It’s time for our third interview, and it’s the turn of Kill The Silence. This post hardcore four-piece, made up of Jason, Sam, Ian and Joe, became more familiar to us through their collaboration with artist development, marketing and consulting agency, Rock Seen.
Then came a chance meeting at a gig in Manchester with Jason, a successful UK tour with Ashestoangels and Fail The Enemy, and the release of their single “You Should Know” in August, which cemented our love for KTS, so we knew it was only a matter of time before we invited you all to get to know them better too.
Could you introduce yourselves and give us one fact about each of you?
Jay – “I’m Jason, call me Jay though! I’m the lead vocalist & rhythm guitarist of the band. Random fact: I eat too much pizza!”
Sam – “I’m Sam, I grew up in France and I’m bi-lingual (ish). Bit rusty now, I don’t get much chance to speak french anymore!”
Ian – “I’m Ian, I play bass for KTS, and when I was a kid I asked David Cameron why he didn’t like poor people.”
Joe – “My name’s Joe, I’m the drummer of the band and I detest liver in food.”
Where did the name Kill The Silence come from?
“If you’ve ever seen the show Doctor Who, you’ll know what we’re referencing. There are these creatures called ‘The Silence’ that control and manipulate society, subconsciously making decisions for us. When you see one, as soon as you look away you forget you ever saw them. But in the show, the Doctor managed to put a hidden message in the moon landing tape from a Silence saying “You should kill us all on sight”. Hence, we Kill The Silence.”
How was the tour with Ashestoangels and Fail The Enemy?
“Messy, incredibly messy. We loved every second of it though. We’re so thankful to the guys for taking us and Fail The Enemy on tour with them, it’s a completely different gigging experience. We poured our heart into every show and that took us weeks to recover from!”
What are your musical influences?
Jason – “As a band, I would say musically we’re influenced by the sounds of Alexisonfire, Bring Me The Horizon, and a dash of early Lower Than Atlantis. Personally, that’s also where I draw reference from in my songwriting, but I know we will each have our own influences too so I’ll let the guys shout out a few of theirs too!”
Sam – “I don’t really pay attention to who I take influence from, It just depends on what I’ve been listening to.”
Ian – “When I’m writing, I take a lot from inspiration from Frank Turner and John Butler. In regards to playing, my main influences are Tarrant Anderson, Flea, Ryan Martinie and Dave Hollingworth.”
Joe – “My musical influences are the band itself, my daughter, my family, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, and Bury Tomorrow.”
The independent scene is really strong right now with bands supporting like minded bands, putting together their own tours, etc, how do you feel you represent it?
“It’s nice to go out and be a part of the community. For us, the beauty of the independent scene is getting to meet people from all walks of life, creating kick ass shows, and getting to support smaller bands who’re just starting out. Ultimately, our goal is to keep people interested in local music. That’s more important to us than anything else.”
What’s it like working with Rock Seen?
“As sad as this sounds, Donna saved this band. We were in a down and out and honestly thinking about splitting up and trying something else, but we had a meeting with her, one thing led to another and here we are, stronger than ever, with a new single ‘You Should Know’. We’re so proud of how the single turned out and its reception has been fantastic. So yeah, without Donna I don’t even think we’d still be around, never mind where we are today.”
Dream tour line up?
Jay – “Bring Me The Horizon, Don Broco, Post Malone & KTS opening!”
Sam – “I honestly don’t mind so long as I get along with them.”
Ian – “Leprous, Caligula’s Horse, and, of course, Rammstein.”
Joe – “I can’t even think!”
When you’re not making music, how do you spend your time?
Jay – “Well, I’m doing a full time masters course at Leeds Beckett University but other than that I like to chill out streaming whilst playing games with my friends on twitch!”
Sam – “I spend quite a bit of time playing video games. Now and then I end up modding Skyrim till it breaks, because I don’t know when to stop.”
Ian – “Either playing board games or binge-watching TV shows with some mates. I’m currently sinking my teeth into Westworld and loving every minute of it.”
Joe – “Usually with my family or playing video games and smoking copious amounts of cigarettes.”
What’s your favourite tv show or film?
Jay – “I love the MCU. Infinity War is one of my favourite films of all time at this point. TV shows shout out to: Brooklyn 99 and Bojack Horseman.”
Sam – “Not really sure, not much TV. Judge Rinder I guess, ha-ha. Films? To be honest, it changes quite a bit and I couldn’t pick one. Recently I enjoyed Leatherface though. First time I have genuinely enjoyed a modern horror.”
Ian – “Brooklyn 99 and Interstellar.”
Joe – “Definitely White Chicks.”
Cats or dogs?
Jay – “Cats!”
Sam – “I like both, cant have neither because student landlords…I have Sea Monkeys though!”
Ian – “This is tough, because cats are super chill and kinda dumb, but dogs love you unconditionally and are permanently happy to see you. So dogs, just.”
Joe – “Dogs, always dogs!”
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Jay – “Teleportation!”
Sam – “The ability to visit anywhere in space. Might not be as impressive as flying or super strength, but I’ve always been fascinated by space since I was as a kid. If I could open up portals to see other worlds I would be happy with that. Even if I couldn’t go through them, to just stare at places no one has ever seen or will see would be amazing.”
Ian – “Being able to speak, read, and write every language in human history. I think it’d be super interesting to read all the things from thousands of years ago that we can never interpret because they’re written in a dead language. Like Sam says, having that impossible insight into our early history would be amazing.”
Joe – “To be strong willed and overcome any obstacle I face in life.”
Who is the most annoying band member, and who is the nicest?
“Well, when we saw this question everyone pointed to me (Jay) for the most annoying, but I’m also voted the nicest, so I’ll take it!”
What’s next for Kill The Silence?
“We’ve got more tunes on the way, plenty of shows in the works, and we’re planning on making a significant impact on 2019. For us, nothing’s out of the question; It’s all about exponential growth.”
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