By GEOFF KOCH

The Silent Years
@ Cicero’s
St. Louis, Missouri
03-14-09

Josh Epstein certainly has a way with words. From the first song of their set, I could be like you, but I don’t want to (Out Into The Wild), The Silent Years captured the audience. And they’d hold onto them for the rest of the night with a mixture of well-placed crowd involvement with well-crafted (if not profound) songs. Most of this Detroit band’s set tonight was taken from The Globe, their 2008 full-length effort on First Date Records.

Their live show does their recordings justice, and we all know those sad stories of bands we love on cd who, when we go see them live, leave us disappointed or wanting more. The Silent Years are sitting on big handfuls of songs that embody everything that is good in songwriting. Everything from lush song structures, to layered instrumentation ranging from string sections bellying up to brilliant lyrics, then on to tribal, epic rhythm sections commanding your attention. The brilliant part about The Silent Years is that all of these things they do that make songs great happens in nearly every one of their songs, and they’re able to reproduce them live.

I went into the show thinking I’d come away with a show review, now after seeing them and listening to The Globe on repeat for the past week, I’ve found myself unable to separate the two. I keep thinking about how much fun it was for them to pass out noise makers to the crowd and let us have at it during Sharks. The crowd being invited onstage and the band moving to the floor of Cicero’s for Four Non-Blondes‘ What’s Up? was fun without being over the top.

The overwhelming theme from the night that I keep coming back to is that all of the songs they play are necessary. I did keep waiting for a natural lull in the set when energy gets taken down to be built back up again at the end. It never happened, and I think it’s because that’s what happens when a band is real-deal, solid from front to back. They present a series of songs so strong that each one of them is able to stand on their own. Very impressive to come across a band that doesn’t have to rely on the token one or two focal-point songs of the night, because every song they play is relevant.

You can buy The Silent Years’ most-recent CD ‘The Globe’ on Amazon.com, and you can check them out for yourself at www.myspace.com/thesilentyears and www.thesilentyears.com.

We just stumbled upon an inside look at the career of The Format. Written by former manager, Tom Gates, he relives the night that he learned the band was breaking up.

“I used to manage a band called The Format. They ceased to exist one year ago today. It was a 4.9 quake in the grand scheme of the music world, causing damage to only poorly constructed buildings over small regions. The truly scary thing is that it didn’t occur anywhere near a fault line – not a single soul predicted it, let alone those of us who had built a house on top of the ground that ended up splitting in two.” (to continue reading click here.)

The Merry Andrews met The Postelles at last years Lollapolooza, and were smitten with their catchy retro pop tunes and pleasant personalities. Being that they are fresh out of high school and brand new to the music making scene, we made it a point to keep in touch and up to date with their stroll to success. At early intimate shows in Manhattan they caught the attention of The Stroke’s Albert Hammond Jr, who produced their single “123 Stop” and is now taking on the task of cultivating the bands debut album. After his own solo release, this is Albert’s first producing attempt. The Postelles have been picked up by Capitol Records after being nursed by Retone Records and all parties are stoked by the possibilities. I caught up with our friends at The Looking Glass Studios on a recent visit to New York City to capture the excitement from the source. After our chat we listened to the fresh recordings. Be anxious with anticipation lads and lassies, these tracks will make you tap your toes and twirl your girl.

TMAS: You have been working 2 weeks strait, now you will take a month break and head back to the studio in March…
The Postelles: Yes, to record Buddy Holly covers. Albert has a cool one picked out he thought it would be a good idea to include one on the album.
TMAS: Billy, those are mighty cool boots you are wearing. Quite shiny.
Billy: Yeah, there from a company in Harlem. I think they also make ghetto shoes.
TMAS: They seem stiff, are they comfortable?
Billy: They’re like wearing slippers.
TMAS: Are they fur lined?
Billy: No, just really soft leather.

