Memoir of A Rock Drummer: Part 1, The Silos

In my opinion The Silos of the late 80’s/early 90’s were a one of a kind, real Rock ‘n Roll band. The band
had unlimited potential and could have set the tone for a generation of guitar-based rock bands. Those of
us involved with the band knew it outright. Although our RCA record got great reviews, the way the
Gainesville/RCA sessions unfolded was a complete disappointment. The record was a dud. (The best
recording of the band 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 on a
little longer than did JD Foster and Bob Rupe, recording more tracks which ended up on subsequent
records. My last tour with the band was a grueling six week van tour of Germany, Austria, Spain and
Switzerland. The following is the story of my involvement in the band and of our only major label
recording.

Richard Ford

In 1987, bass player Richard Ford had just finished working with Joe Jackson and was settling into
the freelance music scene in New York. Richard had also played with Bill Nelson of Bee Bop Deluxe as
well as many others. Originally from England, Richard came to the US and lived near my home town of
Randolph, NJ before settling in Hoboken. He recommended me for work regularly, for which I’ll be
forever grateful. He is a true musician and would be sorely 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 carry them to major status, getting them signed to a major label record
company. Richard was asked to play bass and he recommended me for the drum chair. The line up of
The Silos was Bob Rupe and Walter Salas-Humara on guitars/vocals. Me and Richard Ford on drums and
bass.

Getting Signed

In addition to a new rhythm section, the band also had a new business manager; Hoboken realtor
Mark Zoltak. Mark was a former NYC DJ and was the motivational muscle behind the band. He had
great ideas and knew the songs better than those of us in the band. He regularly spoke his mind and had
strong opinions about music. To Mark, music was either great or it sucked. There was no in-between.
Mark truly understood the essence of The Silos. He got it. He devised a business plan to unleash the
improved band and get it signed to a major label. The band quickly became an unparalleled live act and
played dozens of industry showcases in Los Angeles and in the Northeast. The plan worked. In March of
1989 the band was signed to RCA Records by the label’s president Bob Buziak. The trick now would be
to capture the true essence of the band at a studio recording.

A One Man Band

I was not involved in the daily business of the band, so I can’t explain the rationale 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 making it known to us that the band was his
brain child. (Subtext: “The record deal is all mine!!”) Although Walter was indeed a strong songwriter,
he was not even an adequate singer or guitar player. It was Bob Rupe’s Otis Redding voice and Neil
Young guitar style that fleshed out Walter’s contributions. It was the way the ensemble executed the
songs and the way we played together that made us a great band. It was my hope that Bob would hold fast
to his co-leader status, checking Walter’s power grab. To my dismay however, Bob assumed the role of
second-in-command.

To make things even worse, Walter then began hinting about playing the drums on the upcoming
record. Yikes! Just what I needed, right? One month before our scheduled sessions, he invited me over to
his apartment for dinner. After eating in awkward silence, he turned on the stereo and played tracks of
great drummers like Al Jackson and Levon Helm. Next he played some of our demos, the ones I
drummed on. Out of nowhere he then delivered this mandate: “Start playing like one of these drummers
or I’ll find someone else to play drums in the band.” I thought, “What a douche bag!” Granted, those are
two great drummers, but not really suitable for the guitar rock of The Silos. Also, not the drummer he
sought out and hired for greater success-ME! Please don’t get me wrong. Most of my job as a drummer
has been to listen to others and execute their music as they hear it. It’s also been my experience that when
someone pulls shit like this there’s usually an ulterior motive. This was his first of many moves to play
drums on our recordings. It was this need for control that would trump everything else. Even if it meant
he’d sabotage the band’s record deal and chances of success.

There was 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 every
instrument and do everything himself. Walter had no interest in being a member of band, unless
perhaps it was a one-man band. His desire to play drums would weigh heavily on our upcoming
Gainesville recording sessions and would eventually crush my desire to work with him altogether. In the
meantime, while on a coffee break from one of our many Hoboken demo sessions, Richard revealed to me
that he’d be quitting and would not be joining us in Florida for the recording of the record. For me, that
was the beginning of the end.
We plowed ahead. Austin-based JD Foster would replace Richard on bass. Cowboy Junkies producer
Peter J. Moore was brought in from Toronto. Ed Bair would run house/stage sound, and Peter Yianolis
would be the recording engineer and operator of the mobile truck. On September 25, 1989, the band and
crew settled into rented apartments in the town of Gainesville, Florida ready to record.

Why Gainesville?

During this period of The Silos, my real home was on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City. Richard, Walter
and manager Mark Zoltak all 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 an easy commute to mid-town Manhattan, home
to dozens of the world’s top recording studios. In spite of this, Walter somehow convinced RCA
executives that recording our record in NYC would be too distracting (from what?). That instead, we’d
need to record in Gainesville, Florida. The fact that there were no suitable recording studios in
Gainesville led us to an abandoned theater. We used its stage and hallways for live sounds. A mobile
recording truck 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 however, that’s all we got out
of it. As we were rehearsing in the theater, we got word that RCA president and #1 Silos fan, Bob Buziak
had been fired.

Brian Doherty is best known as a drummer for groups like They Might Be Giants, XTC, M2M, Freedy
Johnston, and Ben Folds. He grew up in Randolph, NJ and earned a Master of Music degree from the
Manhattan School of Music. Brian also holds a Master of Teaching degree from The City College of New
York. He is currently a music teacher in the Bronx and remains professionally active in the NYC area.
Read my story, see rare video, pics and more on my website www.briandoherty.net