Chris Smith Of Giant Silent World

Interview With Chris Smith Of Giant Silent World

SBS:  Welcome to our pages!  Whether you’ve been here with us in some way before, or you’re brand-new to the site, it’s probably best to get an introduction from you so that we get everyone on the same page to start.  Tell us a little bit about the history of your music, and what’s happening with it lately!?!

Chris Smith:  Good afternoon Jer, firstly thank you for this opportunity.

My music began way back when but as you are well aware I have always been lucky to have my brother Pete Gustard at my flank and setting the standards.  As is with probably many of us it began in a church hall community centre haggling over who is paying for the room.  A ton of four way leads and pretty poor kit to be frank.  School mates who had an interest in the amazing environment we grew up in basically Madchester!  Procession was the first name I remember the first time I had sung since primary school…I always got the singing roles.  I remember being set up to sing Dirty Old Town in assembly.  I hated it.  I replaced our original singer over a few weeks and started to feel a bug.  I loved performing.  I hated it being other people’s work.

Humphrey Park, in brief a lot of talent and energy, great friends to have but we had very different influences and personalities.  I remember fondly some of the embryonic lyrics and melodies we were pretty tight and could experiment freely though I was very fixed in my music at the time so would not claim I was easy to put up with, a lot of improvisation constantly, probably as I am Neuro diverse I just had a habit of wandering off and reacting to the response.  A very live performance orientated band but bloody good fun…until the inevitable first big split.

A good while later I recall meeting with Pete, and was born Billy’s Back, not a comfortable title for me from day one.  Personally, the best of my previous efforts’ interesting music very experimental but almost free.  Great line up for me as Pete and myself became more of a team.  A real shame that not too much of our music from this time is available.

Covid 19…

As with everyone the Pandemic changed everything about daily life, but not for me as I was working frontline in my role of Paramedic.  My life really didn’t change that much at first I was out and about in what I now giggle a little felt like the set of 28 Days Later.  Pete sent me a really lovely message about my work and we got talking again.  Pretty much as soon as possible the original 3 met over breakfast, played around with some ideas and I was back in!

I had the absolute pleasure of being involved with Battlefield Ballet; I was handed a baton by someone I can be real around, I just let loose.  I had not sung in probably 20 years.  I was nervous, self-doubting, the works.  We had an absolute ball and I can hear it in the tracks; it was and is a genuine privilege to be a part of.

Giant Silent World is a continuation of that mantra that brotherhood I suppose absolutely committed to just relaxing and picking those little cherries you get from time to time.  I am really not able to produce music by myself.  I don’t have the skill set however I have the odd bombshell.  I am basically a jobing ideas guy that can squawk a little.  I could not be more proud of our debut album; many corners of it still get me irate I guess and I love that idea, I really try to speak openly and poke other people’s psyche with my lyrics and general demeanor, heart is well-sleeved, ideas find a home and I will continue for as long as I can.

New material is underway for both Pete and I and he is very adamant that I produce a solo album, something I would absolutely embrace as I would probably approach it as an autobiography of a kind.  A real exposure of my inner thoughts that will keep me driven, angry and honest!  At my best basically.

SBS:  Let’s talk about the before and after of where you’re currently at.  What’s something about the music that you’re making now that you don’t think you could have done five years ago, and what’s something you think you’ll be able to do with your music five years from now that you can’t do today?  How have you grown as an artist/band, and what steps do you take to continue your artistic evolution?

Chris:  This is a simple opening, five years ago I had no room in my head for making music.  I had the responsibility of life in general, you know get bills, pay bills, kick down to stay afloat, a demanding career and absolutely no access to anything other than karaoke.  I got my teeth cut many years ago and I do miss the buzz of performing.  I also enjoy this new environment of working in Petroleum Studios having time to really bounce about ideas slowly producing truly unique genuinely personal and hopefully enjoyable material.  I stand by every track we have put out so far and I believe if you may be following us you can also see that evolution is something I suppose natural.

