I caught Birmingham band The Silver Lines at 'The Smokehouse' here in Ipswich back in February, and they pretty much took the roof off with their vibrant blend of rock, punk and indie mixed with tuneage to die for and 'their firing on all cylinders' live show. Recently back from a debut foray to the States to play a few live shows and with a new single 'Blow Dry' released, Joe from the band caught up with 'Ballroom Blitz's Man At The Back' to talk about their trip to the US, why they're not yet ready to release a full-length album, the Birmingham music scene and hip hop!
The Silver Lines are Dan Ravenscroft (Vocals), Joe Ravenscroft (Guitar), Joe Cartwright (Bass) and Kindo (Drums)
EP 'Sleaze' (2022), new single 'Blow Dry' (2023) and a host of other fab singles are available on all the major digital sites. The band are constantly gigging at the moment with a number of festivals and shows lined-up well into 2023; check their social media sites for details and go see!
Facebook - TheSilverLinesUK - Instagram / Tik-Tok - thesilverlinesuk -
Twitter - thesilverlines1
Hi Guys, thank you for taking some time to answer a few questions for 'Ballroom Blitz's Man At The Back'. First off, for those readers who may not be familiar with The Silver Lines, could you give a short history of the band?
We were formed by two brothers Dan and Joe (singer and guitarist) and then Joe C and Kindo (bass and drums) joined in 2019. Fast forward 6 months and covid hits halting all progress. Then in August 2021 we were back gigging and we haven’t looked back since.
And who would you say were the main influences on The Silver Lines?
We like The Rolling Stones and anything blues derived. That’s what we think is our most direct influence. But recently we’ve all been into Hip Hop like the Migos, a bit of drill as well doesn’t go amiss too, haha. Unfortunately modern guitar music isn’t really hitting the spot, as the punk stuff is a bit too intellectual (we wish we could understand the lyrics but I think we may need to read more) and the true indie can all really be traced back to The Beatles, which is great but there’s too much of it and too much copying, which just dilutes the music. It is the hip hop cats which are true punk - carrying the same energy as all those classic bands from yesteryear when they first burst on the scene. 'Stories for Boys by U2 is a punk record - they really meant it when they first broke onto the scene. It then took a few years for them to get to 'Joshua Tree' etc with all the ballads and melodies for the masses. Bands should be getting you by the throat with their first records then maturing commercially not the other way round. Apparently the Beatles were punk in Hamburg….
How was your recent trip to America? Did the New York gigs differ from the LA gigs in any way? Any plans to go back soon? The trip was unbelievable, we packed out 'Pianos' in New York on the Saturday after word of mouth from people seeing us the night before. LA was class, a massive place with too much to do. The kids that were coming to see us in LA wanted a good time and just move; the New Yorkers wanted to really listen. Both great types of people and we met some cool sorts out there. Heavy on the old liver, but hey what else are you supposed do when you're in a band hanging around all day for that 1 hour slot in the evening? You've recently released a single 'Blow Dry' - do you have a sense of how it's doing out there in the 'big wide world'? It’s had a class response, lots of underground air play and a crowd favourite. We really did this one for the hardcore fans that just want to mosh. We brought our sound back right to its core roots - garage style, cheap equipment just going for it. Exactly how you play when you just form a band with your mates.
Where did you record the single; somewhere you've recorded before?
We recorded it at Red City Recordings with David Radhahd-Jones. He’s a great guy that just gets us and what are strengths are. We’ve always recorded with him and don’t plan on going anywhere else anytime soon. We’ve heard nightmare stories of some producers completely re-writing the bands tunes which kind of defeats the object. Might be good for pop but it’s not our style. We want freedom and a producer that knows how to get the best out of our performance on the track. (And who can record drums well, hahah)
You've released an EP - 'Sleaze' - and a host of singles - any plans for a full length album release?
We don’t really see the point unless we broke big. A lot of bands are releasing albums so early and some of their best stuff is falling on deaf ears because they’ve jumped in too fast or thought they were bigger than they were and not gained the traction they deserved. We’re in a singles game at the moment, so unless you’ve got the cash backing and the team around to push it in all the right places to really get the worth out of it, it seems like a waste of good work so it’s better to drip feed strong singles we think.
Do you have any particular favourite tracks you've released so far and any particular tracks you enjoy playing live, and if so why?
We love 'Alive', always a crowd favourite. The line ‘is this as good as it gets’ always seems to strike a chord with people. Also 'Hotel Room' has done really well, people seem to really know all the lyrics in the verses and there’s a lot of them, I don’t think Dan even can remember all of them and he’s supposed to be singing them. Maybe people like it cause it’s more indie … dare I say.
Is there any song that you've written but not yet released that you're particularly looking forward to 'getting out there'?
Yeah there is. It’s currently called 'Share the Dust'. We play it live and we’ve never had the same reception from a crowd the first time they hear a unreleased tune to when they’ve heard this one. Almost feels too good to release, but the people won’t rest until they get what they want.
Do you have any shows coming up where people can catch you at?
We've got festivals this summer so 'Your City', 'SpringFest', 'MosFest', 'Focus Wales', to name a few. Then we'll have a UK tour at the end of the year.
And have you a favourite venue(s) that you've played at over the years?
The 'Forum' in Birmingham because it was our biggest headliner ever, The 'Adelphi' in Hull because Townes Van Zandt played there, which is crazy to think!
Do you think there's a good original music scene in Birmingham and the surrounding area at the moment? Any bands from the area you'd particularly recommend to readers? There’s a few different scenes in Birmingham, some we think are cool, others not so much. If the readers are trying to find a band that sounds similar to us from Birmingham then unfortunately they won’t. We don’t really want to be part of a scene or sound like another band, we’re happy doing our own thing. We’re all people of this universe so we’re not bothered about being in this scene and that scene where you only listen to a certain style of guitar music or have to wear certain gear to do that music. There’s a reason that the greatest guitar bands of the last 50 years all sound so different- from The Stones to Springsteen to Nirvana - but all share very similar types of fans and that is because of people that like good guitar music, not because of a scene where everyone is copying the sound of the most successful band in it. However in Brum if you want to some true indie fender jag stuff or some Arctic Monkeys/ Blossoms suit and tie sort of stuff you don’t have to look very far. And finally what plans for The Silver Lines going forward in 2023? A summer of festivals to coincide with a couple of singles, then a UK tour to coincide with an EP, and maybe some more US dates at the end of the year!