Unless you’re into rock drummers, the name Brian Tichy may not be familiar. What will be familiar are the bands and musicians he’s sat behind the kit for, including Foreigner, Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Ozzy Osbourne and many others. He is one of those musicians who is on an elite, A-list of players that are constantly in demand. Tichy now has a new project that he in an integral part of, as opposed to being a sideman, and the first track of Silvethorne’s upcoming EP hits like a spine-crushing magnitude 8.5 earthquake–an appropriate comparison since the video was filmed in Southern California:
The impassioned vocals are delivered by guitarist Pete Shoulder, who along with bass player, Daniel Spree, and Tichy make up the trio. Tichy explains the somewhat roundabout way that Silverthone was formed. “It came together in a pretty interesting way where the end result was you take a lemon to make lemonade,” he says. “I’ll try to be somewhat quick about it and not drag it on forever. Back in 2011, I was in Whitesnake and we were on tour. We were in the UK and the opening band was a band called The Union. I would listen to them, and I did meet the guys, but we weren’t hanging out. We were on different schedules and all that stuff…busy travelling. But I did take note that the singer sounded badass. I was like, ‘Wow, the guy just fills this room up.’ He had a very…to me, it sounded like a very Paul Rogers type of quality to his voice which is of course one of the best of all time. So that was then. We didn’t keep in touch or anything.”
“Fast forward a bunch of years and I had a project with the DeLeo brothers [Dean and Robert] from Stone Temple Pilots. It had nothing to do with STP. It was some new music we had recorded without a singer in hopes of finding a singer. And they also at the time weren’t sure of the future of STP because they didn’t have a singer. Pete got referred to them and they heard him, thought his voice was great to the point where they thought Pete would just work perfectly, so we all got together. Pete came out to L.A., he’s from the UK, we made the record, there’s some good stuff there and we’re all pretty excited. Somewhere in that time, the new STP singer [Jeff Gutt] came into their world and he worked out. They really had to sort of choose between the two and which road to go down. So, as I’m sure you know, the past couple of years they chose to move forward with STP. We understand that, being fans of theirs and STP for a long time. With total respect to them starting a band that became hugely successful and given the opportunity to continue on with a new singer, that’s their baby and their life’s work. It’s totally understandable.”
This is where the nucleus of what would become Silverthorne started to take shape. “Pete and I took a step back and a few months later we just talked and I said, ‘Hey, man. We’re gonna need to get know each other.’ Not only is he an amazing singer, he’s a killer lyricist and a great guitar player, which I had no clue about until we were working together. I called him and said ‘Why don’t you come back out to L.A.? I have a studio, and let’s write and record and see what happens.’ That was about…that was the beginning of 2018. We wrote a mess of stuff, probably a full record’s worth of stuff. Had some management issues last year that ate up too much time and it didn’t go where we thought it was going to go. Once again, we took another little step back and this year got in touch with Golden Robot Records. They heard the stuff and it was that simple. It was basically like ‘Cool, man. This stuff’s great. Let’s do it.’ That was the beginning of this year. We put an EP together, mixed, mastered, got a schedule together.”
“And in that time frame, our bass player, Daniel Spree, comes into the picture. I’ve known Daniel a long time. We’ve played together and hung out. He’s a great guy, also lives in L.A. When I played him the stuff, he was all into it. We were all cut from the same cloth, so I figured if he has time, this could interest him. We put it all together and then I had to go away for the summer to Japan as I was touring with a band there. We had to set it all up before I split. I got home in September and the first single is out, Tear the Sky Wide Open, and there we go. That’s pretty much the history of it.”
In the old days, bands would release a full album and then put out various tracks as singles. The current way of thinking, especially for new bands, is that individual tracks and EP’s can build a following, eventually leading to a complete album somewhere down the line. Tichy agrees, explaining “Yeah, there’s five tracks on the EP and the second single will be out next month. We’re in the middle of editing the video now. I can’t wait because it’s great to have it all start with the one song and you hope that song…well, we felt it’s a good representation of what we’re about. It’s one of those kinds of songs that just seems to work as something to introduce a new band to people with. The next song is…it doesn’t stray too far away from what we sound like at all, but it’s a totally different type of song. Once again, it features Pete’s killer vocals. It’s totally a different vibe, a different type of dynamic in the song, but it’s definitely part of what we sound like. And it’s big and rocking and loud guitars and all that organic raw production.”
