Silverstein Biography

vocals - shane told
guitar - neil boshart
guitar - josh bradford
bass - bill hamilton
drums - paul koehler silverstein.

Acquiring the name from the famous children's author, Silverstein was formed in early 2000 in an attempt to tear down the boundaries between Hardcore, Emo and Punk. Originally started as a side project, the band was a chance for its members to try something new and get away from their current Punk, Metal, Ska and Hardcore bands.

Coming from the thriving scene of Southern Ontario, which includes such acts as Grade, Jersey, Moneen, and Maharahj, Silverstein was met with immediate success, and quickly self-released their first CD-EP, "Summer's Stellar Gaze" in Summer 2000. This release was met with huge local success and led to great responses from all over Canada about their new, powerful sound.

As their success grew, and Silverstein became the main project for all of the members, founding guitar player Richard McWalter left the band and was replaced by former Maharahj guitarist Neil Boshart. This brought a whole new batch of influences and ideas, and took the music to another level. With the new lineup in effect, Silverstein toured throughout Eastern Canada and Quebec, and found there was excitement all over about their music. In April 2002, their second EP "When the Shadows Beam" was released and found its way into the hands of Victory Records owner, Tony Brummel. After a meeting and showcase, Silverstein was quickly signed to Victory in October 2002.

With influences ranging from The Get Up Kids to Grade, Mineral to Cave-In, and even Pedro the Lion to Slayer, Silverstein is a true mix of everything at once. The powerful melodic singing and gut wrenching screaming of vocalist Shane Told evokes the pain, struggle and emotion of the lyrics, which represent true feelings of heartbreak and frustration. Silverstein finds a way to keep the music unique and interesting, but always catchy. Bringing a violin into the mix, and adding 6/8 meter melodic parts to screaming breakdowns help to achieve this. The sound is reinforced by the creativity of drummer Paul Koelher and the energetic playing of bassist Bill Hamilton. The shimmering clean, and singing distorted guitars of Boshart, and Josh Bradford complete the lineup, and capture the listener with their harmony and power.