A titanic five-piece from the bustling heart of Los Angeles, Sons of Silver have been delivering their unique brand of American indie rock for years now. Armed with a brilliant and wonderfully original sound, the tightknit band of Pete Argyropoulos, Brina Kabler, Kevin Haaland, Adam Kury, and Dave Krusen, have collectively garnered over six million views and streams to date, and they’re not stopping anytime soon.
Most recently, the band delivered their critically acclaimed EP, ‘Ordinary Sex Appeal’, a release that has established them as one of the most engaging and exciting bands around. To celebrate the EP, the band have shared the official video for their power-groove, funk-infused anthem, ‘Cause Of My Pain’, and with it still ringing in our ears, we thought there was no better time than to sit down with frontman Pete Argyropoulos and learn about the band’s beginning, inspirations, and what’s still to come.
Great to meet you, Pete, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions with us. Firstly, how did is all begin for you and Sons of Silver?
“My parents were musicians. My dad a guitarist and songwriter. My mom a singer. I got the bug from them. They were in a band. Music was always around the house. In fact, rumour has it that they played a show at The Troubadour here in LA while my mom was eight and a half months pregnant with me and the joke between them and their bandmates was that I would either turn out pitch perfect or tone deaf. I’ll leave it up to others to tell where I fall in that spectrum. Nonetheless, it all began at home from a very young age. Singing with my parents, learning guitar from my dad as well as his Beatles songbook.”
How did the five of you become a band?
“Adam and I were in a popular Los Angeles band that was gobbled up and spit out by the record labels. Following that band’s demise, I went into producing and Adam into a lot of live work. But we remained close friends and Adam often played on tracks I was producing. Along the way, Brina and met at a recording studio and I hired her as an engineer. She heard some of my own songs that I was chipping away at on the side. She urged me to start playing live. So, I went out on my own and played a few solo acoustic shows. So, I was bored playing alone and recruited Brina to join me. We were both bored playing as a duet. I confess, we’re both rockers, at heart. So, I called up Adam and asked him to help me form a band. He was working with Dave- whom both Brina and I had worked with a bit- and Dave brought in Kevin. The chemistry was instant, and we were off and running.”
Your music seems to always be evolving, how would you describe your sound?
“Rock’n’roll, handmade in the 21st century. We’re influenced by all kinds of music from many eras. But we’re mostly drawn to music that was made by people who worked up all the magic together in the same room. We just cheat a bit by using computers when we’re at it.”
To that end, what’s the most important thing for you when you’re writing a song?
“That you can play it with a guitar, piano, or any other instrument, for that matter, and it still holds its own.”
What is your songwriting process? How does it all come together?
“For the most part, the songs come from all of us getting together and banging them out. Occasionally, I’ll come in with a finished song and everyone does their thing to it to make it a Sons of Silver track. Such was the case with songs such as With You and Rude Awakenings. But, again, we usually work up all of our songs, together. Aside from the fact that we get our sound from constantly trading ideas, it’s a lot of fun.”
Are there particular influences that define your music?
“Heart and humanity. All of our favourite artists give their music everything and let it all hang out, including some flaws. The perfection is not in how great the music sounds. Rather it’s in how great it makes you feel. We humbly strive for the same.”
Tell us about your latest EP, ‘Ordinary Sex Appeal’.
“OSA is our second EP as well as second release. A couple of the tracks were held over from the 2019 recording sessions that became our debut EP, ‘Doomsday Noises’. The remaining songs, as well as several yet to be release tracks, were written and recorded in the summer-fall of 2020. I remember songs such as ‘Who’s Gonna Stop Us’, the lead single, and ‘Hesitate’ being written and recorded within a matter of hours spread over few days.”
“We had a strong sense of urgency to get things done fast because the mood around us was urgent. Plus, our keyboardist and engineer Brina, who is also my wife was pregnant with our son. So, we had to wrap things up before she had to take time off. As fate would have it, our son was born before Brina had time to mix the EP. But we were fortunate to get the tracks in the hands of John Fields who did an amazing job of seeing our mixing the EP and seeing our vision through. Ultimately, the spirit of the time combined with a growing confidence in ourselves as well as John Fields’ mixing contribution all helped shape what we feel is a sophomore release that we’re very proud of.”
The big question, what’s next for Sons of Silver?
“We’re working on our touring schedule for the back half off 2022 and all of 2023. That’s our primary focus. In the meantime, we’re back in the studio working on a bunch of new songs. We’ve got about 20-25 new ones under way, at the moment. I’m not sure if that number will grow or will get scaled back. As of now, it’s looking like it’ll grow. We’re having a really good time in the studio.”
One last question before you go, what has been your greatest moment as a band so far?
“I don’t think we have a single, greatest moment. Every time we get together- which is often and regularly - I’m thankful to be working with my best friends. And I know everyone else in the band feels the same.”
A brilliant band who are quietly rightly riding a wave of momentum thanks to the release of ‘Ordinary Sex Appeal’ and ‘Cause of My Pain’, Songs of Silver are definitely one of 2022’s defining acts. For more from the band, make sure you check out their website and social media pages below, and make sure you lend your support by giving them a follow and sharing their tracks.
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