For a world-class musician who has a full plate with live touring and session work, it can be difficult to find the time for a new band. The annals of rock music are filled with famous players doing studio projects whose songs are rarely, if ever, heard live. If lucky, they can perhaps squeeze in a live gig every now and then when there’s a break on a major tour. Tichy says he’s aiming higher with Silverthorne.
“If I could control what we were doing, this would be my one project, the one band I’m doing, and it would take up 100% of my time musically. And that would be it. That’s what I’d love to see happen and that is the goal. The goal is not to do a cute little EP, release just to put it out there and say we did it. It’s definitely a much bigger picture. It is the band I hope to see go as far as any goals and dreams I’ve had of getting to that place. I’d love to see it happen with Silverthorne.”
Of course, being a veteran of the music business, Tichy knows there has to be balance between creativity and paying the bills. “If you are in a band, maybe let’s say like Foreigner which I’ve been a supporter over the years, they work a lot. So, that keeps you busy doing that one band, possibly nine to ten months a year. If you’re not in that one band, you have to do a lot of different things, and hopefully they’re all fulfilling and tied into what you love doing. But ask any hired gun, hired musician, who’s not totally in control of their future and their schedule and who’s calling them from work. There are those months or periods of the year where you could be more busy than other times. In those other times, you might have more open time and it’s just not filled up. It’s a hard balance and I don’t really know any other way. I know what it’s like to be in an established band. You’re the drummer and they tell you, ‘Okay, this is the touring schedule for the year. This is the plan for the year.’ It’s a great feeling when you know you’re in something you enjoy and it’s got longevity to it and it’s got guaranteed work going on. That’s definitely one of the best things about being in something established. And if you keep that gig and stay in it, don’t get yourself fired, great. Keep it rolling. I’ve been in and out of quite a few bands and they’ve all been great experiences. But man, there’s still that downtime if you don’t have that one band you’re locked into. You have to create it yourself, and definitely I do not wait for the phone to ring. Fortunately, sometimes it rings for many different reasons. And there’s other times you gotta sit down and keep your name out there and keep working it. I’m just glad that it all ties into what I’ve done since I was a little kid, which is play drums and make music.”
The current plan is for Silverthorne to start playing clubs and see what develops from there. Even though Tichy has that name recognition, it’s still a tough road. “We are working on a couple gigs now for November just to basically get our feet wet, to get out there and start. Even though I come from other well-known bands, maybe there’s going to be an immediate built-in following and you can start with that. But we really are a brand-new unknown band. We’re going to get some gigs going, probably Vegas and L.A. And Pete’s in the UK so we’re also looking at getting over there and doing a little run. Start somewhere and then hopefully with the second single from the EP people hear a bit more and more. You can do all that behind the scene stuff which involves getting management together and agents. Hopefully, the other bands you know through all your years of doing this, you have some connections in there and maybe get on as an opening act on some bills and some tours and stuff like that. But that’s all that’s going on now. It’s that big circle of stuff you just start trying to organize and sort out and make happen to your benefit.”
After closing pleasantries are exchanged and the interview winds down with a “Good luck, hope to see you in a club soon,” Tichy replies “And then hopefully soon after that you’ll have to see us in an arena or a stadium. That’s what I’m hoping.”
https://www.facebook.com/silverthorneband
KILLER…I AM EXCITED…BRIAN KNOWS lol
Great interview. Good luck to the band. Amazing first track and great to see Peter, whom I’m a long time fan of, doing what he does best
Saw the Whitesnake/The Union at Newcastle Pete was f##kin amazing the SNAKES were class the boys need to get this on the road ASAP i WILL be there
Thanks John! Looking forward to seeing him perform on our side of the pond.
I’ve listened to the 2 released tracks,and there very impressive! I hope they keep this going and tour the states soon.