Where are you guys from? How long have you been together? How many Albums do you have? Do you guys still live in Canada?
We are based out of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. A Suburb of Toronto. We have been together since Feb. 2000. We have put out 3 full length albums, and 2 EP's. Those 2 EP's can be found packaged together with some other B-Sides on our record called "18 Candles: The Early Years". We all still live in Canada, in and around the Toronto area.

Where did you get the name "Silverstein" from?
At our first few practices in Josh's parents basement, Shane didn't have any lyrics written. He used to sing out of whatever books and magazines were lying around. National Geographic, Cookbooks etc... One day he picked up a book by the author "Shel SIlverstein". The book was "Where The Sidewalk Ends". We all talked about how we read his books as kids, and how amazing some of his ideas were. How timeless they were. He also had passed away a few months prior. The book was left lying on the floor and not thought about too much for the next few weeks until we had gotten our first show. However we didn't yet have a name. After brainstorming for awhile, Shane pointed at the book on the floor and said "Silverstein!" We agreed on the name and never looked back.

How do you pronounce "Silverstein"?
Our band name is pronounced Silver-steen, NOT Silver-stine.

What bands influenced you to start Silverstein?
We all come from very diverse musical backgrounds. Everything from Tech Metal to Ska. Some bands that made us start Silverstein (and we encourage you to check them out): The Get Up Kids, Mineral, Knapsack, Cave In, Sunny Day Real Estate, Lifetime, Cap'n Jazz, Penfold, At The Drive In, Saves The Day, Portrait, Converge, 400 Years, Grade, Snapcase, Buried Alive, Jimmy Eat World, The Promise Ring, Shai Hulud, Poison the Well, and many many more.

Are you guys a Christian band?
No, although we do play shows with Christian bands and respect everyone's right to an opinion and everyone's right to express themselves.

Are any of you guys Jewish?
No.

Are you guys Vegetarians?
Yes the entire band is Vegetarian/Vegan.

Are any of you guys Straight Edge?
Paul and Billy are.

When are you guys coming to _______ (insert your city/country here)?
Check our tour section. We have all confirmed shows up there. We put them up as soon as we know about them too, so if you hear about a show that is not on our website, it is either not yet confirmed, or not happening. Check back frequently, we are always constantly updating it.

I heard one of your shows is sold out, but I really want to get tickets.
First off, make sure the show is actually sold out. We try to post on our website when a show is sold out, but go to ticketmaster.com (or whatever it is in your country) and see for yourself. Sometimes, more tickets will be released or local record stores will also have tickets. Call the venue as well and ask. Very often there will still be tickets available at the door on the day of the show.

Shane, How do you do both the Singing and the Screaming voices? I have tried doing it and I keep losing my voice.
First off, Screaming of any kind is not good for your throat. However, there are ways to do it to minimize the damage. First off, don't scream too hard and don't try to scream in a higher pitch or lower pitch than you naturally do. Get comfortable with screaming a certain way even if it doesn't sound the way you want it to sound. Over time you will build up the muscles and your voice will get stronger. You will be able to control how high or low you scream and the tone of it without hurting your voice or screaming too hard. Switching between singing and screaming is something that just takes practice. Make sure you warm up with some scales and light singing before screaming your head off. And if it hurts, stop! I don't consider myself the best teacher, I just sort of do it. However, check out melissacross.com . She has some great DVD's on the subject, including "The Zen of Screaming". -- Shane

I want to conduct an Interview, or write a news story on you guys and need some info, what should I do?
Send an email to tom@victoryrecords.com he will hook you up!

There are a lot of fans with Silverstein tattoos, does anyone in the band have one?
Not exactly, but Billy has a tattoo of the picture for the poem "hug-o-war", by Shel Silverstein.

What is the quote from the middle of 'Bleeds No More'?
The line "you are the worst thing that ever happened to me" in "Bleeds No More" comes from one of our favorite movies, Fight Club, but was not sampled.

What is the poem that is being recited at the end of "Forever And A Day"?
Forever and a Day quotes Shel Silvertein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends" poem.

What is the video for "Smile In Your Sleep" based upon, and where was it filmed?
That video was based upon the board game 'CLUE' and we filmed it in the same mansion where the movie 'Billy Madison' was filmed!

Was Silverstein actually mentioned on the television show, 'American Idol'?
Yes! Smashed Into Pieces was used by American Idol contestant Ryan Hart on the January 31, 2006 program. We were on tour in Europe at the time and found out from the flood of emails we received.

Q. I am putting together a show and I would love you guys to play? How do I book you?
Contact one of booking agents on the "Contacts" section. Understand we are typically booked up about 4 months in advance, and we may not be available.

Q. What gear do you use?
Paul - UDRUM Custom Drums (22X16 Kick, 16X16 Floor, 12X14 Rack) 14X5 Aluminum Snare, Meinyl Cymbals, Tama Pedals, Promark Sticks, DW Hardware.

Neil - Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Flying V, Gibson SG, Orange Rockerverb 100 Head, Marshall Cabinets, Dean Markley Strings, Dunlop 0.88mm picks, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Jim Dunlop Dimebag Wah-Wah, Boss Effects Pedals, Ibanez Tube Screamer.

Josh - Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Gibson Firebird, VHT Deliverance 120 Head, Orange Cabinets, Dean Markley Strings, Boss Effects Pedals, Small Stone, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Dunlop 0.88mm picks

Shane - Sennheiser 935 Vocal Microphone, Gibson Songwriter Acoustic Guitar.

Billy - Fender P-Basses, Ampeg Classic Bass Head, Ampeg Anniversary 8X10 cabinet, Dean Markley Strings, Seinheiser 935 Vocal Microphone, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Dunlop 0.88mm picks.

What is the best way to contact the band?
Email us personally. We get a lot of email, we read it all, and write back to as much of it as we can. Our Email addresses are in the Contact section.


If you would like to know something that isn't mentioned on this site, just feel free to contact us directly!