SILVERSTEIN - New Album and Tour

Written by Daniela Vorndran Thursday, 19 January 2012 10:09

When Hopeless recording artists SILVERSTEIN announced the release of SHORT SONGS, the 22-track follow-up to their critically-acclaimed album RESCUE, they were still in the process of choosing which original songs they would include and which classic punk songs they would cover. With each songclocking in at 90 seconds or less, the appropriately-titled Short Songs is divided into two halves: 11 originals and 11 covers from such seminal bands as Dead Kennedys, Orchid, Gorilla Biscuits, The Promise Ring, NOFX, Green Day and more. "Just with every album we produce, we're always thinking of the 'sides' of a record," explains drummer Paul Kohler. "In this example, Side A will be the originals, and Side B will be the covers. Each can be listened to as a contained unit, or you can easily play through just as on CD or in your iTunes."

Produced by Jordan Valeriote who produced Silverstein's previous releases Rescue and the Transitions EP, the band challenged themselves by thinking of music in a different way. Instead of constructing songs in the standard "three minute plus" format, they cut each song's time in half and told a story in a compact fashion. "We had some difficulties learning exactly how these songs were played and adapting them to our own abilities (ex. our Orchid cover "Destination: Blood"). Part of this made it a better challenge and definitely opened us up to a lot more playing styles." The title track "Short Songs" (originally performed by The Dead Kennedys) features guest vocals from Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), Chris #2 (Anti-Flag), Scott Wade (ex-Comeback Kid), Chris Hannah (Propagandhi), Paul Rousseau (Burst & Bloom), Jimmy Stadt (Polar Bear Club), Daniel Tremblay (I Am Committing A Sin), Mike Hranica (The Devil Wears Prada), and Nick Diener (The Swellers). Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats) guests on The Swarm's "xOn Our Kneesx".

Riding on a crest of overwhelmingly positive press, Silverstein has had quite a groundbreaking year, kicking off with Rescue's debut at #37on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart. The album has been lauded by the media including Alternative Press who called the album, "yet another consistently great Silverstein record," and calling them "a band who continue to excel at their given genre, rarely deviating from its parameters but always finding new and creative ways to keep it fresh from album to album." The band also co-headlined this summer's The Take Action Tour with friends Bayside, raising nearly $50,000 for this year's beneficiary Sex, Etc.

Silverstein is Shane Told (Vocals / Guitar), Neil Boshart (Guitar), Josh Bradford (Guitar), Billy Hamilton (Bass), and Paul Koehler (Drums). Their fifth album RESCUE was released by Hopeless Records on April 26, 2011.

"Short Songs" Tracklist
01. Sick As Your Secrets
02. Sin & Redemption
03. SOS
04. Brookfield
05. La Marseillaise
06. World On Fire
07. Sleep Around
08. My Miserable Life
09. Truth & Temptation
10. One Last Dance
11. See Ya Bill
12. Short Songs (Originally by Dead Kennedys) featuring Tim McIlrath, Chris #2, Scott Wade, Chris Hannah, Paul Rousseau, Jimmy Stadt, Daniel Tremblay, Mike Hranica, and Nick Diener
13. 236 E. Broadway (Originally by Gob)
14. Good Intentions (Originally by Gorilla Biscuits)
15. Destination: Blood! (Originally by Orchid)
16. Coffee Mug (Originally by Descendents)
17. xOn Our Kneesx (Originally by The Swarm) featuring Liam Cormier
18. Scenes From Parisian Life (Originally by The Promise Ring)
19. It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite (Originally by NOFX)
20. Quit Your Job (Originally by Chixdiggit)
21. The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink (Originally by Green Day)
22 You Gotta Stay Positive (Originally by Good Clean Fun)

Silverstein will be extensively touring Europe in 2012. "We have been touring overseas for almost 7 years but haven't been able to play in places like Russia or Portgual" Silverstein Drummer Paul Koehler explains, "We are super excited to be able to do an extensive tour filled those new places and our old favorites. Joining us is We Are the Ocean who we look forward to rocking out with each night!"

Silverstein European Tour
Sat/Mar-24 St. Petersburg, Russia Kosmanavt
Sun/Mar-25 Moscow, Russia Plan B
Mon/Mar-26 Helsinki, Finland Nosturi w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Wed/Mar-28 Stockholm, Sweden Klubben w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Thu/Mar-29 Oslo, Norway John Dee w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Fri/Mar-30 Gothenburg, Sweden Brewhouse w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sat/Mar-31 Malmo, Sweden KB w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sun/Apr-01 Copenhagen, Denmark Vega Small Hall w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Tue/Apr-03 Hamburg, Germany Grunspan w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Wed/Apr-04 Berlin, Germany Lido w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Thu/Apr-05 Warsaw, Poland Radio Luxembourg w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Fri/Apr-06 Prague / Palac Akropolis. w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sat/Apr-07 Bratislava, Slovakia Randal Club w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sun/Apr-08 Budapest, Hungary Durer Kert w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Tue/Apr-10 Vienna, Austria Flex w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Wed/Apr-11 Salzburg, Austria Rockhouse w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Thu/Apr-12 Rome, Italy Traffic Club w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Fri/Apr-13 Milan, Italy Land Of Live w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sat/Apr-14 Cesena, Italy Vidia Club w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sun/Apr-15 Zurich, Switzerland Abart w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Mon/Apr-16 Munich, Germany Ampere w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Wed/Apr-18 Luxembourg Kulturfabrik w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Thu/Apr-19 Frankfurt, Germany Batschkapp w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Fri/Apr-20 Cologne, Germany Gloria w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sat/Apr-21 Bochum, Germany Zeche w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Sun/Apr-22 Amsterdam, Holland Melkweg w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Tue/Apr-24 Antwerp, Belgium Trix w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Wed/Apr-25 Paris, France Boule Noire w/ WE ARE THE OCEAN
Thu/Apr-26 Madrid, Spain Sala Caracol
Fri/Apr-27 Barcelona, Spain Sala Razzmataz 3
Sat/Apr-28 Setubal, Portugal Capricho

Source: Press Release