Your new record is more complex and it’s got a harder rock edge to it. Did you consciously want to change your music direction?
No, we didn’t. It just sort of happened. I know what you mean, and our new songs are heavier and the rhythms are a little more complex, but then there’s other songs that are pretty straight-forward and poppy as well. If you look at any of our records, it’s always kind of been like that. We’ve had a lot of diverse stuff. We’ve had heavy, heavy songs and pretty soft songs on the same record. That’s something I’ve always liked. When I listen to a record, I like it to be a little bit dynamic.
You’re one of the headlining bands at Bamboozle. Do you like playing at big festivals?
Yeah I do. It’s definitely different from what we usually do with playing club shows and stuff but it’s a nice change. We’re doing six weeks of touring right now and most of it’s indoor in medium-size clubs so it’s nice to switch it up and play outside for a day.
What sort of show will you be putting on? Will kids go mad? Do you encourage circle pits on the dance floor?
Yes, I do. I’ve been known to encourage a circle pit or two. I just want people to have a good time and I want people to be excited about what we’re doing. I try to rev people up and get them going. It’s harder when you’re playing a festival because there are just so many bands, and there’s so much going on, and you have to kind of win people over. I look at that as a challenge and I welcome it.
Is there anyone you’re excited to see at Bamboozle?
The Get Up Kids. I gotta look at the line-up. There’s a lot of my friends’ bands playing that I’ll go check out, but mostly The Get Up Kids because they’re one of my favorite bands.
So, are you guys as angsty, aggressive and hardcore as your music makes you out to be?
That’s a hard question. I would say we’re not as hardcore, or whatever, as our music but that’s like asking Cannibal Corpse if they really kill people, you know what I mean? Of course they don’t. Let’s be honest—for every band, it’s entertainment, that’s what it is. So there’s always going to be an element of surrealness to it but at the same time I don’t go up on stage pretending to be someone or something I’m not. I enjoy what I do and I get up there as myself, you know, and that’s the best answer I can give you.
A Shipwreck In The Sand is available now. Catch Silverstein at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, NJ, on April 23 and at the Bamboozle Festival in E. Rutherford, NJ, on May 3. For more info, visit silversteinmusic.com.
