CORNWALL, Ontario – Nathan Da Silva, front man of prog rock group The Slyde, remembers playing music with drummer Brendan Soares as a teenager, jamming out to Metallica and Rush, when the friends were growing up in Cornwall.
Now, the peers and their band mates are returning to the area to perform a homecoming act in honour of their 10 year anniversary of producing rock & roll tunes together.
“I’m pretty excited we’ve lasted this long,” said Da Silva with a chuckle. “Band longevity is hard to come by…it feels good, definitely to look back on the 10 years of music we have released and share it with everyone.”
Da Silva explained that himself and Sarah Westbrook are founding members, with Soares joining in 2010 and Alberto Campuzano jumping on board soon after. The group tries to play locally at least once a year, traditionally frequenting locations like Murphy’s Inn, La Maison and Lola’s Pub, and are set to take the stage at Lola’s on Saturday, Sept. 7 around 11:30 p.m., following opening act Chris Benton who will begin his set around 10:30 p.m.
“We do well (in Cornwall). It’s a great city for live entertainment and music, and crowds are always enthusiastic,” said Da Silva. “It’s very fun for (Soares) and I to come home, see a lot of familiar faces…every time you see a lot of his family members, and of course our long time fans.”
In honour of a decade together, the band will be playing sets across the province this month, even incorporating some of their classic hits like The Craving, Soldier’s March and Lies. The band also plans to write and record new music soon and are already booking for festival seasons next year.
Just last month, The Slyde performed at Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany, one of the world’s largest heavy metal festivals, after winning the 2019 Wacken Metal Battle Canada among 80 other competing bands.
Da Silva is proud of all his band’s accomplishments and looks forward to continuing doing what he loves with his peers.
To learn more about the band, visit theslyde.ca or @theslydecanada on social media and SoundCloud.
