Interview by Graham Finney
10 questions with …. KILL THE SILENCE
Hi, could you give us a quick introduction to your band?
Hi, we’re Kill The Silence, a Post-Hardcore band from Leeds.
Complete the sentence: You’ll love our band if you’re a fan of …
Alexisonfire, Bring Me The Horizon and Beartooth.
Where can people hear your music?
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and our website.
How did you get involved in #360RAW? And how does it feel to be involved in the opening night?
We were kindly picked out from quite a selection of local acts by Richard and Alan, which is an honour. How could we refuse? We’re coming off the back of a strong end to 2017 and this is looking to be an even stronger year with all this kicking that off.
Nights like #360RAW show that the music scene for new talent is thriving across Yorkshire. What are your thoughts on that scene?
In Yorkshire, and especially surrounding Leeds, the scene is one of the best in the country in my opinion. A lot of people turn up for local bands, of which there are loads, and it’s great to see. Nights like this put the emphasis on just what this city and the rest of Yorkshire has to offer.
What are the ups and downs of being in a young band trying to make a breakthrough?
Personally, I believe it’s when you get over that stage of being a new band, when all your friends have come to your gigs and the novelty wears off for them and the ones who aren’t that into your music stop coming. Which is to be expected, don’t get me wrong. There’s just this little awkward period between then and when you actually start growing a fan base; there are a lot of gigs in there where you’re playing to practically no one and it can be quite heartbreaking at times. A lot of break ups, member changes and arguments happen.
You just need to stick to it and believe in what you’re doing. You can pull through, and in recent months we’ve seen our core fan base start to grow and it’s such a good feeling playing to these new, passionate fans who really love you. I do want to give a shout out to a few fans, they know who they are, who have stuck with us for the longest of time, Thank you!
What are your goals for the next 12 months and beyond?
The EP that we’ve been talking about for over a year now is actually going to happen finally; we’ve managed to get ourselves an incredible bassist to complete our line-up again so we can’t wait to get straight in the studio and put the tracks down. We’ll be featuring some of these at #360RAW1 so all the more reason to come and have a sneak preview!
Do you have any good – or bad – stories from playing gigs across Yorkshire?
This band has existed, through quite a few transformations, for five years, and there are quite a lot of stories, good and bad. Like having someone from another band burst in a room to try and strangle me whilst we were doing a pre-recorded live session, or trying to find the Riverside venue in Selby and ending up at the side of a river. Our favourite memory, though, was when we played a headline show at Temple Of Boom; we started playing our song ‘High In Life’ for an encore and everyone in the room started singing it back at us. It was so unexpected as it had never happened to us before. I’ve got to admit, I shed a tear. It never gets old!
We saw someone at Leeds Festival in a T-shirt that said DON’T MESS WITH YORKSHIRE on the front – what would you have printed on the back?
Probably something like ’cause we don’t give a f**k’. One of my favourite common traits of Yorkshire folk is that we are who we are, no matter what others think.
Thanks for your time. Is there anything you want to say ahead of the gig at #360RAW?
Just make sure you get your tickets quick because it’s looking like it’s going to sell out. Check out our singles – Get Out! Get Out! And Leather – before the show, know the words and sing along!
Just make sure you get your tickets quick. It’s looking like it’s going to be a sell out! ‘Leather’ before the show, know the words and sing along!
