether there's a cheesy song on the radio or not! And it's not
cheesy, it's classics like Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow, I'll have ya know!
Maybe a little 'I will Survive' as well! Oh my God! - how Rock 'n' Roll do I
sound??? I believe there may have been some Dogs songs in there as well - try a
couple of albums worth, Twice. I'm glad I didn't have to sit through it
all.
MM - What is your motto in
life?
Paul - Rock 'n' Roll (laughs).
Jon - Where's the nearest
McDonalds (laughs).
Paul -
Turn the Sat Nav on (laughs).
MM - A fun question
now, if you could have anyone locked in a room so that you could torture them
for a day, who would you choose, and how would you torture them?
Dave -
Justin from The Darkness. Make him sing low, none of that high shit.
MM - Now we turn the tables. Who would you most like
to be locked in a room with for a day and how would you like them to torture
you?
Dave - We can't answer that, we've all got
girlfriends (laughs).
Jon -
We'd all get locked up if we answered those questions, use your own imagination
here.
Paul -
'I've not!' Guess that means it's alright for me to say, I don't know ...
Angelina Jolie. She's into all that sort of stuff isn't she? I could live
with that. I don't care what she does to me as long as ...' (edited for
legal reasons!).
MM - Complete this sentence ...
'Everybody needs a little bit of Silverjet in their lives because ...'
Jon -
'... great rock 'n' roll bands are few and far between'.
MM - Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to
all our readers out there?
All - Come and see us
live soon, and buy our CD, you'll love it and you'll not regret it!
Paul - (whispers) is that it, do ya think we said
'Rock 'n' Roll' enough mate?
Jon -
(whispers) Not sure mate.
Jon & Paul - ... ROCK 'N' ROLL!
Thanks lads we really appreciate you taking
the time out of your hectic schedule to do this interview with us.
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