(pair on topic is farthest from view)

TMAS: Your EP was released on Retone records. They describe themselves as a womb for young bands, did they have any part in your deal with Capitol?
Daniel: Sort of. The person who ran Retone ended up getting hired by Capitol, and that kinda helped us.
TMAS: A shoe in. And so far so good with the change?
TP: No, we hate them (stern sarcasm). We are really close with everyone at Capitol, it’s a great label.
John: We are like the first band to say that.
Daniel: Well, it’s cause it’s a new regime. They have fired everyone and brought in these new Englishmen.
TMAS: All Englishmen?
Daniel: Literally, everyone is English. Nick Gatfeild and Steve Melrose.
John: Top Deck are all English.
TMAS: Tell me about your recent tour with Jukebox the Ghost.
TP: Love those guys.
TMAS: And you played new songs and they were well received?
TP: If they were not well received we wouldn’t be recording them.
TMAS: What are some of the highlights of working with Albert Hammond Jr.?
TP: Fashion advise obviously.
TMAS: Did he recommend those sweet brown boots?
John: He didn’t recommend them, he wore them and Billy copied him on the sly.
Daniel: Albert has helped out the most with the guitar sounds. Also the writing structure of the songs. He’s helped us evolve and sound more mature than before hand. He’s just really cool and has helped out a lot.
John: And his work ethic. He really kicked our ass in here.
TMAS: You must have needed it and you should appreciate it.
John: Oh yeah. It’s defiantly one of those times you are thankful for a good ass kicking.
TMAS: Producing is new for him isn’t it?
TP: First time, this is his first album. Well, he produced his own album and he produced our single “123 Stop”. That was fun, we did that in his room.
TMAS: Wow, never would have guessed that. It sounds brilliant.
TP: We’ll show you the differences between that version and what we have recorded for the album. We haven’t heard it yet, but if you want you can stick around and listen with us.
TMAS: I feel so special!
TP: You are.

(Albert and his pretty babe, Agyness Deyn)

TMAS: Do you have a favorite song on the album?
John: White Night.
Daniel: This new song, I don’t think it has a name yet. Yeah, we were thinking about opening the album with White Night.
TMAS: How many songs are we talking here?
TP: 10 or 11.
Daniel: Well more than that. We have to do like acoustic songs and B sides.
Billy: We are going to try to do at least 16, not all will make it on the album.
John: You have to leave some for Japan. I don’t know why Japan gets to do that, their special.
Daniel: Japanese releases are the best.
John: But why though?
Daniel: I think cause their fans are more of collectors. They buy all the stuff that we wouldn’t buy here. The EP’s and live recording’s and stuff.
TMAS: Then the super fans here buy the Japanese releases.
TP: Yeah bidding wars on EBAY.
Daniel: I actually saw kids in the UK buying our EP off EBAY. Cause they can’t buy it there.
John: You can’t buy it anywhere dude, we sold out.
TP: Capitol may release it like 10 years down the road.
TMAS: Aren’t you including most of the songs form the EP on your debut album?
TP: Well, only one so far and four new songs. When we come back to the studio we will most likely record the rest of them.
TMAS: I want all new stuff.
John: Some of the songs I really love though. Like Stella. I don’t know, we’ll see. They may end being the B sides.

(Progression of studio work)

TMAS: Besides the obvious inspiration of The Strokes and the sounds of the 60′s, what are some other influences we can expect to hear on this album?
Daniel: (pointing out his shirt) The Beatles.
John: She said besides the obvious!
TP: The Ramones are a huge influence. You can hear it a lot in White Night. The Clash.
Daniel: Also some new bands like the Wambats. I love them.
John: I have always loved the Velvet Underground. That New York band sound. Interpool. But you wouldn’t hear it necessarily in our music.
Daniel: But they are an influence. A lot of English bands are. The Stone Roses, we could go on forever.
TMAS: So you stick to the pop and rock genres?
TP: We don’t think like, we gotta write a Notorious BIG song, we love listening to it. Classical music has been a big part of this. Some of us have had training in classical music.
John: David has, Billy, I have.
Daniel: Billy has? Classical drums?
John: No, theory.
TMAS: Did you or are you guys attending college? Didn’t you just graduate High School?
TP: We are attending “Capitol College” (laughter). We went to college for a year.
TMAS: And you might go back if you can find the time for it?
TP: Yeah, exactly. College sucks compared to being in a band. All of our friends are jealous.
TMAS: Will you be headlining your own tours anytime soon?
Daniel: I think we are going to do a few one-offs, which is what we did before we started the album, in a few cities.. Like we are going to do LA, and we are doing SXSW.
TP: Yeah we want to play a supporting tour before the album is out.
TMAS: Do you have a tentative release date?
TP: June/July, but don’t quote us on it.
TMAS: And do you have a name?
TP: No. It might be self titled.
TMAS: Have you attended SXSW before?
TP: No, and we are so excited!
TMAS: I have been toying with the idea of attending…
TP: You should!
TMAS: Or I could use the funds to move to New York.
TP: You should do that instead.
TMAS: Deal! Alright, looks like everyone has arrived, think it’s time to get this listening party started? Thanks again guys!
TP: Thank you!

