Cityzen.tv: Artist Profile- Silvertide

by Renato Carfagno

This past November Cityzen sat down with one of J Records’ hottest young bands: Silvertide. Sitting in a dimly lit corner of New York’s Bowery Ballroom, the guys took a break before heading to the stage. Their retro hard-rock sound makes it seem like the band just
stepped out of a time warp from
the late 70s.

Founded in Philadelphia’s Northeast, the original members met while in high school. Sporting cowboy boots, a giant silver belt buckle, and nail polish on his left hand, front man Walt Lafty says that he met bassist Brian Weaver and guitarist Mark Melchiorre, Jr. while in high school. Walt switched schools several times in high school – he jokes that he was in “the five year high school plan” - but eventually settling in at Archbishop Ryan where he met Brian and Mark.

They had all been playing for some time before coming together to form Silvertide, and had found their prior experiences to be frustrating. Walt talks about how he “was in a band for like three years that never played one gig.” Brian says he played in several back-up bands before joining up with Walt and Brian, “This is the only really like band that I’ve played in.” But Silvertide seemed to work. Adding Nick Perri on guitar and Kevin Frank on the drums the group was complete.

Complete except for a name. While vacationing in Ocean City, New Jersey the band was kicking back at a beachside home going through possible names. Walt says that all of a sudden Nick Perri’s sister looked at the ocean and said that it looked like a “silver tide.” The name stuck.

Silvertide started making headlines in New York two years ago when Clive Davis and J Records signed Silvertide. The band joins the likes of Busta Rhymes, O-Town, Wyclef Jean, and Alicia Keys on the label. They signed near Strawberry Fields in New York, and wandered around the park after putting their names on the line. Walt says signing near Strawberry Fields was important “[Signing] is like losing your virginity. Do you want to do it in the back of a Chevy, or do you want to do it somewhere where you will remember it?”

J Records put out Silvertide’s EP American Excess in 2002, but the band has yet to release an album. However, they are pleased with their partners. Nick says that, “We’ve had a label that was very good to us… There’s a lot of good bands, but unfortunately a lot of them aren’t signed and don’t have the backing.”

Since joining J Records Silvertide has relocated from The City of Brotherly Love to the Big Apple. They enjoy being in New York, but Brian quips, “I won’t buy cigarettes in New York.” The move to New York and their increased visibility got them a gig opening for Godsmack this past fall. Walt says that “Godsmack fans were really half and half with us. Some nights would love us others would hate us.” The tour was a new experience for them, playing regularly in medium sized venues with large crowds in the thousands. Still, even though they are back on their regular tour schedule, the band plays with explosive energy. Walt runs through the audience at the Bowery Ballroom and makes his way to the balcony while Nick climbs down from the stage and plays in the audience. Silvertide’s set ends with a fiery end with Walt crooning on a table high above the audience on the balcony.

Still crisp enough to be close to their roots, the band says that they’re out to have fun. Nick says that they’ve “put music into what we’ve wanted to say our whole lives.” Drummer Kevin adds that it all comes down to just having fun and enjoying good music, “We just want make everyone have a good time. Mostly it’s about having fun. We just want to make everyone there clap their hands and get up and dance.”