EPK – Nate Silva – The Chase (2024)

EPK – Nathe Silva – The Chase (2024)

Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com

Booking Agent – Michel Benac, Voila Concerts – info[@]voilaconcerts[.]ca

“I’ve been showing some of my close musician friends the new album, and it’s all been fairly positive. It’s a fairly big departure for me – moving away from prog rock and more metal leanings, and harder metal projects before that – doing something more radio-friendly, for a lack of a better term. I’m hoping to reach a wider audience.

There’s definitely an explicit channeling of a lot of the 90s alternative and rock bands that I used to be into when I was younger in this album. Those bands and styles were certainly integral – moreso than I probably realize – so I think it has a nostalgic quality for that era of rock music. The album is also a look into some of the darker parts of grief and heartbreak that I was experiencing leading up to the beginning of the pandemic; experiencing the actual pandemic itself, and just trying to persevere one’s creative integrity through such a strange moment in society for everyone. So it’s also a very personal reflection of what I was dealing with during the creative process.” – Nate Silva

For fans of Foo Fighters, Danko Jones, Billy Talent, Green Day, Rush

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[Download Album Cover| Download Album Lyrics]

Album Title: The Chase (28:52)
Release Date: Friday, May 3, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: DistroKid (digital) / independent (physical)

Track Listing:
1-Best Damn Thing (3:12)
2-The Chase (feat. Dino Soares) (3.52)
3-Come Down (3:23)
4-Said And Done (5:09)
5-Burn! (3:06)
6-Cauterize (feat. Kevin Daoust) (4:24)
7-Perpetuate (5:46)

Album Credits:
– Written by Nathan Da Silva
– Produced by Nathan Da Silva
– Mixed by Shawn Sasyniuk, Crosspatch Studios, North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
– Mastered by Pierre Duchesne, Studio Ouie-Dire, Shefford, Quebec, Canada.
– SOCAN member / MAPL Canadian Content
Album Band Line Up:
Nathan Da Silva – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Synthesizer
Shawn Sasyniuk – Drums, Percussion, Lap Steel Guitar on Track 5
Brendan Soares – Vocals on Tracks 2 & 3

Live Band Line Up:
Nathan Da Silva – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Scott Reeves – Bass, Vocals
Matt Babineau – Drums, Vocals

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About The Album Artwork

Just a shot from a photoshoot I did with well-known Ottawa photographer Sean Sisk.

About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

Musically, this record is revisiting some of my earliest musical inspirations and experiences as a preteen kid. Growing up in the 90s, that grunge, post-grunge, and alternative rock sound was big. So I feel that era of rock music can be heard in this record. On the other hand, it’s also hard for me to completely break away from the metal influences, and I think the importance of guitar work – and the lead guitar stuff throughout the record – is where that comes from.

Lyrically, it’s a very personal album. I went through a tough breakup before writing this – probably the hardest breakup in my life – so I was healing from that when writing the lyrics, and it shows. The act of writing these lyrics and putting them into songs was also part of the healing process for me – to get those feelings out and express them through song was therapeutic in itself.

Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):

1. Best Damn Thing: This is an acoustic guitar-driven track, with fingerstyle playing and folk leanings. Likely inspired from my time with Reuben And The Dark. It’s a song about loss, healing, and change. Losing everything you once had, that you thought you would never lose. Learning about how someone really is when you thought you knew them after so many years of knowing them – that kind of thing.

2. The Chase: Musically, this song screams Danko Jones – I’m a big fan of his. The guitar work is also inspired by bands like The Fall of Troy (with the intro riff) and Green Day. I also admire players like Alex Lifeson of Rush, who – in a trio – tries to play lush and dense chord voicings on the guitar to fill the aural space, and so that approach comes through in the choruses and bridge. Lyrically, I wanted this song to be a “pump up” song for myself; feeling down and out through the pandemic, losing all your work and having the uncertainty of not knowing when you’ll be able to play music again really takes a toll on the psyche as a performing artist. It’s a song about staying true to yourself, persevering, and never losing sight of your artistic and creative goals.

3. Come Down: There’s dance rock and 90s post-grunge vibes throughout this tune, with a catchy chorus and a Tom Morello-inspired guitar solo halfway through. This song is about navigating a relationship that’s about to break and trying your best to make it work despite everything working against you.

4. Said And Done: This is the folk and almost country-inspired song of the album. I started dating someone during the pandemic, and after being in such a long relationship with someone else before that, it was a big learning experience for me – being with someone new after such a long time. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, but it flip-flopped quite a bit and lasted longer than it should have, so I was pretty chewed up about it. This was the lyrical inspiration for this tune. Musically, I wrote it just sitting with my acoustic guitar, trying to write something that just sounded absolutely depressing (laughs). But I also really wanted to channel that David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) approach to guitar playing for the solo section. I’m also a huge fan of John Petrucci of Dream Theater, and their song “The Spirit Carries On” was a big inspiration for the solo section as well. So that part of the tune is certainly a mashup of those two approaches. From a songwriting standpoint, I think this is one of the strongest tunes on the record.

