The Jeffery Silverstein Interview
Born in New Jersey, Portland based musician Jefferey Silverstein quickly became enamored with music like most kids from their parent’s collection, but he would soon come into his own from the prominent local scene in Northern Jersey. Silverstein started out playing in bands such as Nassau and Baltimore’s Secret Mountains. After deciding to broaden his musical horizons, Silverstein decided to venture out as a solo musician making his 2019 debut, “How on Earth”, which would later become his first EP on Driftless Recordings. Now Silverstein has a brand new album entitled “Western Sky Music” that will be released by the fine folks over at Arrowhawk Records on May 12th and we couldn’t be more excited to speak with him about his youth, his influences, playing summer gigs with Fruit Bats and much more!
Prior to relocating to Portland, OR you were living in New York, correct? When did you first begin to fall in love with music, more specifically the guitar? Was music relevant around your households growing up?
Correct. My formative years were in New Jersey. I did my undergrad in Baltimore, stayed for a couple of years after graduating and then moved to Brooklyn. My wife and I spent six years there before relocating to Portland in 2018. A lot of my friends and I stopped playing sports and picking up the guitar, bass, or drums in 9th grade. We took lessons from the same guy at a run-down mall. My love for the guitar began via learning other people's songs. Many of us formed our first bands around this time. There was a strong local scene in northern New Jersey. I looked up to a lot of the older kids in bands who had already been doing it for a few years. It was off to the races from there. Very much so. My parents always had music on. Dad leaned a bit more jazz-blues-classic rock while mom leaned a bit more folk.
What would you do for fun growing up? When and where did you see your first concert and when did it dawn on you that you wanted to be a musician? Prior to venturing out as a solo artist you participated in Nassau and Baltimore’s Secret Mountains. Would you mind telling me about the bands and a bit of their origin story?
Skateboarding, playing guitar, and trying to spend as much time in NYC as I could. One of my earliest concerts was the Pop Disaster Tour with Saves the Day, Green Day, and Blink 182. Travis Barker was harnessed to his drum kit and spun upside down while doing a drum solo. Green Day brought someone from the audience on stage to play guitar. I don’t know if there was a specific moment when I relaized I wanted to be a musician. I'm just grateful that I had parents and friends parents who were willing to drive us to these shows or let us have band practice in their homes. I had a visual of what it looked like both locally and nationally to be in a band. None of this would have happened without them. Thanks mom and dad. Secret Mountains were the first ‘serious’ band I was a part of. It began as a songwriting project in my dorm room in Baltimore and grew to a six-piece psych-rock group. We came up at a very exciting time in Baltimore music - bands like Beach House, Future Islands, Wye Oak, and Lower Dens were all getting their start. I learned so much from being in this band. Nassau was a short lived duo while living in New York. After a long pause from writing music, it was fun to stretch my songwriting muscle again. Was a stepping stone towards what I’m doing now.
What eventually led to the decision to venture out on your own after these outfits? When and where did you play your very first gig and what was that experience like for you without a group per-say? That following year you released your debut LP “You Become The Mountain”. How did the deal and friendship with Arrowhawk Records come about?
I knew Portland had a strong music scene. Rather than waiting for the right band members, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I needed to shed the narrative that I needed others to be creative. I had the tools already, it was time to make use of them. My first solo gig in over a decade took place after completing an artist in residence program at the Sou’wetser Lodge on the coast of Washington. I lived and wrote inside an old Ford motorhome turned recording studio for a week ending with a performance in their lodge. I was terrified and by all accounts It was not a great show, but something clicked that day. Figured I might as well keep going. The songs you hear on 2019s How on Earth, my first EP for Driftless Recordings all came from that time. Alyssa (Arrowhawk owner) and I had known each other online for quite some time. Supporting one another via mixes, writing, sharing music, etc. I admired her work both as a publicist and label head and knew right away that we’d be able to approach releasing my music as a partnership. Easily one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Would you mind giving some brief background to songs such as “Easy Rider”, “A Dog’s Age”, and “Return To Roses”? How did you want to approach these songs now that were on a label and had a bit more momentum behind you and the work?
‘Easy Rider’ was one of the first tunes I had worked out for You Become the Mountain. It was one of first attempts at writing in an alternate/open tuning which has had a significant impact on my writing/playing ever since. ‘A Dog’s Age’ came together in the studio with the help of producer Ryan Oxforfd, someone who has had a tremendous influence on me. Ryan understood my approach/music right away. It was the first track we incorporated a spoken work piece in and that has been a thread that has tied together all subsequent releases so far. ‘Return to Roses’ was kind of my first ‘Portland’ song in a way (we’re called the city of roses). Was still getting my footing re: vocals on that one but still enjoy the lyrics.
I’d like to jump ahead a bit to your very anticipated summer release of “Western Sky Music”. Working with Arrowhawk Records once again, what was the process of writing and recording this album like compared to some of your other works? This album features some guest appearances by William Tyler and Karima Walker. What are you most excited for with this album?
Western Sky Music is my first ‘full-band’ album with the addition of Dana Buoy on drums. Arrangements for some tunes were worked out quickly in a few days in the studio. A far more collaborative approach. It really built on the trust I had already established with Barry, Alex, and Ryan while Dana entered the fold. Grateful to make music with those fellas every day. I’m very proud of this album. I’m excited both sonically, thematically, and lyrically and hope listeners feel the same.
I’d love to know the process and approach to writing songs like “Cowboy Grass”, “Chet”, “Sunny Jean” and “Birdsong In The Canopy”. What was the most fun and most difficult about creating this album and why?
‘Cowboy Grass’ came together quickly. I had to kind of re-teach myself how to write in standard after years deep in the trenches of open tunings. The lyric ‘I don’t like flying, I like getting around’ came during a casual conversation I had with Barry. I loved this phrasing and knew I wanted to incorporate it into the song. ‘Chet’ began with a skipping Chet Atkins record I had on at home. I recorded the note it was caught on and began to write a tune in that key. A lot of times being creative is just paying attention. ‘Sunny Jean’ is named after my wife. I was experimenting with a tuning that Mdou Moctar uses and am super happy with how this one came out. All three of those tunes are extremely fun to play live. ‘Birdsong in the Canopy’ started as a demo with a bunch of steel/guitar layers. I decided to deconstruct it down to just a steel drone and invite Karima to use lyrics I had written. This was the first time I had worked in this way and she nailed it. Highly recommend checking out her discography.
Is there anything else you would like to further share with readers?
Western Sky Music is out 5.12.23 on Arrowhawk Records. If you are in the states, I’ll be celebrating with four record release shows opening up for Fruit Bats in Boise, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver B.C. Huge thanks to anyone/everyone who is reading this.
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Photo cred: https://www.instagram.com/shadestandard/
