If not for Jeff Gutt, the new powerhouse rock trio known as Silverthorne may never have come into being, and veteran drummer/songwriter Brian Tichy may never had had a chance to form his own band. And the world of rock music fans would have been deprived of some kick-ass, classic-sounding hard rock music.
Gutt was hired as the new vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots by the band’s founders, brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo in 2017, putting the kibosh on a project that they were working on alongside Tichy and soon-to-be bandmate, British singer/guitarist Pete Shoulder of the band The Union. This led to a friendship between Tichy and Shoulder that was the foundation of what became that passion project for Tichy, Silverthorne, coming to fruition last year. The band released its scene-setting debut single, Tear the Sky Wide Open recently, in anticipation of the issuance of an EP in the near future.
“Pete was in a band called The Union and they opened for Whitesnake on a UK tour when I was playing drums for Whitesnake [from 2010 to early 2013] and we met at that time, although we didn’t really hang out. But I do remember hearing him sing. I would get to the venue and they were opening up and I was like, ‘who is this amazing singer? He’s got a killer voice.’ And I made a note of that. But that was that, I thought,” said Tichy, best known to rock fans as a former member of Whitesnake and Foreigner among many other high-profile projects.
“A few years later we got reacquainted and reconnected because I had a project going on with the DeLeo brothers from Stone Temple Pilots. We had recorded some music together without a singer and the idea was that hopefully we could find a great singer and make the project into a band. They didn’t have an STP singer at the time and they weren’t really sure about the future of that band. So, Pete came into the fold. Somebody knew somebody who knew him, and the guys heard about him and they sent me a tape of him singing and I thought he was amazing. And it ended up, like, oh that’s the guy in The Union who opened up for Whitesnake. We all made a record together [that was never released and likely won’t ever be] and I soon realized that not only is Pete a great musician and a great lyricist, singer and guitar player, but also a great guy. We all hit it off and made a record.
“Somewhere around that time, the guys found what they felt was the right singer to move forward with STP [Gutt] and they had to make a decision. It was really difficult to have an existing band, especially one that is really successful and with a big history, to get back moving when you have this new thing going on. So, they had to make up their minds and we understood that STP was the priority because we’re all big fans of that band. It’s their life’s work, it’s their baby. The chose to move in that direction which was the right decision, and Pete and I chose to try to make lemonade with lemons. Soon after I was talking with him and asked him to come out to California from England and try writing and recording together and see what happens.”
What happened was a series of fun and highly productive sessions that led both Tichy and Shoulder to conclude that the creation of a new musical entity could indeed happen. After some delays because of outside touring commitments and putting in place a business infrastructure, the newly minted Silverthorne approached Australia’s Golden Robot Records late last year, signing a deal and filling out the musical triumvirate with the addition of bassist Daniel Spree.
“He has been a friend of mine for a long time. We played together out here in L.A. a lot. He is a great bass player, great singer and a great guy also,” said Tichy, adding that an EP is coming out late in the year, or early 2020.
Thus far, Silverthorne has released the incendiary and badass single/video for Tearing the Sky Wide Open, which showcases each band member’s virtuosity as players, but also Tichy and Shoulder’s chemistry as songwriters.
“Pete wrote pretty much all the lyrics for that song. We go back and forth a lot on every level of the songwriting process. I ask him what he thinks about certain drumbeats and drum fills. So, it’s not just me doing my stuff without me talking to him. I definitely want his opinions and it’s the same with him. He will come with a bunch of lyrics and I am usually like, ‘wow man, this is great stuff.’ He had the initial riff and I reacted to it immediately. It was powerful, and I knew there was something special there that was immediate and hooky and catchy. And from there we just went down the songwriting process,” Tichy explained.
“There was a lot of give and take and that’s what’s great about being a songwriter with someone and you’re both on the same page. It’s awesome if you’re a songwriter on your own and you can sit there and come up with an entire song by yourself – that’s completely amazing. But I also love when you have something, but you don’t have all the answers. You have a piece and the other person has a piece and when you put them together it’s like a chemical reaction. Pete and I are similar in what we think about in the studio; we analyze things in a similar way.
“Lyrically, the song is basically more or less saying don’t do drugs. You get caught up with something and you think you can handle it, but before you know it, it owns you and you can’t do anything about it, and you’re engulfed by it. You really don’t want to have things like that happen to you. You want too be in control.”
As mentioned earlier, Tichy has been behind the kit demonstrating his talent and versatility for a host of legendary rock acts, including the aforementioned Whitesnake, Foreigner, Billy Idol and The Dead Daisies supergroup among others, earning a reputation for his proficiency and professionalism. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to move from band to band, project to project, but Tichy has embraced the diversity of experiences and said that while early in his career he may have preferred to find one band and stick with it for the entirety of his career, the opportunities he has had over the past 25 years make up for the solidity of being in one entity.
“As much as I want to see my own band happen, I am glad that I have had the opportunity to tour the world and play with amazing bands – bands that I literally bought their records and learned how to play drums and guitar to. That in itself is just really cool. And that’s what keeps me going and keeps me looking forward. Honestly, I didn’t know I could do certain things or play with certain people until it happened. I didn’t even know I could handle being a drummer on tour period. I never thought much about it though, and until you get out there and do it you never know. Some people say they can’t handle touring, they can’t handle the travel or the pressure to perform night after night. It’s not for everyone,” he explained.
