Archive for February, 2010

Galesburg’s Silence Before Suicide plans to dress to impress for their performance Saturday at Winter’s West Wing for the “To: Haiti From: Quincy” benefit. The group dons costumes for their high intensity show and looking to gain more fans, since this is only their second performance in Quincy.

The “To: Haiti From: Quincy” Winter’s West Wing show is from 7 to 11 p.m. and features rock music from Quincy’s Predawn Hour, Silence Before Suicide and Hannibal’s Nowake. Ticket’s are available, but patrons may pay at the door as well.

Below is a Q&A with the group:

MEMBERS
Rob Burton: Guitar/backing vocals
Mike West: Bass/backing vocals
Corey Disbennett: Drums
Jake Dillon: Vocals/keys

Silence Before Suicide

BEGINNING
Silence Before Suicide was originally the brainchild of singer Jake Dillon and guitarist Rob Burton in mid-October 2007 in Galesburg. Their goal was to create a band that was as involved in it’s music as it was in current events, politics, and it’s community. After adding drummer Corey Disbennett (Formerly of Stasis) to the group, the trio turned to bassist Mike West, who was known as one of the most virtuous bass players in the area.

SILENCE BEFORE SUICIDE MUSIC
Disbennett: “I would call it activist alternative/metal. Music with a message. Most of our songs are about a specific topic, whether it be the media, war or money.”

INSPIRATION
Disbennett: “Obviously there is the personal motivation for wanting to get your own musical thoughts and ideas out there, but as a whole, we simply look at what is going on around us on both a small and large scale.  If there is something going on in the community, state, country or world that is morally questionable, we tend to feed off of that and use it to fuel the fire that is Silence Before Suicide.”

Burton: “We just get lost in the moment of whatever we feel at any particular time. If we’re amped up about something, aggravated, groovy or just plain ticked off it comes through in the music. Sometimes our feelings toward political ideals comes into play. We try and open peoples eyes and minds up to what’s going on in the world around them.”

West: “Injustice, corporationism,the guise of freedom masking an ever-growing police state presence and social conformity… and gravy.”

Dillon: “Lyrically, our approach is very defined. We try to attack important subjects while still leaving room for listeners to make their own interpretation. We also try to fuse as many different styles of lyrical (singing, rapping, screaming) and musical (funk, folk, rock, metal) approaches as possible.”

COSTUMES
West: “As for stage outfits, I try to represent the derailment of social and gender roles.
And I’m not telling where I get my outfits.”

Disbennett: “Personally, I have always thought that if someone is paying money to come see us, we need to put on the best show possible.  It’s another thing we have to offer as part of the show, you don’t see a whole lot of bands wearing color coordinating costumes on stage… it’s just another way we stand out from the majority.”

Dillon: “The idea for costumes or coordinated dress has long been an idea that we wanted to use to stand out, to create a definite ambiance, and to really cross that line between imagination and reality. We have used all kinds of different dress, from military dress greens to long underwear, and we’ve found, especially in our region, that it helps give people another reason to talk about us besides our music.”

STAGE SHENANIGANS
Disbennett: “Craziest experience with this band on stage was the Thanksgiving show in 2008 when the Galesburg Police Department decided to try and shut the show down but refused to give us a reason why. They tried kicking out everyone under 21, which was a good chunk of the crowd at this show, so we brought everyone who was about to leave up onto the tiny stage and rocked the house with a good 20-30 people right next to us.”

Burton: “Simply put, the best thing that has happened to us on stage, is every time we step on stage. Just the chance to perform for people that want to listen and be enlightened is enough for me.”

Dillon: “The biggest and proudest moment for me was our second place finish @ the Tri-State Battle of the bands last year in Ft. Madison, IA. Not only did we go there with no intention of trying to even place, we had a great time and met many bands that we have had play in our town since then. It was a great networking opportunity. We also opened for our first national touring act last year, Psychostick. It was the largest audience we’ve played for to date.”

RECORDINGS
We released our first self-titled EP in August last year (2009).

PLANS FOR 2010
Right now, our plans are to keep working on writing our 2nd record. We also plan on returning to the Battle in Ft. Madison later this year to make more connections so we can keep bringing new music to our town. Part of Silence Before Suicide’s mission has been to help strengthen our local music scene in Galesburg, and that mission will never change.

PERFORMING IN QUINCY
Dillon: “Quincy has been a very pleasant surprise for us. We played our first show there last Friday (Feb. 19) and the reception from people was amazing. We really found ourselves comfortable in Quincy, and it reminds us of our hometown in that the music scene here seems very unified. We have done most of our work with two Quincy bands, Predawn Hour and Small Time Crook. Both of them have come to play in Galesburg, and have been two of the few bands we’ve played with who have invited us to their town in return. Last Friday we were also introduced to some of Quincy’s hip hop scene, which to our surprise has a ton of talented artists. We definitely plan on having Predawn Hour and Small Time Crook back to Galesburg, but we’re also already talking with rapper Bill Blast and hip-hop group The Krazy Caucasionz about coming to Galesburg.”

West: “Playing Quincy is a good time. The kids like to get down. Of course we are looking forward to playing Saturday.”

Disbennett: “We were in Quincy this last Friday when we played @ Turner Hall with Small Time Crook and company and it felt like home away from home.  We had an unbelievable time, the crowd fed off of us and vice versa.  We can’t wait to be back this weekend and certainly hope to be back as soon as possible.”

Burton: “We were greeted in Quincy with widely open arms. The energy from the people there was a very warm welcome. I personally can’t wait to get back on stage in a great town in front of great people.”

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com