Silverstein wrote an album that was a vast improvement over their debut (which was also enjoyable). This interview with guitarists Neil Boshart and Josh Bradford on a freezing cold February 26 night.

PL: State an interesting fact about yourselves.
JB: About the band?
PL: No, about yourselves. Whatever; some kind of introduction.
JB: Jeez, I don't know.
NB: I'm a huge baseball fan.
PL: Who's your team?
NB: My team is no team. I'm just a fan of the sport. I don't play favorites.
JB: I'm addicted to the word "Hoo Day."

PL: Has Discovering the Waterfront lived up to the expectations you've had for it so far?
JB: I would say so. Yeah. I'd like to say that we didn't really have expectations for it, but I guess we had some, and its already surpassed our first record in the six months its been out. Our first record was out for two and a half years, so we did what the first one did, just a lot quicker.

PL: Is being a successful band in Canada different from being one in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world?
JB: Not really. Canada and the States are pretty similar as far as the scene goes. There's just more people here, more places to play.
NB: Canada is at a much smaller scale compared to the U.S., as far as population goes.
JB: Basically the population of Canada fits in California.
PL: Would you rather be invisible or have X-ray vision?
JB: I can think of situations where both of those would come in handy. Um...I don't know. Neil, whats your opinion on the matter?
NB: Well, do I have to be invisible all the time?
JB: I think I'd rather be invisible, but if I could have X-ray vision all the time or be invisible all the time- I don't think I'd want to be invisible all the time, but X-ray vision...Hoo Day!
NB: It'd be nice to be able to turn on and off. Always see inside of people.
JB: I don't want to see inside them so much as I want to see under their clothes.

PL: If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? And this would be assuming that you'd get all vitimans and whatever essential stuff that you need.
JB: I would go with either tofu or rice. I love them both, a lot. I can't get enough.
NB: I'd say bananas. I love bananas.
JB: Bananas are really good. Actually, I'll change mine to kiwi fruit.
PL: I don't know if I've ever had a kiwi fruit.
JB: They're good. Its kind of fuzzy on the outside, delicious on the inside. Like a peach, only different.

PL: Whats one movie you think everyone should see?
NB: Hostel. I love that movie. It was so gory.
PL: Did you like the beginning of it?
NB: I liked everything about it. I liked it all. I liked the ending, mostly. I don't want to give it away, but it gets pretty vengeful.
PL: Yeah. The beginning of it seemed like the director did anything he could to get as many naked people in there as possible.
NB: Thats why I love it. Naked girls.
JB: I have three movies: Gandhi, starring Ben Kingsley. Its one of my favorites. Its a long one, though, so I'm not sure if anyone has any time for that. Supersize Me. I think people should definitely check that out and take it to heart. The Great Escape. Its an older one, but Steve McQueen is one of the greatest action heros ever, and that was before special effects.

PL: Whats a little known fact about Shel Silverstein?
JB: He actually wrote-
NB: He liked pot.
JB: Yeah, he did. Have you ever heard the Johnny Cash song, "A Boy Named Sue?"
PL: Yeah.
JB: Apparently, Shel Silverstein wrote that song. And he smoked pot while writing it.
PL: Name one album, besides your own, you think all kids should have in their collection.
NB: The Shape of Punk to Come by Refused. And Led Zeppelin 1, 2, 3 and 4, and Physical Graffiti.
JB: That covers it.

PL: Do you have any final comments?
JB: Hoo-day!
NB: Its fucking cold. Everyone bundle up
PL: Its actually been a pretty mild winter so far.
JB: Not right now.

Interview by: RF

BACK