In my nirvana Jer, in five years we would have worked out performing live, whether that is in venues, probably not, but if myself and Pete and maybe others play live together I don’t care if it’s a small cupboard, it’s of the moment and the best feeling.

SBS:  If you were to assess the overall health of the independent music scene right now, what would you say?  What are the positives and the negatives about the current state of independent music, and what do you feel like artists & bands can do to contribute to the community & help it grow beyond the music being made?  If you’re not actively looking to listen to the music of other independent artists/bands, is it really all that fair to expect anyone would listen to yours?  How do you help the scene around you grow?

Chris:  Jer I am a hopeless romantic with leanings towards Plato.  Anyone who takes time to be artistic should be celebrated.  Independent music – or do you mean grass roots music?  Independent music is not the music industry, so by proxy will remain very much with the leaky dressing rooms, faulty kit, the dreaded pay to play!  It is still the birthplace of most successful artists.  See I dream we all began in a garage!  It needs to be financed to start to get more exposure but we all know what happens then!  Wilson was right but just didn’t have the finances.  Here’s an idea Jeff, perhaps pay one British pence per listen or download to independent musicians who in a massive way contribute to your platform.

If only we could find a philanthropist of our own to promote and just sustain, an army of salaried music producers to in turn supply independent radio, podcasts and live music venues.  I don’t know about you guys but I would rather be in the trenches not a Supercube for £100 an hour.  I save lives for £60000 a year that should be sustainable for a fund to keep music alive and underground, like truffles hard to find but when you do you have gold!

If we could pull together get backing from those who can afford to just because they want to, not really a financial investment just buying art, distribute that and build networks of support maybe we could actually take ownership back from basically bankers!

Told ya I am a fatalistic dreamer, so back down to Earth, I don’t see anything really changing but that does not mean it is a loss it is a thriving scene that, like ponds, now and then spits out the next big thing.  So I’m happy and proud to muck in.

SBS:  What do you consider to be the biggest accomplishment or achievement you’ve had with your music to-date?  How do you personally measure your own success – is that something that even can be measured?  Is it awards, accolades, chart position…or is your definition of success based on something entirely different?  Should success, however you define it, be something that artists are continually focused on – or is success something that naturally occurs in the course of doing what you love to do?

Chris:  Simple, somebody somewhere enjoyed something I helped create.  That is enough for me, I won’t lie, I would love to do this for a living but I also enjoy massively what I do to pay my way.

I love what we do!

SBS:  When you’re working on something brand-new, and something about it just doesn’t feel like it’s coming together the way that you think it should, how do you know when it’s time to give up on it, or how do you know that it’s time to dig in even harder and find a way to make it work?  Are there distinct red flags you can hear when something’s not working?  What are the signs you look for that tell you to stop forcing the material?  What would actually encourage you to keep going with the process instead?

Chris:  I believe we retain a certain level of bare faced honesty when writing and trust the guts.  Many ideas get shelved just to return at a later date.  Discussions were held yesterday about tunes that are still out there.  Red flags may be basically no that does nothing for me, so move on.  Think we step back before we force anything, not in my nature.  Keep going, every day is a school day!

SBS:  One of the points of general consensus in the art of making music, is that we all get our sound from somewhere…we hear what we like, then more often than not, we take tiny pieces of what we love to find our own voice & approach to go on and make music in our own way.  Essentially, what I’m saying is that it’s absolutely natural to be inspired by other artists/bands, and almost every artist/band ends up having that inspiration show up in their own work in some way, shape, or form.  What the real key is though, is retaining your own organic perspective – you still wanna be original too, right?  So how do you go about doing that?  Are there artists or bands that you know have been an influence on your style & sound?  How were you able to incorporate that influence without becoming too noticeably derivative and still be yourself?  Should we embrace and celebrate our influences more than we do?  It’s almost like we try not to admit influences exist in the pursuit of being original, but it’s like, bruh…if it’s there, we can hear it.  We all borrow something from those that came before us to some extent, don’t we?

