Soundtrack4Life Interviews Joe Silva

It's a great pleasure to be able to post this little interview with one of my musical buddies, Joe Silva. Joe was one time drummer of the the 80's band The Threats and is now establishing himself as a solo artist. He's toured the UK supporting Mike Peters and has played at The Gathering in Wales on the same bill as The Alarm.

Click on the links to enjoy the music and visit the sites.

 Picture by Andy Labrow.

Doug: It's been a busy year for you, what's been your highlight or highlights?
  

Joe at Abbey Road Studios, London (Pic from Joe Silva)

Joe: Recording at Abbey Road Studios, Touring the USA with my 'Blue Acoustic Tour' that included performing in my home state of Rhode Island with B.B. King, playing a breast-cancer benefit with Billy Squier in Massachusetts, and sitting in with Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins' band on drums in Los Angeles while he sat on the stage and cheered me on......and I could go on. It was another very special year for me.

 Joe's book is available from Amazon.

Doug: Having just published your first book, and your wife being a writer as well is there a battle to see who can come up first with the second book?

Joe: My wife and I don't compete on who will publish the next book... I think that both of us understand that anything worth doing is worth doing right, which takes time. It would be a mistake to rush a literary work just to get it out there quicker, as you know... Kim is thinking about a follow-up to 'Life at the End of the Tunnel' (a story about losing a loved-one to cancer in real-time) with the story told the eyes of her children.

 
Doug: You've just opened a shop as well? What's that all about?

Joe: When I'm not touring, I can be found at our new shop, Pea Poddery, which is a paint-your-own pottery studio in my home town. We have been open for three weeks and have been swamped with customers. It is great to see folks of all ages putting their electronics away and becoming creative. Kim and I decided that we wanted to start a business that would enrich the lives of people, so we came up with ideas (Kim had the initial idea of a pottery studio), studied the demographics and decided that there would be a real want for this type of shop in our area, and so far it has been extremely successful.

 Doug: Have you begun work on a follow-up album to 'Blue' yet and can we expect that in 2014?
  
Joe: All of the songs for my follow-up CD 'Blue' have been recorded, and we are now in mix-down stage. Anton Fig (Late Show w/ David Letterman drummer) is producing this CD, as he did for 'Blue'. It will be released in 2014, and includes a version of David Bowie's 'Starman' that Ace Frehley of the band KISS plays lead guitar on.

Doug: Will the New England Patriots get to another Super Bowl this season?
  
Joe: Regarding The Patriots, of course I am hoping that they make another Super Bowl appearance, but the team is getting hit with injury after injury, which complicates the big-picture predictions... Your team, The Broncos, are looking good this year!

Doug: Do you still get to play drums at all these days or are you just focusing on the guitar and singing?
  
Joe: I do still play drums whenever I can (my first love)... When I play shows in New England, I perform with my full band, and will get behind the drum kit for at least half of the show. When I tour far away places, I tend to perform acoustically, as being on the road is becoming more and more expensive when traveling with a full entourage.

Doug: There was some talk about you getting into local politics as well at some point, is that still on the cards?
  
Joe: I haven't ruled out a run for Mayor in my hometown as of yet next year, but I may opt to back another candidate who would be willing to adopt my plans for the town so I may continue to perform and make a positive impact globally.

Doug: What are your hopes for 2014?

 Joe: Hopes for 2014 include another tour in the UK, Ireland and USA. Of course, I hope that we as humans progress more toward curing diseases and finding solutions that lead to sustainable peace on our planet as we face another new year, and make life less about the newest electronic gadgets or purely selfish gains. I also hope that all of my friends remain well throughout 2014, which includes you. 

 Find out more about Joe from his Website.


Some Music From Joe.
Didn't Mean It Like This (Promo Video).
Blue (Promo Video).
Celluloid Heroes (Live 2012).
Happy Christmas (War is Over).
Letters From War (Live at King Tuts 2012).

Joe Silva New Video - Didn't Mean It Like This (June 2013)

 (Me with Joe Silva at King Tuts, Glasgow November 2012)

(Joe with Koda the Wolf who appears in his latest video)

Joe Shared this story as part of the posting of his latest video:

WHEN DADDY LEAVES HOME...

