The SLVR Tongues – Johnny Cash

By starrymag | July 18, 2017

By: Lindsay Flanagan

Q: Can you tell us about your background in music?

 

Peter: I picked up the guitar when I was fifteen years old and it was actually because I felt pretty bored at that time of my life. I was neither a gamer or someone who smoked behind the school building, so I didn’t really have that many friends I enjoyed hanging out with and the life of most 15-year-olds isn’t usually too interesting. Learning to play the guitar just gave me that mental stimulation I needed. It turned out I was pretty good at playing it. Then, I decided to really give it a shot making something out of it. So, making music was absolutely nothing that I expected to be doing when I was a little kid. At twenty-one years old I moved from Sweden to LA to pursue my music dreams and bumped into James [Lynch] at Sunset Strip one night and we all know what happened from there.

 

Hannah: I started writing angry jealousy songs about my sisters and just never stopped. Singing always came naturally to me and once I put those two together I was hooked – I knew I could never do anything else. Creating something out of thin air and sharing it with the world is simply magic to me.

 

James: I started singing and playing guitar around nine or ten years old. The first good band I was in was a Southern Rock band based out of D.C. when I was thirteen years old. We were young, but we’d play the hell out of some Skynyrd, Aerosmith, Tom Petty…you name it. After I moved to L.A. at fifteen years old, I played in various bands for years, toured, did a couple soundtracks, sang on a bunch of demos for other artists, lived for a while in the world of theater and eventually ended up in Germany recording a full length death metal album I’d written. After I came back to the states is when I met Hannah [Huntley] and The SLVR Tongues was born.

 

 

Q: Who are some of your inspirations (musical or non)?

 

P: Musically, I’ve always been inspired by professional songwriting and production. It’s never really just been about any genre, as long as the music is well made. So, I’d say Avicii, Martin Garrix, Kygo are big inspirations musically. Guitar wise, I love George Lynch and Van Halen. But when it comes to people I’d actually be star struck from I’d say successful entrepreneurs and business people. People who have had a dream and a vision, thought outside of the box and worked tirelessly to get there and accomplished what seemed impossible. Christian von Koenigsegg who created the world’s fastest sports cars from a barn, Steve Jobs who created a hype for personal electronics, Larry Ellison who created Oracle with a starting investment of $2,000. Ground breakers like that are my big inspirations.

 

H: Nowadays I am most inspired by artists that are finding innovative and unique ways to convey their individuality through their art. I own every Kacey Musgraves record on vinyl. Every time I listen to her songs I feel like I learn more about her. That’s probably creepy to say, but I love constantly finding new meaning in the same songs. Other favorites of mine include Maroon 5, Sam Hunt and most definitely Ed Sheeran. I love my country music, but artistically those people stand out to me right now. 

 

J: Musically, I’ve always been inspired by rock n’ roll and metal. Guns N’ Roses had a massive impact on me early on, but nowadays I tend to listen to much heavier stuff. Ironically, my biggest influences aren’t in music. The actors Viggo Mortensen and Norman Reedus are my biggest inspirations in entertainment. They are both such bad-asses and they are incredible artists in their own right. 

 

 

Q: Who did you grow up listening to?

 

P: Sweden was the world’s largest producer of music in the 90’s so growing up there it was hard to avoid all the main stream pop that came out. So, Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and music like that was what was played everywhere. And obviously every Swede has grown up listening to Abba. [laughs]

 

H: Being a basic girl born in the 90’s, I cut my teeth on all variations of pop. As I grew older, I craved more lyrical depth and I began to find this in country music. Shania Twain was a huge inspiration to me- my sisters and I listened to Come on Over every single day to and from school.

 

J: My dad has always had a pretty epic taste in music so I grew up listening to Steppenwolf, Deep Purple, early Van Halen…the good stuff. 

 

Q: Hannah and James, you two met at a Western bar and sang karaoke together. You realized you both had talent for singing and shortly thereafter you began writing together. What one thing solidified for both of you that you wanted to work together—that this wasn’t just a meeting in a bar with someone who could sing well?

 

That’s an awesome question! We actually both worked at that Western bar and a majority of the staff were ALL actors….We were the only two “music” people there. So, once we realized it would be worth our time to see if there was anything there in a writing session, we set a time to meet up. That happens a lot in the song writing scene, so it really depends on the chemistry of the actual writing process before you decide if you want to continually work with someone. 

 

 

Q: Peter, you moved here from Sweden. Is there a big audience for country music in Sweden? What drew you to the genre?

 

P: Western country is definitely becoming more and more popular, but it’s still a very small scene. We do have a popular “Swedified” version of country called “Dansband” that probably the closest we’ll get to it. It’s a sort of mix between schlager, country and swing with Swedish easy going lyrics about the simple life. Most people who listen to it are seniors living in rural areas of Sweden. What made me interested in the genre was that, honestly, it just ended up that way. I’ve always enjoyed playing 80’s rock the most (which one might notice in my guitar solos [laughs]). But whenever myself, Hannah and James jam out it always naturally turns into country. I guess it’s just meant to be that way!

