Interview with Shane Told of Silverstein - June 25, 2007
1. Introduce who you are and tell your position in Silverstein.

I'm Shane and I sing.

2. You are coming out with a new record on July 3rd called "Arrivals and Departures." What is the meaning behind the title?

We didn't think too much about it and we didn't really have an elaborate name plan like a lot of bands normally do. 'Arrivals and Departures' just seemed like a fitting title for what we do. The past four years we've been on tour. We've taken busses, trains, planes, and even a boat once to shows. There's also been a lot of arriving and departing in our life in terms of coming to a city and having our friends here and then they're gone and we don't see them again until six months later. It's the same when you go home and you only see your friends and family for a week or two and you're gone again. It's kind of a hard way to live but that's how we do it. I guess that's just what the title means.

3. What's the concept behind the artwork for this album?

I guess the artwork ties into that. The back cover has two trains that are crossing each other and the idea is that one train there are people arriving from a dark place and the other train of people are returning from a nice place. Part of that is just how sometimes you just need to take a journey in your life to change and make yourself feel better.

4. Out of all the songs on the new album, which means the most to you and why?

Hmm. The last song on the record is interesting. It's a really different song for us and it's called 'True Romance.' It's kind of like a story song. It doesn't seem like it's about a personal experience but more like a story. It actually does mean a lot to me when I think about it and what I believe it. Not only on an emotional level but on a religious level in some ways. The song is just really important to me.

5. What musical influences did you have during the writing process?

The same as we've always had. I always said that I hated when bands make a really trendy record from what they've been listening to in the past 6 months. Then they make this record that isn't really what they should sound like. I kind of went back and listened to some old punk-rock, metal, and hardcore and just revisited my past influences. I listened to the old records that I loved so much and I think that really showed up a lot on this one.

6. Did you feel you were under any pressure to have a certain sound?

No because no one really pressures us at all. The only pressure put on us is by ourselves. We just try to beat what we did on the last record and make it better. I guess some major and independent labels try and get their band to sound a certain way but our label has no say in we sound. They actually didn't even hear this new record until we were done and we gave it to them.

7. When you formed Silverstein did you ever think that you'd be at the point where you'd be touring the country?

No way! People tend to ask me questions similar to that such as, did we ever think we'd be playing in Germany, or touring in a bus or playing to thousands of kids. We never thought any of that would happen. I think part of the reason we've been successful is because we took it one step at a time and we made goals that we set a long the way and accomplished. When we first got together our first goal was that we just wanted to record a few songs and maybe play a show and we did that. Then maybe we'll do our first tour and that's when we toured around Canada 10 hours there and 10 hours back. I mean it's crazy now to think what we do.

8. Do you see yourself as ever getting to the point that Fall Out Boy has gotten? And is that even a place you want to see yourselves?

No, I mean if you ask Fall Out Boy if they ever thought they'd get to the point where they have gotten I don't think they would've ever thought that. Those are dudes that come from the same background we come from - putting on your own shows in halls and basements, punk-rock, straight-edge and veganism. I'm super proud of those guys. They're my friends and I support them 100%. They're living it and they're going to look back on this and have the most amazing experience. I think the thing with those guys is that they're going to look back on their days when they played hardcore shows to 50 kids to now when they're playing shows to 50,000 kids in arenas and they're going to value those experiences the same way. I mean I guess it doesn't matter what you do in life, how big or small you are it's just all about how you value things and if you have a good time and that's what we're doing. I'm not worried about if we become hugely popular and we get on MTV. That's not anything we have ever set out to do. If they play our videos thats fine. We're not too worried about it.

9. You have obviously grown and matured since the first record you ever put out. Do you think you have found what your sound is?

I think so. Every step along the way, no matter what artist you are, you should feel that you're doing your best work. If you feel that you used to be better or you're not at your peak yet then you're not staying positive. I feel that the record we just made is by far our best record on all levels. I look back on our first record and at that point I thought it was good and right now I don't even think it's that great anymore. I think that has to happen. I still think there's room to grow not only as musicians but as people and there's so much more to experience.

10. Since you are from Canada where's your favorite place to play in the U.S.?

I think our favorite place to play is southern California. We spent most of our time there as a band. We have a lot of friends there and there's nice weather and the shows are always huge and people always rock out really hard. Philly is actually great here. The last two times we've played here we headlined and the shows sold-out way in advance. I think one of the last shows we played was at the Trocadero for the 'Never Shave Again Tour" and that was great! Chicago's great, Florida, even Texas has been so awesome lately. It's getting to the point where there's not a city that isn't great for us anymore.

11. When touring, what do you like the most and least?

Well, the worst part about touring is being away from home and not being able to see your family and friends and your girlfriend. You just feel like you're missing out on a lot at home. My sister just had 2 kids and I'm an uncle now and it's hard because I don't get to see my nephew that often. The best part about touring besides the shows is just meeting new people and hanging out. But even that is kind of hard because you only see these people rarely. So i guess the hard part is the relationship. But the guys I tour with are like my brothers. I've never had a brother growing up so this is the closest it gets. The bonds we form with each other are something we'll never forget.

12. What do you think the craziest thing a fan has done to meet you guys?

I don't think we're a band that's too hard to meet. You see us wondering around outside our bus or hanging out at our merch table. There's been some fans that go to some great lengths. Fans will bake Paul a cake on his birthday shaped like his drums. Or others will bring us cookies or vegan and vegetarian stuff. People can be pretty crazy but it's cool.

13. One of my readers wanted to know if you're ever going to go back to playing small clubs like The Downtown in Long Island, NY.

Does the Downtown still exist?! The downtown is one of my favorite venues. We have actually tried to do some smaller shows. Like when our last record came out we played some smaller clubs and then we just went to Europe and we played some small clubs there. I mean I think we'll have another option to do that here in the U.S. And hopefully we can do some more exclusive shows like fan-only kind of shows. That would be fun to do. At the same time it's nice to see your band grow and it's nice to come back to a new city and they'll be more people than you've ever played to in that city and there will be more energy. I mean I would personally love to play the Downtown again.

14. How do you feel about the leaking of albums before they are released?

It's kind of a weird thing for me. I guess leaking is a new thing. I remember in 2000, this band NoFx put out a record and my friend had a copy before it came out. I didn't want to listen to it because to me back then the whole experience is the record comes out that day and you get really excited. You look at the artwork and the pictures and the thank you list and lyrics. That to me was the experience of your favorite band putting out a new record. If it's a band I really love and care about I want to go buy it and have it. So I guess in ways like that I'm against it. I guess it someways it helps a band because if it's a good record you made (our record was leaked by the way) there's a lot of hype that surrounds it and that might even help the record sales in the long run. I mean I would hate for a fan to not buy it because it was available especially when I know how much they'd enjoy the artwork and everything. We p ut alot into artwork and everything and that's something we want our fans to embrace.

15. So are you happy with the way 'Arrivals and Departures' came out?

Yes, definitely. Not only just style and song wise, lyrically I said exactly what I wanted to say and what I meant and I never felt like I accomplished before. We wanted to make a record that sounded like us playing in a room - natural and organic. I'm really happy with the record in all aspects.

16. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Is there anything you'd like to say to Silverstein fans and anyone that's going to read this.

Yeah. I just want to say that if you plan on buying the record, thank you! If you aren't then I hope you can check it out because we're really proud of it this time and we think it's by far our best work.