SILK9

Interview with SILK9

March 8, 2016

Describe your band, telling a little about it.

Silk9 is a Pittsburgh based band founded by Anthony Leone and Jamie Rohr of East Liverpool, OH.  It all started through a mutual friend, Isaac Ott.  I had caught him through FB messenger and asked "do you know anyone that can carry a tune in a bucket?"  He responded with Jamie's name.  I contacted Jamie and I sent him a demo of a song I had worked on.  In the next few weeks he drove to Pittsburgh to meet me and we tracked our first song.  I think we both liked what we heard so we decided to move forward.  It didn't seem like either one of us were ready commit to a band atmosphere, however, we did think that recording would be a possibility.  Shortly after I decided to step down in my current band and work on material for a self titled release.  I wrote the songs, had Jamie help with the dynamics, lyrics, arrangements etc.  I had asked Doug Carnahan of After The Fall and Eric Dulick aka Doctor Scary to come on board as guest vocalists each singing there own song. Dough Chose "Anymore" and Eric ""Whatcha gonna do."  I believe it was about that time that Jamie and I discussed the possibility of the EP being under a band name in lieu of my self entitled release.  I was on board with that and Silk9 was Born.

We release our First EP "Exit the Pain" in May of 2014.  We were nominated by the Iron City rocks Music awards for 6 categories and we won album of the year.  Both of us were extremely thrilled due to all the hard work we put into that disc.  Since that time we have release a single entitled "shattered and Stained" and most recently we re-vamped anymore originally sung by Dough Carnahan and released it as a single as "I can't take it anymore"  There are several lyric changes, arrangement changes and Jamie just made it his own version of what Dough had already made a great song. (Obviously I'm biased :)

This band has been through more member changes than a toilet seat. LOL!  Originally I played Bass, rhythm guitar and lead guitar on the Album.  Corry Muro of RATM2 played drums on all the tracks as a studio musician except for the song "Embrace" in which I called on my good friend Justin Walker of Dirty Confessions.  That is my personal favorite as it holds the most meaning to me.

Justin would fill in for our live shows when needed. We have had the pleasure of playing with Sean Melvin of Raising Mother Kane (Drums) Kurt Grottenthaler (Raising Mother Kane), Jazz Byers(drums) and Sean Nestor (bass) from Homicide Black.

October 2014 I contacted a guy on Facebook that goes by Mikey Mixer. I had seen him play guitar and asked if he my be interested or know anyone interested in picking up bass guitar duties. He had mentioned a friend, Ralph McCartney. We had 2 auditions with Ralph and a few other players before we offered the position to Ralph. He has done a great job and you can hear him on the Shattered and Stained Single.

Our drummer situation has always been a revolving door. Until I contacted veteran Dave Campbell of Sovereign and asked if he would fill in for a show, in which Justin was able to make due to other responsibilities. Dave has been a great addition and carries double duties without and issue. Dave is currently preparing to lay down his drum tracks for 2 new S9 songs, at the beginning of April.

So that a quick run down and some history of what we call "SILK9"

What are your names? / Who plays what?

Jamie Rohr: Vocals

Anthony Leone: Guitar

Ralph McCartney: Bass Guitar

Dave Campbell: Drums

Have members played with any other bands?

Yes, Jamie has played in so many bands I can't recall the names at the moment, I think the one he spoke of the most was "MONSTER"... Ralph played in I claim as mine, Dave in Ashes to ashes and sovereign and I have played with This Disguise and Chip Dimonick.

Do you write your own music or perform covers?  Has it always been this way?  Silk9 was designed to be an all original band. We have done a few bar gigs and have played covers and popped our originals in there. I think there are two types of bands. Showcase bands and cover bands. I think you need to pick a direction and stick to it. We've made mistakes along the way but i now realize that we are a showcase band by design and there is nothing that is going to change that. We are the happiest writing, recording and performing our own material. We will still pop in a Godsmack tune or even pull out some old Dokken, however, we are at our best when we are showcasing our music.

What year did the band form? April 2013 

Where is bands home?  The majority of the band is from the Pgh area so we consider ourselves based in Pittsburgh, PA 

What's your style or genre?  Rock, Hard Rock, Touch of Grunge, insert some 90's.. maybe even some influences from the 80's... a melting pot if you will :)

What inspires your music? 

Life.. moods..ambitions..needs...wants

How often do you rehearse?  I am always writing songs... our rehearsal times are based on the weight of the schedule.

What gear do you guys use?  I use Gibson guitars, marshall amps, mxr OD, chorus, phase 90, and carbon copy delays. Also Morley wah, Elixir strings. Monster cables and George L's to wire my floor board. Dave uses Gretsch Drums and Ralph uses GK bass amps and Ibanez 5 string bass.