 

Q: I read that as a group, you’re blazing a new trail in country music called “outlaw country.” Can you describe what that is and how you would set it apart from pop music but relate it to country music of today?

 

Well, to clarify, “outlaw country” has been around much longer than we have. Some of the greats like Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Hank Jr. started making their own kind of music that contrasted from the mainstream country sound of the late 70s/early 80s. We’re incredibly flattered to be compared to artists like that. Although our sound is nothing like theirs was, it seems that people are referring to our music as contemporary “Outlaw Country” because it’s not as formulaic as much of radio country- we’re kind of doing our own thing and telling real honest stories.

 

 

Q: Do you think of yourselves as “crossover” artists then being able to reach country and pop fans? Why do you think that’s important in not only music, but in today’s world and culture?

 

Truly, the most important thing to us is to make music that we love. It’s our way of expressing ourselves and we’re storytellers at heart. We think that kind of open minded attitude should definitely carry over into everything you do and everyone you meet. It’s not about fitting in other people’s expectations of a category- it’s about doing your best to be genuine in pursuit of your passions.

 

 

Q: You worked with Billboard charting producer Jordan Richman to create your debut EP, Rough Around the Edges. How did you meet Mr. Richman and what was it like to work with him?

 

Jordan is somewhat of a musical genius hiding inside a normal guy that loves oatmeal, caffeine and George Clooney’s tequila. James had already known Jordan from previous musical ties in LA and thought he would be a good fit for our music. Having no other ideas, Hannah and Peter went with it hoping it would work out… Jordan has seen so much success since he agreed to work with some unknown band called The SLVR Tongues, we definitely lucked out on that one! He’s like the fourth member of the band in a way because he is such a big part of our creative process and we’ve even written a few songs with him. He’s so much more than a producer to us, he’s a dear, dear friend.

 

 

Q: Can you tell us a bit about what it was like to write and record your EP? Dream come true?

 

Hell. Yes. We’ve put so much time and care and emotion into every ounce of that EP. It’s pretty freaking cool to finally have it released to share with the world. Each song on Rough Around the Edges came about so naturally for us – the stories kept pouring out. We have so many more songs we’re exciting to keep working on – the coolest part is knowing that we’re just getting started.

 

 

Q: You’ve had success with your song “Johnny Cash.” What inspired you to write that song? What does Johnny Cash, the country star (or, in other words, the man/the myth/the legend), mean to you?

 

Johnny Cash’s brilliance in writing poetry and songs is inspiring to so many people. The stories of his life are equally inspirational to us, depending on the mood, timing and content. In this instance we were sort of personifying a hangover – which we can almost all relate to. The craziest thing is that’s the second song Hannah and James ever wrote together- we didn’t even have a band name yet! With this song, we were referencing moments of his dark and edgy public persona: “The Man in Black.” However, Cash was an extraordinary writer and an incredibly prolific poet. There was so much more to him than the crazy party lifestyle the media always publicized, and we can really relate to that. 

 

 

Q: What do you hope listeners take away from your music?

 

Our EP, Rough Around the Edges, is inspired by our belief that you always have to be true to yourself. We all come from different backgrounds and have put all our various influences into creating a sound that we believe hasn’t really been introduced in Country before. The inspiration to do something honest and new was our primary goal with this release. That being said, we hope that any listeners out there follow suit and stay true to who they feel they are, not what the world, society or anyone else thinks they should be. Also, we just want people to rock out with us…

 

 

Q: Will we be able to catch you on tour anytime soon?

 

Nothing official to report on that yet, but it’s definitely in the works! 

 

 

Q: Speaking of tours, who would you love to share the stage with?

 

P: Considering the genre we’re in, I think we’d have a great time touring with bands and artists like Shinedown and Yelawolf. Hope you guys are reading this. [laughs]

 

H: Call me crazy, but I think performing with Lady Gaga would be incredible. I saw a video of her performing at a tiny bar in East Nashville and I would LOVE to learn a thing or two… or ten… from her.

 

J: From our genre, I think it would be rad to go on the road with FGL, Lady A or Sam Hunt. In any genre, I would love to tour with Yelawolf, Avatar, The Pretty Reckless or hell even Iron Maiden. A guy can dream!

 

Q: What advice do you have for people who want to pursue their musical dreams?

 

Be kind, work hard and trust your heart. So often in such a subjective industry, everyone wants to tell you what’s good, what will sell and what you should do. Not that they’re wrong, but the most important thing about being an artist is authenticity. We don’t sing about tractors because Hannah’s never even touched a lawnmower. Once you find your truth, experiment until you find a sound that just feels right and go with it. If you love the stuff you’re doing, you’re bound to find other people that do. And hardcore, genuine fans are so much more meaningful than numbers when you’re getting started.