Q&A: SPEED FROM SILVERTUNG

I chatted with Speed from Sivlertung about their new acoustic EP and their upcoming tour.

Talk about your childhood, where you’re from, etc.

I was raised in Baltimore City. I grew up in a very poor family. My parents did EVERYTHING they could to support us. We grew up on TV dinners, bologna and cheese sandwiches, crackers. It worked out in a weird way because now as a musician on the road, sometimes you have to have those quick not-so-healthy meals regularly.

How does it feel being able to represent Maryland in the music world?

Oh it’s fantastic! Maryland has churned out a few music icons: Frank Zappa, Joan Jett. For us, the fantastic thing is that the state is a diamond of the rough. No one really talks about it. We’ve got some insane talent. It’s an honor, man.

As a singer, how hard is it to keep your voice in check?

Extremely hard. Especially when you’re on the road singing night after night, after night. I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs..I’m a HUGE health nut. Hydration is KEY for someone to perform every night. Partying is great, but I hang out for a bit, and then go get some rest. I feel like if I’m not 100% every night, I’m cheating everyone out of their money.

You recently premiered the video for “Dig.” What is the song about?

The song is about the struggles everyone goes through in life. My struggle can be different from yours. Some people deal with money issues, with suicide, with depression. The theme is to dig deeper and be better.

Why did you decide to release an acoustic EP?

We’ve been doing it off and on. We would slide in some acoustic versions randomly and just have some fun with it. It wans’t every show though. It got to the point where people were actually asking us to do them night after night.

You could say we were enticed to do it more than anything. We re-wrote the music and pulled out the chords. We wanted to see what would happen. It was SUCH a great experience to strip everything away and restart it so to speak.

You have a show coming up on November 22nd. If someone hasn’t seen you guys live, why should they come out?

Because they haven’t seen us. ::laughs:: I PROMISE you, once you’ve seen us you’ll be coming back. If you love rock music, you’ll have a great time. People have driven three hours to see us before. It’s the closest you’ll ever get to heaven.

Silvertung headlines Fish Head Cantina 11/22! Buy tickets

Their new acoustic EP “Lighten Up” is out now! Buy a copy