Do you utilize a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that?  We do not. I do most of the booking but any band member can bring an offer to the table. I don't have any comments on the booking agency as I have not seen, from any band, a result that constitutes a share or payment. I would welcome the idea of a booking agent, however, they would need to be able to provide and environment we could not on our own.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that?  We are not. I have spoke with bands that have been on the road trying to make a go of it and it just doesn't sound very fulfilling.  With the technology available through digital marketing and with the help of local radio stations such as 105.9 the X, we've been very fortunate to get a lot of exposure in a short period of time. I always explain to new people that i meet that we have done things that bands together for 7-8 years haven't been able to accomplish. Our entire album has been picked up by pop-up Music, located in London, and Tears and Anymore were picked up by JTV digital in France. We hope that one or both of these companies will have some luck placing our music and we can use those proceeds to fund the next EP.

What are your songs about?  I look at song lyrics the way i do poetry. I don't write stories like a country song. They may be random thoughts that together complete a meaning. Our songs are written to inspire, make you think or recall a certain experience.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics?  I do most of the writing, however, the songs take on an entire different direction once jamie gets his hands on them. I'm always looking forward to what he does with the idea.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics?  No boundaries.. it could be a guitar lick or just a melody. Any idea to build on.

Do you compose in a certain environment?  No.. I have a small recording studio in my house that i record rough tracks for the guys and then we take that to the studio.

Have you done any covers live?  Yes. We've covered Godsmack, STP, Skillet, AC/DC, Goo Goo Dolls, Volbeat, Collective Soul, Lynch Mob, Alice n Chains, White Zombie and more

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Ha!  WE are a local band so we've seen both ends of the spectrum. We've played in from of 400 and we've played in front of 30. 

What ages are most of your concert attendants?  Depending on if all ages, I've spoken to 18 year old kids that have purchased a CD and I've spoken to 50 year old fans that love what we do! 

Rock has no age :)

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary?  We have been in full support of our EP and we are ready to start breaking out the next wave of material... keep your eyes on us :)

Do you have a regular place you play live often?  We do most of our showcases at the Altar Bar in PGH

What was your first gig like?  The first gig went well.. different format and different members. We had over 80 people jammed into the venue. Good first showing.

What was your latest gig?  The Barton Trap in Barton Ohio. We will be back there June 11th.

Have you had to cancel a gig?  We've had some close calls but we have not. I am very proud of the fact that we have lived up to every responsibility we've taken on .

Where have you played live this year?  Our first gig back will be June 11th at the Barton Trap then June 16th at the Altar Bar as Direct support for Stryper.

Where do you plan to gig the coming year?  Altar Bar is always on the table, Jamie has been in touch with management of Rippers Tap House and I'm sure some other venues.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale?  WE had merch out of the gate. T-shirts, wrist bands, stickers, guitar picks.

Where can people buy your merchandise?  We prefer to sell merch at our shows so that we can see your face and speak directly to people. There's a definite loss of professionalism when everything is done on line. You can also send us an email to silk9@comcast.net and we'll get you whatever you need :)

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?  What can you say.. do i wish we could get compensated for our art... OF course! I see what we get per download and its a crime. I am surprised at the amount of people that still want physical CD's, just not willing to pay the price. So they download it for a few bucks cheaper. The plus side is that we are able to reach out to people with our music that in the past may never had the opportunity to hear our music. In that regard its a great thing. I'm conflicted aren't I?  LOL

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this?  Obviously, its made a career choice in music very difficult. There are bands doing very well, outside looking in. Do they, or will they be at the platform of the bands we grew up with? I don't know.

Do you have any role models or idols?  Everyone know I'm a huge george lynch fan... I even had the pleasure of playing with him at altar bar a few years back for a song. there are videos floating around on youtube.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today?   Inspiration, for me, comes from anything. i could be sitting on the porch and start to whistle a melody or it could be a personal issue, maybe a friend that is going through a situation, it could just be a great day or a bad day at work... inspiration is all around.

What have been your biggest obstacles?  

Fear... fear of taking chances, writing songs that may not be well received. 

What advice would you give other bands or artists?  Take chances.. write with meaning.. and do it because you love it, not for the 50.00 you may make lol

How do you get psyched for a gig?  

Turn on my amp!!!  lol

Do you have any new material?  

Yes, we'll begin tracking in April. 

What are your web sites?  www.silk9.com and www.facebook.com/silk9rises

How can people reach you? email tosilk9@comcast.net or PM from FB band page or you can PM me on my personal page

Social media addresses? see above :)

What are your plans for the future? release more music and play some gigs this year away from pgh!

What do you think of my work?  Always good to have the forces that drive any scene hard at work!!

How do you think that this interview could help you in the local music scene and beyond?  I would love for people to get to our website and listen to some of your songs.. if they like it or if they don't i would love some feedback. if you like what we do, please come to a show. shake our hands, let us know you appreciate what we do.. and i always give out free shit!!   ha!

What is one thing even your biggest fans don't know about the band?  How much time and effort Jamie and I have put into getting this band on its feet in such a short period of time. We pride ourselves on that fact alone.

Do you have anything to add?  I think we hit it all.. Thank you so much for letting me share this infor with you and your fans and i hope everyone will be at the barton trap on june 11th and look us up on itunes and all the download site to pick up some of our music... CHEERS!!!