In my opinion, The Silos of the late ’80s and early ’90s were a truly unique Rock ‘n Roll band. The band had limitless potential and could have set the tone for a generation of guitar-based rock bands. Those of us involved with the band knew it right away. Although our RCA record got rave reviews, the way the Gainesville/RCA sessions went was a complete disappointment. The album was a flop. (The band’s best recording is a live bootleg recorded on tour by our soundman, Joe Chianicci.) This version of the band remained intact until 1992 and was a powerhouse on tour in the US and Europe. I stayed a bit longer than JD Foster and Bob Rupe, recording more tracks that ended up on later records. My last tour with the band was a grueling six week van tour through Germany, Austria, Spain and Switzerland. The following is the story of my involvement with the band and our only major label recording.

richard ford

In 1987, bassist Richard Ford had just finished working with Joe Jackson and was settling into the independent music scene in New York. Richard had also played with Bill Nelson of Bee Bop Deluxe and many others. Originally from England, Richard came to the US and lived near my hometown of Randolph, New Jersey before settling in Hoboken. He recommended me to work regularly, for which I will be eternally grateful. He is a true musician and would be greatly missed by The Silos at the time of his departure from the band.

The Silos had just been voted best band in america by a Rolling Stone magazine critics poll and were looking for a new rhythm section to get them into major status, getting them signed to a major record company. Richard was asked to play bass and he recommended me for the drum chair. The Silos lineup was Bob Rupe and Walter Salas-Humara on guitars and vocals. Me and Richard Ford on drums and bass.

get signed

In addition to a new rhythm section, the band also had a new business manager; Hoboken real estate agent Mark Zoltak. Mark was a former DJ from New York and was the motivating muscle behind the band. He had great ideas and knew the songs better than us in the band. He regularly spoke his mind and had strong opinions about music. For Mark, music was either great or it sucked. There was no middle ground. Mark really understood the essence of Los Silos. He got it. He devised a business plan to unleash the improved band and sign it to a major label. The band quickly became a live act like no other, playing dozens of industry showcases throughout Los Angeles and the Northeast. The plan worked. In March 1989, the band was signed to RCA Records by label president Bob Buziak. The trick now would be to capture the true essence of the band on a studio recording.

A one man band

I didn’t participate in the day-to-day business of the band, so I can’t explain the logic behind most of the business decisions. As the September recording date approached, it was obvious that there was a power struggle within the band. Specifically, Walter was letting us know that the band was its creation (Subtext: “The record deal is all mine!!”) Although Walter was a strong songwriter, he wasn’t even a appropriate singer or guitarist It was Bob Rupe’s Otis Redding voice and Neil Young’s guitar style that fleshed out Walter’s contributions. It was the way the band executed the songs and the way we played together that made us a great band. I was hoping that Bob would stick to his co-lead status, checking Walter’s takeover. However, to my dismay, Bob took on the role of second in command.

To make matters worse, Walter started hinting about playing drums on the next record. Oh! Just what he needed, right? A month before our scheduled sessions, he invited me to dinner at his apartment. After eating in awkward silence, he turned on the stereo and played songs by great drummers like Al Jackson and Levon Helm. He then played some of our demos, on which I played drums. Out of the blue, he delivered this command: “Start playing as one of these drummers or I’ll find someone else to play drums in the band.” I thought, “What a shower bag!” Sure, those are two great drummers, but not really suited to The Silos’ guitar rock. Also, not the drummer he sought out and hired for greater success: ME! Please do not get me wrong. Most of my job as a drummer has been to listen to others and perform their music as they hear it. It’s also been my experience that when someone does shit like this, there’s usually an ulterior motive. This was the first of many drumming moves on our recordings. It was this need for control that would trump everything else. Even if it meant sabotaging the band’s record deal and their chances of success.

There was a great irony in the fact that the guy who was the worst singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer and producer; in fact, the worst musician in the band was the one who wanted to play all the instruments and do it all himself. Walter had no interest in being a member of the gang, unless maybe it was a one-man gang. His desire to play drums would weigh heavily on our upcoming recording sessions in Gainesville and would eventually overwhelm my desire to work with him entirely. Meanwhile, during a coffee break from one of our many Hoboken demo sessions, Richard revealed to me that he would be resigning and that he would not be joining us in Florida for the recording of the album. For me, that was the beginning of the end.

We keep going. Austin-based JD Foster would replace Richard on bass. Cowboy Junkies producer Peter J. Moore was brought in from Toronto. Ed Bair would handle the house/stage sound, and Peter Yianolis would be the recording engineer and mobile truck operator. On September 25, 1989, the band and crew settled into rented apartments in the city of Gainesville, Florida, ready to record.

Why Gainesville?

During this period of The Silos, my true home was on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City. Richard, Walter, and manager Mark Zoltak lived in nearby Hoboken. Bob lived on the lower east side of Manhattan. We were all within a few miles of each other and within easy reach of midtown Manhattan, home to dozens of the best recording studios in the world. Despite this, Walter somehow convinced the RCA execs that recording our record in New York would be too distracting (from what?). That instead, we would have to record in Gainesville, Florida. The fact that there were no proper recording studios in Gainesville led us to an abandoned theater. We use their stage and halls for live sounds. A mobile recording truck was parked next to the building and was where the producer and engineer spent most of their time. Admittedly, this made for an interesting story and good press. For us, though, that’s all we got. While rehearsing in the theater, we received word that RCA president and Silos’s #1 fan, Bob Buziak, had been fired.