Silver Dollar Room Talks to Fanbase Music Magazine, About Their Musical Journey, New Music & More

Interviewed by Duzzy Clayton

Intro

Silver Dollar Room is an awesome band that has come on my horizon through their PR company Reation Management I am glad I did come across this band because they are awesome. Armed with five band members this unique band brings an interesting and beautiful sound with a great body of musical work .

I catch up with vocalist John Keenan to get to know him and his band more better and talk about their new music.

Enjoy The Read

Interview

Hi there, welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine, let us start by telling us where the band is from

We are all from Edinburgh, Scotland!

Silver Dollar Room is quite an interesting band name, can you tell us how that name came about?

It comes from the Police Academy movies. There is a running gag about a bar called The Blue Oyster Bar where various characters end up in, tango dancing with leather clad bikers. It was filmed in a famous bar in Toronto called The Silver Dollar Room. We all love old movies, so this seemed like a fun reference. Lisa actually came up with the name after researching Police Academy trivia

Who is in the band and what does each band member do?

John Keenan on Vocals

Jamie Turnbull on guitar and vocals

Dan Colvin on Guitar

Lisa Aird on Bass and Vocals

Douglas McDonald on Drums

How did the band members all meet and how did the band get together?

A series of crossed relationships brought us all together.

The project started in lockdown as a project between Jamie and Doug. They did demos online and when allowed in a studio, they started tracking the drums for what ended up being the album. But it developed into something more serious from there. It just quickly became too good not to. They started to think about people that would fit in with what the vibe was. Jamie knew John and Lisa previously and asked them both to get involved. From there, John brought in Dan as they had been in a band before.

How would you describe your sound and genre?

Very much a natural progression of the music we love with a slightly more modern edge to it. We all love grunge and 90s music. But we are not trying to be a throwback band. I guess we are who we are and so is our influences and sound. We haven’t intentionally tried to replicate that 90s sound.

Who are some of the band’s influences and do you feel the bands each band member has grown up listening to influence the music you’re writing now as a band?

There is a lot haha! But some of the bigger influences come from Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo, Bush, Manic Street Preachers etc. We all have a lot in common there. But Lisa brings a punk background to the band and John some really far out ones for a rock band like Prince, Oasis and soul artists. Dan and Jamie are also metalheads too. It’s a real mix.

How do you write your songs, can you explain the process of music and lyrics and how it comes into a song?

This album writing process was a bit odd I suppose, as it was started in lockdown. Jamie demo’d some music and he and Doug worked through that together over zoom calls until they could hit the studio. Jamie then took that away and started writing all the layers over it all. It was at that point they brought in the rest of the guys. John wrote and demo’s vocals with Jamie and Lisa worked on the backing vocals in her own space. Not the most organic way but simply the way it went due to circumstances.

We are writing much more collaboratively these days and it’s really amazing.

After the success of debut singles ‘Little Things’, ‘Melanin’ and ‘Mantle let’s talk about your upcoming debut album called Gilded Echoes, first of how did you come to that album title and what does it mean?

Gilded Echoes is a name that captures the lasting impact of class bias from the Gilded Age to today. Through powerful music and lyrics, the name highlights the ongoing struggle between wealth and poverty, urging listeners to reflect on social inequalities and the need for change.

How many tracks are on the album?

We recorded 11 songs originally and 10 have made it to the album. The one that we left out will be a bonus track at some point.

Where did you record the album and who worked on it, did you get in a producer, and if so please tell us who?

Our guitarist Jamie is a producer and has made 100s of records for loads of artists. He made the record at his favourite studio; Post Electric Studio in Edinburgh. It’s owned by Rod Jones of Idlewild and is easily one of the best studios in Scotland. Jamie did all the recording and mixing, and we had it mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle. We were really impressed with her work with Hundred Reasons so asked her to get involved.

What was the recording process like?

I little disjointed due to Covid and forming the full band during the process. But ultimately really fun. The album just grew bigger and bigger through every step. The more we added the more in love with it we became. And we had no preconceptions of how it would turn out as we were not a band when we started it.

How long did the album take to make?

It took about a year and a half thanks to covid… and creating the band as we recorded it!

Do have any other new tracks or albums coming out in the pipeline you can tell us about?

We just came out of the studio where we recorded an acoustic EP! We reimagined some of the songs from the album and rebuilt them from the ground up, but all acoustically. It was really fun. We still have the full band on it too, it’s not like we just sat in a corner of a bar and jammed them out with a couple of us. We will drop that as a wee surprise sometime, so keep a lookout!

We are also in the process of writing album 2 at the moment, we have about 8 songs so far!

How would you describe a live show by Silver Dollar Room?

Big and powerful! We love playing live and really put a lot of effort into the show. We never wanted to just walk on and just play. It has to be an experience for the audience.

Thank you for doing this interview do you have any last messages for our fans?

We have much to talk about!

So please get involved and tell your friends!