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New College Grad Makes 'Statement'
Herald Tribune. Sarasota FL. November 2008
A master of the melodic hybrid, Silas Durocher is known to fuse Jewish Klezmer with classic rock, gospel with African rhythms and folk with funk.
The 23-year-old New College alum ('07) has a knack for diversified beats, evidenced by his debut album, "Thesis Statement," with his band, Everybody Knows. It is the culmination of his senior project, and all his childhood years listening to Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and the Beatles in his parents' basement.
"Now I'm working with these professional musicians, and it's absolutely amazing playing with them," Durocher said. "They're all pretty much masters, so they can tackle anything I put in front of them."
Durocher, an Austin, Texas-born guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, joins Bharat Chandra on clarinet (a principal musician for the Sarasota Orchestra), Sasha von Dassow on cello (of the Florida Orchestra and Musicians Out of the Box String Quartet), Garrett Dawson on percussion (of Kettle of Fish, Ideal and the Cultural Revolution) and John Miller on upright bass (another principal musician for the Sarasota Orchestra).
Grammy-nominated engineer and co-producer Bud Snyder (the Allman Brothers, Jeff Buckley, Gov't Mule) recorded the CD at Spirit Ranch.
"It's such an uphill battle to break through in the industry and to get these little breaks and little moments of glory," said Durocher, who funded the record with grant money. "I feel incredibly lucky."
A student of theory and composition, Durocher became a Sarasota household name during his college years, scoring gigs with Stone Soup and Shakedown. He created two pieces for the Florida Wind Quintet in 2006, both of which were published and sold internationally through TrevCo Music.
He now lives in Asheville, N.C., where he plays alongside internationally touring artists Laura Reed and Deep Pocket (a soul-funk act), David Earl and the Plowshares (a gospel-rock group) and singer-songwriter Oso Rey.
"It's time for me to go 110 percent," Durocher said. "I've just got to go all out while I can."
"Thesis Statement" will be available at CD stores, on iTunes and at cdbaby.com and digstation.com on Saturday.