If you are heading to Austin next week, be sure to check out The Postelles performances! Dates listed on thier myspace.

If your ultra hip you’ll follow them on the latest social networking site too.

An intriguing expose by and for Ryan Schreiber.

I’d like to start out by saying a “thank you” to my friend Noah for being a sounding board for this topic.

The other day I was having a thought. Apparently that’s English slang for “thinking”; I’m trying to incorporate more of that into my vocabulary. Either way, I was having this thought.
When I was younger, I made mixed-tapes. As I got older, less so. By the time I really got to the prime mixed-tape age, technology had changed. I don’t mean for this to sound like a “kids-now-a-days” type thing; but, I’m just old enough to have had the mixed-tape experience. If you didn’t, this might sound a little (or a lot) overblown. If you did, you’ll appreciate what I mean without me having to explain it all.

I remember getting my first boom-box with side-by-side tape decks. I was pretty young, but I remember that. The first thing I think of when I think of a mixed-tape, though, is the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It’s a book about a boy named Charlie. It’s a book about growing up. He made friends, and he fell in love. He was innocent and beautifully so. In the book Charlie, the girl he loves, and a few friends draw names for a secret Santa. “The first present is going to be a mix tape. I just know that it should.” It was the perfect gift. There were times when a mixed-tape was the perfect gift. “Now-a-days” a mixed-CD or playlist has become the go-to-gift for many people because it seems personal and it’s easy enough to pull off. I guess this example is exactly how it’s all changed.

Part of me wants to say “it’s just not the same”, and leave it at that. It’s so much more than I could put into words. The mixed-tape process was different for everybody back then; the maker and the recipient.

Making a mixed-tape was a process. It took planning and purpose. More than anything, it took dedication. Sure, now we can pick some songs and listen to them and rearrange them. I mean, of course we can still plan out a theme for our mixes. The mixed-tape was special, though. If you want to just give it a go, and test a mix to see how well it goes together, just throw some songs onto a playlist and hit play. In the days of mixed-tape gone by, it took a lot more time. That had a magical quality. The music, the mix, took on a meaning. The creation, too, took more. We had to sit there and listen to the songs play as it went, making sure to hit the right button at exactly the right time. With each song, the excitement grew; how perfect it all was, and how much you really love the song playing. It wasn’t as easy as clicking “burn” and having iTunes tell you that there were too many songs, or being able to select the songs, and do the math yourself. Toward the end of each side, the question lingered, “did I do this right?”

As if that weren’t enough, there were inevitably gaps between each song. Sometimes a second, sometimes a few and that’s where the real magic happened. It wasn’t silence, though. It was the faint buzz that belied the effort.

For the listener, it wasn’t so easy to skip over the songs. We had to be committed as a listener. We had to appreciate the care that the whole process took. It’s important to remember, too, that it wasn’t so easy back then to hit up Napster (or other P2P), or a torrent site, or even iTunes and get your hands on music you might never had heard otherwise. This was our way of exposing each other. The novelty of the songs added to it all.

This isn’t an emo kid thing, either. One of the music-defining moments that will stay with me forever is playing basketball when I was probably 13 with some of my friends. We walked to three different basketball courts before finding one that had an outlet. The boom-box blasted some of the best hip-hop I’d ever heard. It was all new and different. Nothing like I’d heard before; underground, chopped, screwed. That moment was one of the seminal moments in my musical life.

They were almost like time capsule, locking us into place musically. This is something that you can relate to if you made mixed-cd’s or if you keep your old playlists. A few weeks ago I popped in some of my old mixed-CD’s and rocked. It took me back to that place. When the songs came on, it was amazing how quickly I remember the whole disc. It was amazing how quickly I remember everything. When “Existentialism on prom-night” came on one, it took me back to breaking up with my girlfriend. Still, the ease of making, mixed-CD’s or playlists don’t have the same effect. Of the probably 50 mixes I put in, each one was a lot like the last (accounting, of course, for genre shifts), because it was so easy to just pop them in and pop them out.
The mixed-tape is gone. I couldn’t bring it back if I wanted to. They were uniquely special for the listener and the maker. It connected us in ways that we didn’t consciously realize at the time. This wasn’t meant to be wistful, it was meant to be celebratory. It was meant to remind us what we once had. R.I.P. mixed-tape.