Silverstein's Shane Told on the tragedy behind "Skin & Bones"

INTERVIEW: Alessandro DeCaro

 While one might think a band already halfway through the third decade of their career would begin to slow down and lose their creative spark, for Canadian rock outfit Silverstein, they miraculously become bigger, better, more relevant, and invigorated than ever before. This upward trajectory is no coincidence, though,  in that Silverstein has always been driven by the same DIY and hard-working ethos they have had since the beginning of their journey, which started in a small Toronto suburb all the way back in 2000. 

Now, Silverstein, which is comprised of Shane Told (Vocals), Paul Koehler (Drums), Billy Hamilton (Bass), Josh Bradford (Guitar), and Paul Marc Rousseau (Guitar)  are entering what is perhaps the most pivotal moment of their current era thus far as they gear up for the release of their yet-to-be-announced twelfth full-length album. Recorded in the desolate yet musically inspiring landscape of Joshua Tree, California, Silverstein created what they firmly believe is among some of their best work to date, free from outside distractions and open to whatever organically inspires them. 

Fans received their first taste of Silverstein's new album with the lead single "Skin & Bones," resulting in near-universal acclaim for critics and fans alike due to the all-encompassing sound of the track that covers just about every sonic path the band has taken over the last 25 years as well as the song's intensely personal subject matter. "Skin & Bones" documents the tragic and unexpected murder of vocalist Shane Told's ex-girlfriend of seven years. Throughout the three-and-a-half-minute-long song, Told confronts every emotion possible headfirst, from anger, sadness, and grief, to make sense of the concept of mortality and ultimately find some semblance of hope in the process. The result is a song that was not only profoundly cathartic for Told on a personal level but also serves as a touching and relatable tribute to a person he loved and cared about who was taken far too soon that will now be forever memorialized in a piece of music that will ultimately live on for years to come. 

In an exclusive interview with The Pretty Cult, Silverstein frontman Shane Told discusses the tragic and deeply personal backstory of the band's latest single, "Skin & Bones," the concept of mortality, recording in Joshua Tree, California for their upcoming twelfth full-length album, and so much more. 

Your latest single, "Skin & Bones," from a purely sonic perspective, feels like the most all-encompassing track of your career as it somehow merges everything Silverstein have done as a band for nearly 25 years between your new modern sound and a throwback to your earlier post-hardcore roots. I understand this was a track you collaborated on with your longtime producer, Sam Guiana, and you also enlisted some new blood with Austin Coupe and Joshua Landry. What was your vision for the track?

Shane Told: For this upcoming album that is coming out, which we will be sharing more information with you all soon, was the first time I did some co-writing on my own. I don't know why it took me so long to agree to [co-writing], but I think a big part is that I now live in Las Vegas, which is close to the hustle and bustle of LA, where a lot of that happens. I wrote with a few different people, not knowing what to expect, but really had some magic with Josh and Austin. They're two guys who are a bit younger than me and grew up listening to my band, and I found that to be inspiring in a cool way where I was almost like getting a professional and fan opinion at the same time. 

We worked on a couple of songs, but this one really came organically, and there wasn't a lot of discussion. Austin picked up a guitar and started noodling around. The next thing we knew, we had the chromatic riff you hear in the beginning, the driving verse, and the massive chorus. Once we put the ideas together, we wondered what we would do with the song's bridge. I often feel like the idea of breaking it down, starting small, building back up, and taking it on a journey has been a bit of a lost art in our scene for a long time. I went back and thought about what I would have done twenty years ago, and that's how that tapping guitar part came about. 

I didn't have any finalized lyrics or what the vocal delivery would be until I took it back to my home studio. At the time, I had been going through a pretty tragic loss of my ex-girlfriend. We were together for seven years between the ages of 18 and 25. She passed away in March, and it was a murder. It was a really fucked up situation, very sudden and very horrible, so I was still dealing with that. Because her and I spent so much time in the early days, even before the band got going, some of the throwback nature of the parts in the song and something about what I was going through felt like I needed to write about it. I didn't have to dig deep; it was just there. 