Chris:  As is history, music is cyclical in nature; in my belief influences build knowledge and maybe a specific ear.  I suffered greatly in the early days of mimicry.  Lydon was my dream to produce astute angry snippets of my reality.  Then I started to open up, no pun intended.  I found Al Green, Fugazi, The Pogues.  I realised that within music the mindset is so similar no matter the genre; it’s the ability to be self-exposed, genuine, and acknowledge without being acknowledged.  I basically just vent what I think and enjoy the process enough to return to it.  I would not be here without prompting, whether that be Eno, or An American Prayer.

I embrace the influences that life has put my way through friends, chance encounters, even date nights; I have found a lot of music through nothing more than the ability to say yes!  I am now at the point where I would like to influence in my own way.  Get people asking questions, perhaps even wandering through our tracklist out of sheer interest.  I guess I’d say my biggest influences are those I noticed and I aspire to be so myself.

SBS:  Has there ever been a time where you wrote something inside one of your songs…maybe it’s a lyrical line, or maybe it’s a riff of some kind…something that you did, where you surprised yourself?  I like to think we all have a moment or two where we can stand back and be amazed by something we created, and appreciate the fact that maybe, just maybe, we exceeded our own expectations of what we thought we could accomplish – you know what I mean?  Get as specific as you can so the fans out there know what they should be paying attention to when they hear it – what’s your favorite thing that you’ve written on the inside of one of your songs, and why does this particular piece resonate so much to you?

Chris:  “Ballad of Injustice,” the first thing I wrote that really exposed me, the subject heard it once and broke down with emotion.  It didn’t work out well after but I knew I had created a song of honesty and pain hurt but ultimately it is an expression of longing and love, I now cry sometimes when I listen to it knowing the effect that it had.  That being said I have a lot more on my mind and have uncorked that bottle I guess.  A track that always resonated with me is “USLS” by PiL.  To openly write about such an experience as nearly losing your life stuck in my throat; it may be considered an album filler but just addressing that trauma in lyrics kind of gave me the encouragement that I needed to write about my truth and not fantasize.  I literally have volumes of unused lyrics that testify to this mind shift!

SBS:  I’ve been having a lot of great debates lately about whether or not everybody that’s making music has the right to be heard…and you’d probably be surprised by how different people seem to feel about this issue.  I know where I stand on it, and I think you can all probably get an idea of what my position would be from this free interview we’re doing here & the way we run things at sleepingbagstudios…but regardless, I’m putting this question out there to you, because I’m interested in YOUR perspective.  Just because you’ve made a song, does that mean people should listen?  If your answer is yes, do your best to explain why you feel that way & why we should make a sincere effort to listen to the music of others.  If your answer is no, explain why you feel that way, but also explain why people should still be listening to your music if that’s the case – what would make your music the exception, and not follow the rule?  Is there any value to an idea that’s not finished, or a song in its demo stages, or maybe something that’s not recorded in a top-shelf studio or with good equipment – somebody still took the time to make that song to the best of their ability with the means they had to create it – should that be listened to, or not?

Chris:  I make the music because I have the opportunity to do so and anyone who truly knows me would understand I will happily give my time and energy.  Should people listen to us?  Fuck yes – if you stumble across any new music at least give it a chance; as we have discussed the opportunities to get the material out there are minimal.  What you have is a genius pool of thousands of musicians, producers, and writers that create amazingly diverse and creative content just because.  Personally I still look back at some of the old songs I was involved in, and as you say, somewhere in the back of my head are echoes of four-track recordings in my garage in the football club, maybe even at a gig!  We have put that out there – Pete recently made a new film of our memories.  I think we all stand by what we enjoyed at the time; a gigging band that occasionally got into a studio.  I would not trade it.  I now however get the aforementioned opportunity to give it my everything in an environment I have ever experienced, and those few days recording always turn out worth a listen.