“I have played with the bands that I grew up with, whether it be Whitesnake, or Foreigner, Ozzy or say Don Felder. I played a bunch of shows with Don, and just to play Hotel California with the guy who wrote it is just amazing. I have always appreciated the opportunities I had to do some shows with him. Then there was working with Steven Tyler three separate times as his drummer in the studio and live – that was insane, as was touring as Ozzy’s drummer with Ozzfest for a tour was amazing. Anything like that where I am involved as the drummer in a band that inspired me, and working alongside amazing guitar players, whose pictures I had on my wall, they’re now my friends that I have either recorded or toured with, is just great.
“Meeting your idols where you’re not meeting them as a fan but meeting them as some sort of peer is incredible, because they’re aware of what you do and have seen what you’ve accomplished. That’s the stuff that keeps you going and makes you feel good about your career. If it happens, does that mean it’s the last time it’s going to happen? No, I gotta keep going; I’ve got to take advantage of my experience and knowledge and try to make the best of every opportunity in the future. I definitely know more of what it’s like to be what you can call a hired gun and be in and out of a number of bands. Whereas a guy like Neil Peart or Alex Van Halen doesn’t, they only know how to be in Van Halen and Rush. And that to me was always the coolest thing. As a kid you’re listening to your favourite bands and you’re buying the posters and dreaming of someday doing that. Being in one band for your career that was always the pinnacle for me. I ended up being a musician that somebody hears about and offers me an audition for this or that. It’s an opportunity to get involved in a project that’s moving, that’s already successful. So, now you get a taste of touring, a taste of earning some money through your talent and if your career carries on down that path, great. A lot of people love that. I have had a great time doing that, but all along I have wanted to see my own band happen more than anything.”
One interesting collaboration that has turned into a long-term friendship is Tichy’s work with Canadian songstress Sass Jordan. He played on her 1994 Rats album and was part of her touring band. And they pair reunited for a project called Something Unto Nothing (S.U.N) a few years ago.
“it was a great experience. She is an amazing singer. I did the Rats album back in the day and we met through the guitar player Stevie Salas who wrote that record with her. I was friends with him and ended up in the studio for that. I think I also did a little Canadian run with her that summer. And then many years later we reconnected and put a band together. She is great and I hope she is out there as much as she can be playing, because she is an awesome singer, just an effortlessly amazing singer,” he said.
The decision to make and release a Silverthorne EP as opposed to a full-on LP was made for a number of logical and logistical reasons. Tichy had some prior international touring commitments earlier this summer and decided it would be best to focus all their resources on a few excellent songs, rather than dragging out the writing and recording process until he got back from abroad.
“We really made the conscious decision that in this day and age people aren’t buying records and full lengths like they used to. So why put all that time, right now, into finishing, mixing and mastering all that music. Really, we would be better of getting out a solid, ass-kicking EP that represents what we’re about and we’re proud of. We can allow the other time that’s opened up to be dedicated to scheduling the video shoots and arranging artwork and everything else that it took to complete the package prior to me going on the road. It just made sense,” he said.
“It saddens me that full length albums are not as popular as they were. Although I still love it. If I hear a song from a band, I want to buy the record. I want to hear what else they have. But I don’t think it’s like that for the casual music fan anymore. They hear a song on the radio and they only want that one song. But I still want to put out a collection of music that people can sink their teeth into. So, there’s going to be a second single come out in November which we’re in the middle of editing the video for. And this next song is going to come from a classic style that not many bands are putting out there these days. I am talking anything from old Hendrix Band of Gypsies to Free and old Sabbath. It also has a bit of a Temple of the Dog vibe with some real gritty Robin Trower stuff in it. For a trio, we have a big fat band sound, raw and organic, but it’s really about Pete’s killer vocals and the songs.
All in all, Tichy has the best of both worlds, as he is still an in-demand session and live performer but is also ready to unleash this nascent new band on the world – which he, Shoulder and Spree will do once the EP gets out into the popular consciousness of rock fans.
“Listen man, I am really happy to be in this spot now, and to be where we’re at. We’ve got the single and video out now and it’s been getting great response. I am psyched to play with these guys. I still think it’s a cool story where I met Pete in one project and that project didn’t happen and he went his way and I went mine, but then we got back together and it actually worked out there here we are talking about our brand new band that we’re so excited about. We hit it off writing wise; we’re just cut from the same cloth musically and all the ideas of what we want to see this band do are the same,” he said.
“In the music business, for me personally, I can’t imagine anything more satisfying that getting together with cool people, coming up with music and somehow it translates to other people who become fans and enjoy it, and then you get the chances and the opportunities to go out and prove yourself and create more fans and more success and be able to sustain yourself as a band. In this day and age that might be harder than ever, but we’re up for it. And we’re willing to put the time and effort in to make it happen.”
For more information on Silverthorne, visit https://www.facebook.com/silverthorneband, or http://silverthorneband.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
