Band of the month - July 2010
Silent Resistance are:
Ryan Tailor, 22 - Vocals
Jai Flannery, 23 - Guitar
Alex Roddis, 25 - Guitar
Dan Slipper, 24 - Bass/Vocals
Danny Lodge, 23 - Drums
It began with drummer Danny and guitarist Jai making music together as teenagers and even did there first gig together as a two piece with no bass or vocals!
Eventually the need for fellow musicians to create a band saw them place a few ads on a 'find a band' style web site and after a while they snagged up guitarist Alex and bassist Slipper to begin writing music as a four piece under the name 'Inspired by Lies', while throughout the next few years between practices, auditioned several singers in the hopes of completing the line-up.
Finally, in September 2009, vocalist Ryan Tailor was found on a 'musicians wanted' web site and was brought in to jam with the band. The group clicked instantly and Ryan was recruited to complete the line-up along with a name change to 'Silent Resistance'.
The band had their first gig in November 2009 at a Leicester University campus and received a great crowd response. That's when they knew they were onto something special.
Cut to July 2010 and the band have achieved so much in such a short space of time including: supporting top UK metal act 'Glamour of the Kill', receiving radio airplay of their first demo around the country on several stations, being a front page story on BBC Leicester web site and most recently, playing their first festival at Glastonbudget 10. However, S|R are most proud of the positive feedback we get from people after a show, and always seem to gain new fans each time they play! Belter!
We interview Silent Resistance:
Artsin: What made you select the style of music you now play? What do you call that style of music?
S|R: Well the five of us are all heavily influenced by the nu-metal/rock scene of the late 90s/early 2000s which we consider to be the most exciting and influential era of modern rock music (so far!) ...
Artsin: I agree!
S|R: ... and although we didn't chose one particular style or direction to go in, I think a lot of our tunes give a nod to that era and attitude of music. Hmmm, We actually find our style pretty tough to label. We've integrated different aspects hard rock/melodic metal/nu-metal and even a bit of classic rock into our sound so we just leave it to the people to decide what we are.
Artsin: Does the band have a following?
S|R: We hope so!! We've steadily gained a pretty loyal fan base and always manage to win over a few new faces at our shows. We do have a few 'die hard' resistance fans with a special mention to our very own super fan and super stalker - much love to James (SS) and Jade (SF), who have practically been to all our gigs between them and have supported the band every step of the way!
Artsin: How do you build up a fan base? What things do you do to achieve that?
S|R: Well of course we do the standard Facebook & Myspace but we also use other more local means to promote so that we are advertising to the right people. This can include 'Pineapster' - A Leicester music web community, The Leicester Mercury Paper - we have been mentioned several times and will even have a bit about the band in next Thursday's Mercury! We also leave posters, flyers, stickers and badges around Leicester music venues and rehearsal rooms to target local musicians and create a bit of a network between Leicester bands that will be beneficial to everyone. Were also starting a mailing list so we can update people directly about the band. And last but not least - our vast selection of S|R merchandise! haha! We've actually sold a load of tee's - a great gift for you loved ones!
Artsin: Did the band play at this year's Glastonbudget festival?
S|R: We did indeed! It was our first glastonbudget and our first festival ever!
Artsin: How did it go?
S|R: We had a great weekend full of music and beer and we got a pretty good crowd too! There was some slight technical issues but all in all it was a successful show. Think you managed to catch a bit of us didn't you Trev?
Artsin: I think I did. What's the best thing about the Glastonbudget festival?
Ryan: The toilets! Cleanest festival toilets we've ever seen! Oh, and there was some music on as well I believe.
Lodge: It was our first taste of what its like to be apart of peoples festival experience and we got some great exposure from it too.
Artsin: What's the worst thing about the festival?
S|R: The sound was a bit shoddy for the smaller stages, and the sound bloke clearly didn't care bout the bands or what kind of sound they were after. Its obviously hard to please everyone but when you come on stage and there's a 10 watt practice amp on there, you know your in for some rough sound -luckily we used our own amps though! Lodge: And don't get me started on the dancing drum kit, it just wouldn't stay still!
