Well, it's times like this where the lil kid in you wants to smile because you just got to chat with a musician/band you have been following for years. Well, this was one of those moments. Background story for moi, I started listening heavily to Bury Your Dead when they dropped their 04' album "Cover Your Tracks".
(Photo courtesy of Returntothepit.com)
Long story short, the band had line up changes and ended up recruiting talented vocalist Myke Terry for (what I consider) two exceptional albums ("Bury Your Dead" & "It's Nothing Personal"). Terry since then has parted ways with BYD, but that didn't stop Mr. Terry from getting back on the horse and get more music running with his now full time project "The Silent Age".
Anyways, I was fortunate enough to get in contact with Myke and ask him about his latest endeavours and what exactly can we expect from his new music in THE SILENT AGE...
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Hey Myke, thanks again for taking the time to sit down and answer a few questions for AFGM about your latest band, 'The Silent Age'. For starters, what are you up to today?
Well right now, I'm riding down to hang out with my girlfriend at her beach house for a few days.
What tunes/bands did you grow up listening to? Did those bands prompt you to start doing music for a living?
My earliest music memories are of myself with plastic tennis racket in hand, listening to Madonna and Billy idol on my parents stereo they had set up in the living room. I would use the racket as my guitar, just shredding all of the solos I heard on the records. I think that being exposed to music at such an early age definitely had a hand in making me into the musician I am today.
You seem to have a great vocal range and it shows in TSA. Did you go to school/receive any training for those pipes?
Thank you! I took a couple classes with a vocal coach and learned a few exercises from watching "The Zen of Screaming" DVDs but that's pretty much the extent of my "vocal training". Most of what was picked up along the way, I learned by experience, studying peers, and just trusting my abilities.
What is the Myke Terry method for maintaining good vocals consistently?
Haha...uhhh well without giving away all of my secrets... I think the key to maintaining good vocals is taking care of yourself and not incessantly "overdoing it". Unlike the other dudes in the band, as the singer, you only have one instrument....your voice. Youve got to take care of that thing. Eating well, exercise, and getting good sleep every now and then will do wonders for ya.
Coming from someone who started listening to you in your time with BYD, is playing guitar is something new that you have picked up for this band or is it something you have always done in your music career?
I've been playing guitar since I was about 10 or 11. I only recently finally started accepting the fact that I'm also a singer. In most to all of my old bands, I was only the guitarist and wrote the majority of all our songs. I had no desire to be a frontman. I was perfectly content being able to hide behind my guitar. It was only until after my band at the time (Cassius) lost our vocalist, was I persuaded by my mates to act as a temporay singer until we found a replacement. We all agreed that we could easily find a guitarist but trying to find a voice we could trust to serve as a mouthpiece to convey everything the band stood for would be much harder. It took a lot of practice and psyching myself up before i was ever be able to get on stage. The rest is history.
(Photo by Kevin Faison... for Rumors Boutique)
What's your guitar setup looking like right now for axe, amp, pedals, etc.
As of late I've been playing Fender and ESP guitars. I am really big on telecasters and ESP's phoenix guitars. For amps, I'm running a fender hot rod deville 212 III and a fender deluxe. I've got a couple of boutique pedals that I use here and there, but my pedalboard staples include my fulltone full drive 2, my boss DD-20 and DD-6.
Second part of that questions, what kind of mics are you using/recommend?
I've really only ever used Beta 58a's so I guess I would have to recommend them. They've never let me down and feel good in hand.
Are doing any projects on the side besides TSA?
I've spent the last 2 years writing with/for bands and artists as well guest appearing on a few bands albums. As of right now however, all of my energy has been used working on TSA material.
TSA seems like a much different beast than Bury Your Dead. You must have found a major difference between the two vocal styles?
Definitely, the main and most notable difference is in delivery. With TSA, the task of writing is a little more tedious because you have to come up with the theme, then the words, then a melody that sells the track in the chorus. You have to focus on not singing flat or sharp...it's a process. In BYD or for most bands with super aggressive vocals, you don't have to necessarily concern yourself with "singing in key". As long as your scream sounds pissed and emotional, usually... you're good. Haha
There is also less demands on you physically with TSA. When I would finish a BYD set, I would come off stage the smelliest, sweatiest mess; Out of breath and feeling like I'd just ran an hour long sprint. I still sweat a lot in TSA just because I am part penguin and any degree over brisk is too hot, but it's way less gross.
The Band:
So what is The Silent Age? How did the band come about and how did you guys end up that band name?
The Silent Age is an American rock band! After BYD, I went through a lot,mentally to say the least. Without delving too far into it, I decided that I wasn't ready to give up on music despite being burned so badly. I was working with Zach and his other band on some tracks at the time. We eventually started writing together separate of his band and we meshed too well. He had a friend who knew someone who knew someone, so on and so forth until we found Trav and Wayne.
These days with technology constantly advancing and changing, there is less and less natural communication in the world. Nowadays, You can have endless hours of conversations with someone without ever having to open your mouth. Theres not enough people talking face to face or using our voices to express ourselves. We live our lives in a silent age of smart devices and technology being used to communicate our feelings and emotions. The one medium of communication that remains relatively untouched is the dialogue between musician and listener. We feel that playing music to convey our thoughts and feelings is our best chance at preserving something that is quickly becoming obsolete. That's how we came up with the name.
TSA states their influences from Coldplay, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins. Are there anymore bands to add to that list?
There are lots of bands that I could say have an influence on us as musicians and as a band in general. I feel that when making a connection with a group or artist you like you're going to inevitably take something from their work and apply it to your own style.
