Interview – Silverstein

For the last 17 years, Silverstein have been a staple in the Canadian punk/hardcore scene and many other countries around the world. They’re set to release their 8th album, Dead Reflection, on Friday, July 14th. We had a chance to ask guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau a few questions about the upcoming release and tour.

You’re on Warped tour right now. How’s that been going for you? 

It’s been going, alright? Just fine. Really nice. It’s hot and raining a lot lately. I don’t know. It’s too hot. Help.

How are fans reacting to new songs? 

They can’t get enough. And that’s really too bad because there are a finite number of songs on the album. I’m excited, they’re excited. I love it.

Silverstein’s 8th studio album, Dead Reflection, is out on July 14th. Where did the name Dead Reflection come from?

You know when you do a million dumb things in a row and you look at yourself in the mirror and think “oh my god I don’t even know who I am anymore”? That feeling.

In recent interview, you guys have said this is your most ambitious record you’ve ever done and there was more pre production then ever before, why did you think it was necessary to do so much pre-production for this album specifically? 

The way the first couple songs came together, it was clear that we weren’t working from the same template we had used for so long. To get the ideas pinned down, we needed to demo, then demo again. Derek is a huge demo-guy, so am I. I think the two of us pushing for detailed ideas lit an important fire.

How was it working with such a hands on producer like Derek Hoffman? And with Paul Marc co-producing? 

I’m Paul Marc and I’ve been your host for the past few questions (and all remaining questions) so, maybe I’m not the best guy to answer this. That said, working with Derek was a dream. He pushed us and I learned a lot.

Did Derek make any suggestions to the songs that you guys were just like absolutely not? Or vice versa? 

To be honest, most of the process was a blur. We were working long, long days very consistently. I have a few crystal clear memories- little vignettes here and there- but full idea squashing isn’t among them. Derek also has a really neat way of hating an idea and getting you to change it without you really realizing what’s happening in the moment, so maybe he just tricked me a lot.

Did any songs come out completely different through pre-production and recording then you had originally intended? 

Totally. Many tracks had a sort of metamorphosis, but the most significant changes came at the 11th hour in Lost Positives. It was the first track I wrote for the album, and by the time we were tracking it was a bit of a black sheep. Once the vibe was established, I totally scrapped and re-wrote the verses. Totally unlocked a new vibe in the song and ended up being one of my favorites.

You even went a little different route with the album art instead of going to the artist who did your previous 7 albums. Why did you decide to go a different route? What made you choose the artist you did? Where the inspiration for the cover came from?

Time for a change, baby!

I’ve been lucky enough to have a promo copy of the album to review it so I already have a favourite song picked, but what’s your favourite song from the album? Is there a favourite throughout the band? 

I know we all really like Lost Positives so I’ll go with that. Also love Last Looks. Super super dark song.

Will you be adding any of the new songs to your Warped tour set after the release? And which songs are your excited to start playing? 

I want to play them all! Maybe we need to just pick from a hat.

You’ve always been a non-stop band with either touring or recording and you’ve definitely been super busy touring the last few years but you’ve got a Canadian tour coming up later this year with a pretty sweet lineup of Seaway, Like Pacific and Creeper – which is an almost full Canadian bill. Was that intentional? 

I mean, we meant to have those bands on the tour! Nationality not really a factor.

Seaway and Like Pacific are more on the pop punk side while you guys are heavier, was there a reasoning behind that or just cause you really like those bands? 

They’re all good friends of ours, they’re great bands. I’m super excited to package up and enjoy Canada in the almost-winter (which is obviously still winter). See you there!

You can preorder Dead Reflection here.

Catch Silverstein on these Canadian dates in the fall:
09/15 St. Catharines, ON @ Warehouse
09/16 Kitchener, ON @ Maxwell’s
11/01 – Kingston, ON @ The Mansions ^
11/02 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe ^
11/03 – Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle ^
11/04 – Ottawa, ON @ Brass Monkey ^
11/07 – Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre #
11/08 – Saskatoon, SK @ Louis #
11/09 – Edmonton, AB @ The Needle #
11/11 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw #
11/16 – Calgary, AB @ Marquee #
11/17 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange #
11/23 – Hamilton, ON @ Club Absinthe #
11/24 – Oshawa, ON @ The Music Hall #
11/25 – London, ON @ London Music Hall #
^ w/ Trash Boat
# w/ Seaway

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