When writing lyrics, sometimes you really have to work and struggle and spend a whole night coming up with four lines, but there are also other times when it's like something is just feeding you the words… This whole thing just came out of me organically. I even used some references to The Lord Of The Rings, which was her favorite thing, while also discussing our relationship, how I was feeling about it, and what I took away from [the situation]. There were so many emotions: anger and sadness, but also hope that maybe there is more out there. When it all came together, being able to deliver the emotion of the verse and the raw frustration of the bridge really came out special and is vocally sort of everything I do in one song. 

I am incredibly sorry for your loss, but It's beautiful and so commendable that you have paid tribute to her in a song that will ultimately live on longer than all of our time on this earth. 

Told: For sure, that's not lost on me, but this is bigger. Her and her loss are bigger than me, bigger than the band and it was important for me to pay tribute to that. 

After hearing lines in the song like "We made amends, but never said goodbye," it feels like they hit so hard emotionally when analyzing the song in that context. With that being said, when you were gearing up to release the song, did it feel daunting to invite listeners into such a profoundly tragic event? 

Told: It did, and part of it is that there was so much more that I wanted to say. How much can you fit into a three-minute song? I could have written a third, fourth, and fifth verse, but I think the most important thing was to [reference] The Lord Of The Rings and how much it meant to her. The first time I met her, she asked me if I read The Lord Of The Rings, and I said, "No, I've only read The Hobbit," and she was like," Oh, The Hobbit sucks, you have to read The Lord Of The Rings, I've read it four times, and when I got to the end of the book for the first time, I cried because it was over, but then realized I could read it again and again and it would always be with me," so that's kind of where that message comes from. 

It's obviously a metaphor for life and our memories that even if something is gone, we still have the memory we can re-live. Memories change, and your perception does change, which is part of the scariness, but those memories will always be with me, and they [ultimately] shaped who I am. 

Thank you so much for sharing. "Skin & Bones" is really a triumph and such an impactful and special song. 

Told: I [honestly] didn't think this song would end up leading this whole [new album] campaign. That surprised me, and I think if you were to hear all the other new songs, you might not think it screams “lead single," but our drummer and manager Paul [Koehler] thought it would be cool, and I had not even considered it. It's been very nice to see such an overwhelmingly positive reaction. It feels good and makes me feel good about the rest of [the album] because the stuff we have coming is even better. Of course, music is subjective, but I think there are songs on the album that could have worked way better as a starting block for the campaign, but  so far, so good; I think it's been a great decision. 

I am eagerly awaiting the new album and can't wait to dive into it, not to mention that the band has always been celebrated for its consistency and never putting out a record that falls flat. It must feel so liberating that the band can feel as relevant and modern as ever while also being regarded for the classic albums and their nostalgia. 

Told: We always work hard on our records, but I think we end up working harder and harder with every record. I think that has maybe been the secret to the ongoing success of our albums and how they keep getting better overall. We're on an upward trajectory that we are super proud of.I think it gets hard for bands to continue to expand, grow, and make quality music, but I think part of [why it has worked] is just the work ethic we [have.] 

We're not getting into our old age and starting to semi-retire; that's not the case at all. I spend so much time working on this band, way more than I did when we were working on our [previous] classic records. I really do think our fans enjoy all of our records, and we have a cult following. We'll always play the hits, but it's cool that we can dive into newer stuff, and people will still be there for us. 

In many ways, I think it's become a right of passage for bands to go to the desert to make a pivotal album in their career,  so it's really awesome that Silverstein finally got to have their "Joshua Tree Moment" this time around for your yet-to-be-announced twelfth full-length album. What is it about the desert that you found so inspiring, and how did it shape these new songs? 

Told: I think it was what we needed this time. As a band that has done a lot of records, we usually look at the snapshot in time and think about what we need to do to make it great. When we were making our second record, Discovering The Waterfront, we went to California, which was new to us, and we did the drums at Capitol Records, and it was a great experience. We did that again for our third record, but it wasn't a great experience, so we decided to make our fourth record at home. 

We wanted the comfort of our own beds every night, and we ended up making a lot of records in Canada [as a result]. For this record though, we wanted to venture out again. There is the comfort of making a record and being able to sleep in your bed every night, but there are also the distractions of home, whether that's the laundry piling up in the corner or any of the mundane details of life that distract you from what's the most important, which was the album. Joshua Tree seemed like such a blank canvas of space; it's so desolate, empty, and quiet, so that just felt like a really great way to escape from a  crazy last few years of noise. We were able to unplug and figure out how to make these songs special. That environment worked coupled with an awesome studio that was actually owned by the guitarist of [90s grunge icons] Blind Melon. 