Any particular songs come to mind when you think of those bands? Just curious if you have some favourite songs from those influences.
One of my favorite songs from Radiohead is a track called Kinetic. I spend most of my day listening to music from a zillion different artists, trying to pick a favorite is always so difficult.
Do you guys do much as a band in your spare time, or does everyone just get back to their personal lives in between recording and touring?
Yeah we are all really good friends and live in the same apartment complex so there is always at least one or two of us hanging out at any given time. I think us being such good friends translates over to us being more of a cohesive unit when it comes time to riff.
(Photo taken by Brandon Copeland)
The Music:
"Guitar driven rock and roll from Richmond, VA." What about TSA makes it guitar driven?
We all grew listening to huge rock bands with blaring guitars. In TSA we are huge on experimenting with different guitar tones and chords as the foundation to our songs.
Where are you guys doing your recordings at? Any specific equipment you're using that you would encourage others to use?
Lately we have been recording with our really good friend and producer, Kenny Barnes over at his studio, The Palisade, here in Richmond. We use lots of Fender, Marshall, ESP, Ampeg, and Tama equipment.
Loved the music video you guys put out for "Hard Lesson to Learn". Can you give us some background info on the video? Where was it shot? How did you come to the idea of using special effects?
Thank you! The video was shot here in Richmond by Kris Cox and Dave Odell. They approached us with the idea and we loved it. Those guys really worked hard to help us get the video out and to capture everything we wanted in the video.
(Directed by Dave O'Dell, Produced by Kris Cox, Special Make-Up Effects by Beth Gorley and Hannah Elvington)
"Richmond friends, we need your help! On saturday, April 14, We are looking for about 10-20 people interested in being turned into zombies for a day for the video we are shooting. We will feed you lunch and give you copious amounts of high fives..."
I take it that's how you recruited your zombies? How was the response?
The response was great, we had a lot of people contact us on being interested in helping out. I mean, who wouldn't want to get made up into a zombie for a few hours? I heard that some of the zombies, went out on the town scaring people after the shoot was over haha. It was a good time.
Where does the inspiration come for lyrics in TSA? Do they come from personal experiences? World issues? Politics?
I like to write about my life and own experiences... how they affect me. However, I write in such a way that anyone can take something away from our songs and apply it to their own lives. I find it extremely important to write in this way. If you write a song where no one knows what you're talking about or no one can relate to you, who's going to want to listen to your song? As an artist you must connect with your fans, writing songs they can understand and feel as well. It's all about communication.
The Shows:
Any pregame rituals before a show? A shot? Special tunes to listen to? Workout?
As of right now pre-gig rituals include: making sure all my gear works, a drink or two to calm the nerves, some stretching and focusing all of my energy into putting on the best show possible. That's what we want to give our fans every night we step on stage. We all workout pretty frequently but that usually happens in the morning, hours before we see the stage.
Have you ever been at a show/played a show where your music and sound was vastly different from the other bands on the bill? If so, What was the crowd reaction and how easy did you feel playing on that stage versus stages shared with similar genre bands?
Yes. Earlier this year, we played e RVA music festival with Girl Talk and Best Coast headlining. Those two acts are much different from our sound but we were very well received and had a pretty good time playing such a big stage. Being such a young band, we take every show as an important opportunity to win over anyone we play in front of and turn them onto our brand of rock and roll.
Let's talk about the music scene in Richmond. Do you guys feel Richmond has been kind to you? Do you feel that Richmond is a great place for bands to start their careers?
We have received a lot of love so far from everyone here in Richmond. I do feel that Richmond is a good place to start your career but it is a really hard city to win over. There are a lot of music buffs and snobs here who don't take very kindly to bands who dont keep it real or have their heads stuck up their own bums.
Favourite city/venue you played in thus far and why?
Atlanta. We played a festival there last spring, ripped it up on stage and partied harder than I have in a long time after the show was over. Definitely a night to remember.
Fun & Random:
Favourite album of 2012 thus far?
The new m83 record kills, The Naked and Famous album is dope also. Not really a record released in 2012, but I have been listening to the "Watch the Throne" album like crazy. Nothing but hits on that thing!
Now pulling the second piece from your Facebook bio..."Rocking, rolling, riffing, partying, sexing, loving." All done in that order?
haha well, the order isn't too important. As long as all of these things happen at least once a day...everyday, well... Then mission accomplished :)
(Photo taken by Blair Reynolds)
One musician you would love to play with/record with?
Chris Martin.
One band you would want to tour with?
The Killers. Such a good band, we would love the opportunity to share a stage with them.
If you were not playing music, what do you think you would be doing?
I did the not playing music thing for 2 years and I can say wholeheartedly that in my off time, I spent it being depressed and trying to figure out how to get back into playing music full time again. Haha
Where can people find out about you guys?
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/thesilentageva
Bandcamp: bandcamp.com/thesilentageva
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/thesilentageva
Reverb Nation: www.reverberation.com/thesilentageva
Twitter: www.twitter.com/silentageva
Email: Thesilentageva@gmail.com
The Bottom Line:
What the next move from TSA?
We are hitting the road this July for a few weeks. Afterwards we are looking to record our first studio album in August and will start touring heavily shortly thereafter this fall.
Words of wisdom to other musicians who want to follow in the footsteps and influences of TSA?
Trust yourself, and have faith that you can make it. Work hard to see your goals come to pass. I'm a firm believer that all you need is one chance to prove that you deserve the opportunity to work to make a name for yourself. If you keep at it and don't quit, your chance will come. I wouldn't be doing this interview if that were not true. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this, and thank you for interviewing me. See everyone this summer!
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