×

Q&A with Brian Keith Silva

By SAMANTHA

WALLACE

swallace@sungazette.com

Singer-songwriter Brian Keith Silva, a recent transplant to Williamsport, has lived a roaming kind of lifestyle – from bouncing between musical intruments as he taught himself how to make music to traveling from state to state in search of inspiration and more.

Silva, who splits his time between Williamsport and Seattle, Washington, recently released “Going To Falling Creek” and sat down with the Sun-Gazette to talk about his background and his plans for the future.

SAMANTHA WALLACE: Tell us about yourself and your musical background.

BRIAN KEITH SILVA: I started playing music when I was 10 years old. When I was young I always loved music – I had a Snoop Dogg cassette, a Lynryd Skynryd cassette, a Chuck Berry cassette and a Dianna Carter CD. I listened to those religiously, and then one day I heard a Stevie Ray Vaughan song called “Tin Pan Alley” and that’s when I really identified with something. It was the blues that helped me cope with depression or loneliness as a kid. No one in my family played music, so everyone looked at me like I was some strange creature from another planet.

SW: You’re a self-taught musician – how did that come about and what do you play?

BKS: I play guitar, bass, drums, all hand drums, harmonica, synths, keyboards and piano, and pretty much anything I can make noise with. I figured them all out by surrounding myself with musicians who were better than me. It gave me the drive to get better. I try to use that concept with all things in my life – if i can be around people who are better than me, then I can learn from them and also be driven harder to be the best I can.

SW: How and when did you end up in Williamsport?

BKS: I ended up in Williamsport after I met a friend in New York who lived in Philadelphia, and she eventually moved me out to Williamsport. I have been traveling the country for the last year or so, but I have an address in Williamsport and I come through every three to five months, depending on my current projects and my funds. I usually end up landscaping and minor carpentry repairs on friends’ houses when I’m in town.

SW: How does your Native American and Mexican heritage figure into your music and into your life in general? Does it influence lyrics or arrangements of music?

BKS: I was adopted and raised by Caucasian parents, so I don’t speak Spanish and didn’t grow up with my biological family. It was strange when I was 18 I found out I was adopted and that I had a completely different heritage than what I was told. … It definently affected me and still does. When I write I try and not think about it at all, I just let stuff flow, kind of like being in a trance. … I try and write with my subconscious, because otherwise I just end up writing something that sounds way to obvious. So in a way, I work with music like a shaman works to get a vision.

SW: What projects are you working on currently?

BKS: I am currently working on a project with a friend at Penn College – she had the idea to talk to some of the teachers who her father used to teach with and give them a copy of the album I just released to listen to, then see if they wanted to make an album cover for it. I thought it was a really amazing idea … education is really important and so is real life experience so maybe it will help them dealing with crazy people like me, so when they get out and have to deal with evil people who are sane. However, that project is at their own pace.

SW: How does your time in the Army influence your music?

BKS: I’m not sure. I just know I need to be centered and healthy in order to work at my best performance level. It’s not something I talk about.

SW: Are you still recording or working with your band, or are you focusing more on the solo aspect of your career at this point?

BKS: The band (Blue Sun Machine Gun) is kind of a wide variety of some friends coming together from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Arizona, Washington state and Colorado. When the time is right we lock ourselves in a DIY studio for about a week and come out with something between 5-10 hours of music, then edit it down and work out any arrangments and then bounce ideas back and forth as much as it takes. Right now I’m on a solo mission, and it’s mainly because I haven’t found anyone who I work well with in the areas I’ve been in, and I don’t really dig trying to make things work that just dont naturally work – so right now I’m a solo artist and that seems to be what’s going the smoothest.

SW: Do you have any shows coming up in the area?

BKS: At some point in July I will hopefully be playing a few different places in Williamsport, including a show at Penn College. I don’t have any exact dates, but as soon as they’re set in stone, I’ll have them on my website.

Silva’s music is available on iTunes and Spotify.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today