SBS:  There are ups and downs in the dynamics of almost every album we listen to, with very few exceptions.  Even those exceptions, probably still come down to more of a personal preference about what we enjoy about music and how we personally hear it, rather than anything being completely and totally “perfect” – you know what I mean?  Does an album actually need to have some kind of up/down dynamics in terms of what’s appealing to the masses in order for the best of the best songs in a lineup to be fully appreciated?  Wouldn’t every artist & band avoid the ‘down’ side (less accessible/less popular for example) if they could?  Does the ‘down’ side represent something else perhaps, like the story of an album or journey of an artist?  Is the ‘up’ side of a record as potent or noticeable if it doesn’t have a ‘down’ side to go with it?  Would a completely balanced album somehow be boring if it didn’t have the ups/downs that most have?  Do we HAVE to like every single song on a record for it to be considered complete?  Are the dynamics of an album something anyone can really steer in the direction they want to, or are all artists & bands simply going with the strongest material they have created at the time?

Chris:  A recent conversation between the GSW boys highlighted some very similar points.  I personally believe the freedom we have allows us to just produce what we believe in, which granted will not be everyone’s cup of tea, however each track has birthed a meaning to ourselves.  The production is very much suggestions and conversation, which then develops into the final works for which I take little credit.  I can only speak for the EP and LP I have worked on with GSW as realistically this is my only recorded work to date!  I love the diversity on the album, especially as we had no fixed intention other than to enjoy the project and cut our teeth.  It has surprised me the tracks that have caused interest as I believed these were potentially the more risque items.  I wrote some very powerful self-reflective lyrics during this album and Pete presented these in a very sympathetic manner; what I thought would hold up fell by the way side and was superseded by the more, let’s say, personality-based material.  The reaction has kind of given me an insight that what I may feel is a high point and suits my tastes can surprise and embrace the “down side,” but I have no recognition of said down side as to me every track is ours and part of our psyche.  So my answer is, if you want to truly understand the artist embrace everything, and what does not fit for you may just be one track for which the artist bled.

SBS:  I wanna send out a shout-out to YOU from me personally – I appreciate everyone that has taken the time to talk tunes with me throughout the years, and I appreciate the time YOU have taken with this interview too.  Because this one’s a little different in the sense that it’s been sent out to multiple people and is a little more generic in that regard, I have no doubt whatsoever that we probably didn’t get to talk to you about something you wanted to talk about – so let’s fix that!  This final space is what we call the SBS Open Floor – a spot where you can say anything else you want to say to the people out there.  It can be anything at all…your main websites…something else you want them to know about you and/or your music…your favorite bands in the scene right now…the secret 11 herbs and spices to the Colonel’s secret recipe – you get the idea, and it’s probably best you choose something that suits you rather than take any of my suggestions, but feel free to take the SBS Open Floor for a ride.  Whatever it is you want the people to know, now is the prime time for you to tell’em!  Thanks again for everything – keep in touch!

Chris:  Basically I am just celebrating the fact that I get another chance to take part in making music with my closest co-conspirator.  I get to embrace my Asperger’s and vent/rant like I kind of have a second voice where I can wear my smalls and leave a little of myself hung out there in the ether.  I am absolutely loving the journey and would continue to embrace any further experiences.  I feel I have an interesting personality that takes a little unraveling at first but hopefully the beautiful people out there that give us their time will get to see a lot more.  I have aspirations to produce more music and take on more of a visible role within GSW.  For example, I would love you to gear up a more direct interview with your good self Jer, and be accessible to any and all that would like to explore further.  In short I hope to bring my uniqueness to the fore and see what the world gives me back in return.

I would like to truly thank you for your support throughout; the better half still can’t fathom that people in Vancouver listen to our music, and in some way I agree.  I wonder the trouble I could have gotten in if we had had this level of exposure in my youth!  Dread to think and Mr. G is probably glad I finally matured just a little.

Be well, continue to be you, and continue to spread the love because I for one look forward very much to your continued presence, and fingers crossed, success.

Find out more about Giant Silent World from their official page at Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/thegswproject

THIS LINE OF TEXT IS INVISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, as proven daily by thousands of people that read our pages.  If you’re one of the rare folks that can actually see this message, and you’re curious about how to get YOUR MUSIC featured on our site, by all means click here to learn more about doing exactly that!