In 2024, Columbus band Silvis visited the WYSO studios for the first time to perform some of their recent singles. A year later they have returned fresh from the release of their new album A Tendency to Seek Distraction.
"We released 'I'm On Fire' and that I feel was definitely a turning point for the band," said Luke Johnson (guitar/vocals). "It was a little bit of a different sound for us and kind of something that we had been chasing. Shortly after coming here to WYSO for that interview we were just very motivated from doing that song and coming here. So we actually booked a retreat right after that. The three of us guys just grabbed a cabin out in the middle of the woods and locked ourselves inside for three days straight and did nothing but write music until we came out with a finished album. Then we took it to the studio and went from there."
After working on the songs so intensely over those three days at the cabin, Silvis was more than prepared for taking the music into the studio.
"I've never felt more prepared. We did get creative in the studio but it was a lot of 'Let's just get in there and track this thing, man.' We've played these songs so many times and we've written and rewritten them so many times that we feel really confident about all the parts we have. So it was like,'Maybe we should try to actually spend that time ahead of time with no pressure on us and not on the clock of the studio."
Even after playing music together for decades the trio are still inspired and surprised by the music making process.
"The cool thing about music is that you're never done learning new stuff and adding new stuff. Writing in a different way just opens so many things up for us in terms of, you know, motivation, but also like getting better as musicians independently, but even together. It was cool to get that motivation and after we've been playing music for 20 years, like see it kind of still be exciting for us and still be different for us." said Matt Johnson (bass/vocals).
Silvis' new album A Tendency to Seek Distraction is available now for streaming and purchase on Bandcamp.