5. Burn!: The hardest track on the record, this song is an unapologetic ode to the enjoyment of driving your favourite motorized vehicle at exhilarating speeds down a two-lane highway (in my case, a 1991 Mazda Miata – laughs). There are a lot of double meanings in the lyrics, using driving a car as a metaphor for pursuing your dreams and living a lifestyle of rock and roll. This was a demo I wrote back in 2014 and got shelved until now – at the time it was “too simple” for the creative projects I was doing at the time, but it felt right to revisit it now. Definitely channeling bands like Danko Jones and Foo Fighters on this one.

6. Cauterize: More 1990s alternative rock inspiration on this one, and likely the angriest song on the record (laughs). This is the uglier side of grieving the end of a relationship and trying to deal with infidelity. The words are pretty on the nose with this one, so I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves. Musically, I wanted a groovier song on the album, and I also wanted a song that could have the potential for jamming or opening up in the middle section in a live performance setting. So for the studio version, I asked my good friend Kevin Daoust to take a guest guitar solo spot on it, and it actually ended up being a bit of a call-and-response, back-and-forth – kinda thing. I also reached out to my former guitar teacher, Wayne Eagles, to take a more experimental, fusion-esque approach to the solo section, so there are actually two studio versions of this track.

7. Perpetuate: This was another song that I wasn’t quite sure how it would turn out. It started with me just mucking around with natural harmonics on the guitar, and then I had this groovier version of the chord progression, so I tried to make something work with the two, and this is what came out…! Shoutout to Shawn Sasyniuk – who not only co-engineered and mixed the album, but also played drums and percussion on all tracks – who really shines on this track with his tasteful, super-groovy, and almost hip-hop like drumming. Oddly enough, there’s one particular track from a video game soundtrack that I drew a lot of explicit and implicit inspiration from (video game music, in general, is another significant musical influence for me). And I think the way this song is structured – in particular, the long instrumental outro – nods to video game music. Lyrically, it’s about living through the pandemic, the isolation, the almost-exclusive interaction with others online, the incredibly divisive political views throughout, and ultimately, just really wanting things to go back to “normal.”

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Story angles:

1. Nate Silva was a brainchild and mastermind of Toronto-based prog rock/metal band – and  Wacken Metal Battle Canada champions – THE SLYDE, who were active for 10+ years, with 7 albums released, and over 200 shows throughout Canada and abroad.

2. After writing and performing music with more prog rock and heavy metal leanings, Nate returns to his musical roots with his upcoming album, “THE CHASE,” channeling his first musical love of 1990s grunge, alternative hard rock, and pop punk rock that he discovered before even picking up the guitar.

3. With almost 1500 career performances to date with creative projects like THE SLYDE, as well as a freelance musician with acts like REUBEN AND THE DARK and CINDY DOIRE of SCARLETT JANE, Nate is no stranger to the grind of the music business and to the killing road.

4. Nate’s upcoming album was a healing journey for him, writing about some extremely personal experiences that he went through leading up to the pandemic and during the COVID-19 lockdowns. For some of the tracks, he collaborated with longtime childhood friend and fellow musician, Brendan “Dino” Soares. Both played in THE SLYDE for years.

5. Nate was born and raised in Cornwall, Canada. He went to Carleton University in Ottawa immediately after highschool for a Bachelor of Mathematics degree, but after 3 semesters, he switched to the Bachelor of Music Performance program and never looked back. Shortly after graduating, he relocated to Toronto to pursue a music career. Life circumstances led him to move to Muskoka in 2020, weeks before the pandemic began. With everything on lockdown and his gigging and touring schedules erased, Nate decided to spend his lockdown time wisely by returning to Ottawa and enrolling in the Master of Arts in Music program at Carleton. There, he completed a thesis paper on ludomusicology and rock music, and also studied fingerstyle acoustic guitar with world renowned guitarist Don Ross. Now with the Master’s degree completed, Nate is shifting focus back to his music career.
L to R – Matt Babineau (Drums, Vocals), Nate Silva (Guitar, Lead Vocals), Scott Reeves (Bass, Vocals)

Nate Silva is a Canadian guitarist and singer/songwriter who has traveled through several sonic worlds throughout his career. Whether he is touring North America with indie folk act REUBEN AND THE DARK, commanding an audience in his band (and Wacken Metal Battle Canada champions) THE SLYDE at the world’s biggest heavy metal festival in Germany, or interpreting your favourite Top 40 tune at a local pub, Nate’s versatile guitar work and captivating tenor vocals shine across multiple musical genres.

After years of leading his own rock/metal bands under pseudonyms and freelancing with numerous talented artists, Nate is now embarking on a solo career. His debut single, “COME DOWN,” evokes 1990s alternative post-grunge and dance rock vibes. His second single, “BURN!,” is an unapologetic rock anthem to the enjoyment of driving your favourite car at exhilarating speeds down a two-lane highway. The third single “BEST DAMN THING” is a somber, introspective folk-inspired number about loss, change, and healing. These tunes are previews of Nate’s debut album, “THE CHASE,” to be released in May 2024.

Accompanied by drummer/vocalist Matt Babineau and bass guitarist/vocalist Scott Reeves, NATE SILVA’s power trio continues the high-energy rock music experience once established in THE SLYDE, with more dynamic musical versatility, personal reflection, and radio-friendly accessibility. 

Nate is an endorsed artist with FENDER, FRYETTE AMPLIFICATION, ERNIE BALL, and CORRIGAN PICKUPS.