The owner lives on the studio property with his wife and kid, and they were just the most gracious hosts to us. His wife Heather would bring us cookies and Hors d'oeuvres while we were working, and the owner would tell us all of these crazy stories from touring in the '90s, it really was such a positive experience. I know the Joshua Tree thing has become a bit cliche, but for us, it worked out perfectly, and not to mention, there was a good reason for us doing that. At the time, I was applying for a United States green card, and I wasn't allowed to leave the country, so we had to make the record in the US as opposed to Canada, so it worked out perfectly. I don't know if we will do it again; maybe it will be a one-time special thing. Maybe we can make a record in Hawaii or something? [Laughs.]

You are also a month or so away from your appearance at the highly-anticipated 3rd run of the When We Were Young Festival, where you will be playing your beloved sophomore album Discovering The Waterfront in its entirety. What are you looking forward to the most about this festival? When you play these songs, which are just shy of twenty years old now, do you still feel the same emotional and personal connection as you did when you first wrote them? 

Told: I still feel really great about that record, and I wouldn't change a fucking note on that thing. When we finished it, I thought it was pretty good and knew it was better than our first album, but never anticipated it having this much success. I can remember the amount of records we sold the first week and the Billboard Top 200 chart positions being pretty crazy because this did not usually happen for bands like us at that time. That album paved the way for our entire career and really for my entire life. It's a record I'll never turn my back on, and I'm happy to play it for everyone in Vegas as a celebration of our scene alongside bands like My Chemical Romance and others who put out special records around the same time as us. 

In addition to When We Were Young, you are also playing a one-off headline show at an American Legion Hall in Vegas ahead of the festival. That must feel so full circle, considering you got your start playing sweaty, intense shows in VFW halls and basements in your hometown of Burlington/Oakville, Ontario, Canada. 

Told: When I first moved to Vegas, I saw the band Judiciary playing at [the American Legion Hall]. I didn't know what to expect, but as soon as I walked in, I was transported back to 1995 —  it felt just like a hardcore show I went to at fourteen years old. 

Everything about it, from the makeshift PA, lights and stage — down to the people going outside to smoke between band's sets, it all felt so cool. I've gone to a couple of little shows like that here in Vegas since, and I really appreciate it. And try to check them out [whenever I can]. I thought it would be cool to play our own little punk show, so I asked about it, and thankfully the hall was available, so we booked it, and it ended up selling out in five minutes. It's gonna be a blast! 

Before we wrap up here, I want to touch on "Skin & Bones" again. What do you hope listeners will take away from this song, and is there a message you can offer fans who have experienced loss and unexpected tragedy?

Told: I think the biggest thing to remember is that you are not alone. This is something that everyone goes through, unfortunately, at some point in their life, and it's important to know that there is support out there for you, whether that's friends and family or resources that can help you cope with grief and understand it. I think it's important for people to realize that though in the moment it can feel like the end and it will never feel better, it does get better. It's always going to be a part of you, but how you deal with it and understand it does change, and in some ways, you can learn a lot about yourself from it. I've gone through a lot of different stages of grief, but I think it's been important for my coping mechanisms. Unfortunately, horrible things happen to really good people, but it's important to take it day by day if you can because you will come out on the other side. 

I'll say one more thing: I'm not a spiritual person in terms of religion, but the first time we played "Skin & Bones" live was a very odd show. We played it on a boat in the New York Harbor to 600 people while we went around Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty. It was a smaller boat, which does get some rocking, but the boat was relatively calm for the set. However, the second we played "Skin & Bones," the boat started rocking back and forth. Now, I'm not a religious person, but that definitely did something to me at that moment. It made me think maybe there is something more, and we don't know everything. Maybe that was her sending me a message? I don't know, but that moment was not lost on me, and I've thought about it a lot. I know that can help people, too, knowing that there could be more out there and no one really knows what happens when we die. TPC 

"Skin & Bones" by, Silverstein is out now via UNFD. 

Additionally, the band has announced the '25 Years Of Noise' North-American Tour w/ Thursday. See below for tour dates.