  I was a 7-year-old boy, taking my evening bath when my Dad came into the bathroom to tell me he was leaving home. After witnessing my parent's quarrels over the years, it didn't come as a complete shock, yet I recall feeling devastated that my own father was actually leaving his family. A sinking sadness washed over me as I heard the crying of my mother and four sisters seep into the bathroom from the bedroom down the hall that my parents once shared. I got my pajamas on and joined them on the bed. As my Mom shouted out "Listen to your crying children!", and the sound of the closing door exponentially evoked more tears, I promised myself that if I ever had kids, leaving home would never be an option.
Although every divorce situation has its own unique set of stories, one theme that remains constant is the feeling of abandonment, confusion, and loss that a child faces in the wake of parents divorcing. I remember some very awkward and uncomfortable moments where I uncharacteristically lied in effort to pad the feelings of one parent or another. There was the first Christmas morning after the divorce, when Dad came to pick up my sisters and me for a few hours. When I got to his car he handed me a fruit basket, requesting that I give it to my mother. I brought it inside where my Mom insisted that I return it to him, and to tell him that he could keep his damned fruit basket. Instead of doing that, I left it in the garage and told him that Mom said "Thanks, and Merry Christmas"... There was another time when my mother finally began dating, and when the man who eventually became my step-father was visiting, my father showed up unexpectedly. I walked up to his car and he asked if I wanted to go out for ice-cream. When I got into his car, he asked who's vehicle was parked at the house. I lied again and told him it was Mom's girlfriend from work. He got out of the car and entered our house. I heard muffled shouting before Dad returned to the car. He said nothing, as my own silence swirled around in my head while I tried to figure out where my eyes should look while the atmosphere in the car became vacuum-like.
Thankfully, the relationship with my father developed into a loving one throughout the years, and I eventually was blessed with two fantastic children of my own. From the moment that they breathed their first breaths, I experienced the deepest love I've ever felt, which grew deeper with each passing year via 1st foot-steps and words, bonding moments on ball-fields, healing kisses on 'Boo-Boos', and child-to-parent questions during tuck-in bed-times. Unfortunately, the relationship between my wife and I did not follow the same trend and was in decline. I eventually realized that I needed to do the very thing that I most strongly pledged I would never do - Leave Home.
Even as divorce papers were served, I stayed in the house as long as I could to be with my kids. The inevitable dark day that I needed to leave home was the worst day of my life, as my kids locked themselves onto my legs so I wouldn't be able to walk away to my car. I saw my own 7-year-old face in the tears on my young son, while both he and my daughter screamed "Daddy - NO - Don't Go Daddy!!" over and over and over again... I pulled out of the driveway that night the same way that I would every single week for a year that followed each time I dropped the kids off from a visit with me - crying my eyes out while my children did the same as they pressed themselves against their mother's window and waved good-bye...
Divorce is never a good thing, but I do hope that everyone who needs to go through that process keeps the best interest of all involved children at the forefront of each decision, conversation, and action. I am fortunate to be able to say that my kids and I have extremely close relationships with each other. Whenever we are together, they treat me like it's Father's Day every day...
'DIDN'T MEAN LIKE THIS' is a song that I wrote of the pain that a father feels when leaving home... at least this Dad. The recording was Produced by the 'Late Show w/ David Letterman' drummer, Anton Fig. PLEASE SHARE with every person you know that is going through a divorce, or has in the past. They will know that they are not alone...

Mike Peters and Joe Silva in Scotland 3rd and 4th November 2012

The Red Poppy tour made its way to Scotland this past weekend.

Saturday 3rd November they played at The Electric Circus in Edinburgh and on Sunday 4th November they were at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.

Mike Peters Videos from the Electric Circus

When Everything Was Perfect

Without A Fight

One Guitar/Rescue Me 

The Deceiver

Spirit of '76

Declaration/Marching On

Mike Peters Videos From King Tuts

Breed Apart 

Hardland

Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke 

Deeside/Majority 

45RPM

Chance

68 Guns

Joe Silva Videos From King Tuts

Letters From War

97 Angels

Blue