Artsin: Which venues have you played in Leicester?
S|R: Ooooo all over! Our fist ever gig was at Leic Uni halls back in November 09, and since then we've tried to play as many new places as possible! We've covered all the city favourites including Sumo, The Musician, The Shed, Walkabout, and a few pubs too. We will also be playing The Auditorium for the first time on July 10th along with 40+ bands at the 'We Are Leicester' all day festival.
Artsin: Which one do you like best?
S|R: Our favourite is Sumo because its a good size, good sound, cheap drinks and normally pretty reasonable entry prices. We've played Sumo so many times that we often joke with Andy the promoter that we want some S|R hammocks set up in the back so we can kip there till our next gig! In fact Our next gig is at Sumo on July 3rd on a self organised new rock night called 'Face Melter!'
Artsin: Ryan, you put a lot of pressure on your voice when you sing. Do you get any vocal coaching for this style of singing?
Ryan: I make it a point to always properly warm up with some voice and mouth exercises before a gig so that i don't blow my throat mid set. I've took a couple of singing lessons to learn some pointers, and have watched a few vocal coaching vids. I wanna do this for a long time to come, so I've made it point to look after my voice. I've only just begun to understand what my voice can do and I can already hear the difference when i compare our old gigs to current ones.
Artsin: Who in the band writes the songs?
S|R: Jai's a riff machine, and will normally whip at a few tasty morsels in practice, then together, we turn the riffs into actual songs, structure them, mix them up and build more layers around them. All of us contribute to the finished product and we always try get everyone's input on creative decisions so we got a song were all happy with!
Artsin: Which comes first - the melody or the lyrics?
S|R: Almost always the melody. Ryan: I sometimes write lyrics before there's a song in place but when working on new material I try to hear what the notes should be before I worry about what the words are. Lodge: The lyrics are easy to write when the mood of the song has been identified and a loose melody in place.
Artsin: Do you consciously model yourself on a big band or group of bands? Or does that happen 'below the surface'?
S|R: We all have big influences that can be heard in our music but we never model our style or approach to songs to sound like something that's been done before. The natural thing to do when you see or hear a new band for the first time is to make comparisons to an existing band you already know. We've compared to most of our favourite rock bands and we just take that as a sign that were making the kind of music that we would want to listen to!
Artsin: Does the band have plans to go on tour in the near future?
S|R: HELL YES!! Trying to sort out a mini tour at the end of the year around the Midlands, and hopefully we could snag ourselves a support slot with an upcoming touring band at some point next year. Any takers!?
Artsin: Which UK venue would you most like to play if you had the chance?
S|R: Tough one. Its not a venue as such, but DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL WOULD BE A DREAM COME TRUE! And Wembley Stadium!
Lodge: I'd like to play the 02 academy's like the one in Birmingham where I saw Killswitch Engage,it's an awesome venue. Who knows, we may even get the chance to play there if we get through to the next round of 'Surface Unsigned' and make it to the finals!
Artsin: What do you think of Kasabian?
S|R: They're representing Leicester in the charts and making some fairly original and catchy tunes so we've gotta give them the respect they deserve. Ryan: Tom's an old family friend and from the same village as me (Good old Blaby!) and it still shocks me sometimes when I see him in interviews on TV and in music mags!
Previous Bands of the Month
The Manhattan Project, Backline, Messini Assault, Beat Club, The Utopians, Breek, Subdude, Full Circle, Forty More Autumns, Razmataz, Smoking the Profit, The Heroes, The Truth, The Chairmen (Oct 08), Kids in Cars (Nov 08), Formal Warning (Dec 08), The Steptoos (January 09), The Pennyhangers (February 09), Project Notion (March 09). Skam# (April 09), Shortwave Fade (May 09), The Waits (June 09), Kill The Batman (July 09), The Fazed (August 09), Autohype (Sept 09), Weekend Schemers (Oct 09), AstroManiacs (Nov 09), Azidify (Dec 09), Kicking Habits (Jan 10), Drive by Disco (Feb 10), The Stiggz (March 10), Iziggy (April 10), Third Time Lucky (May 10) Neon Sarcastic (June 10)
