Rock and Roll may not be dead, but it does seem like there’s a priest leaning over its bed, reciting the last rites. However, if The Silks have anything to do with it, the body will soon be out of bed, bopping around the room.

What makes their debut disc, Last American Band, so special is this Rhode Island trio not only rocks but also rolls. While longhaired singer-guitarist, Tyler-James Kelly belts it out like early Paul Rodgers, bassist Jonas Parmelee and drummer Matthew Donnelly, keep the beat swinging. One listen to these guys and you’ll remember this music is for the body as well as the mind. The minute you hear The Silks? You can’t sit down. 

It was all meant to be. Kelly somehow lost his backing group, but then veterans players Parmelee and Donnelly heard his songwriting and guitar-playing and nearly trampled over the competition to be in a band with him. For the last year, they’ve been blowing the minds of barflies in R.I. When ‘Last American Band’ comes out, it’ll be an invitation across the nation. The Silks are positioned for national prominence.

“I never wanted to be a solo artist, with a backing band,” says Kelly. “You can always get pros who can play behind you. But it doesn’t have the organic feel of a band. I don’t know what it is about playing with these cats. But we all totally lock in when we play. At the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of animals who want to rock. It’s not a careerist thing. We got together so we could f*ckin’ play music together.”

The sheer rockin’ power of this album is also due to the fella who produced it. This guy named Paul Westerberg, leader of The Replacements. Between Westerberg’s experience and the excitement of his new charges, this disc is like a wonderfully-controlled explosion. As Mr W. says, “We have a hit record here. It really stands up to all of the other mess in a big way.”

From the Mountain-like heaviness of Down At The Heel to the Dylanesque blues of Try All You Want to the stomping rocker, Living In The World Today, The Silks sound like the first band in ages who could conceivably appeal to kids who are horrified at having Miley shoved down their throats, to aging hipsters who once hung out at The Fillmore. Though they’re young, The Silks seem somehow ageless. They’ve learned their lessons. They know their history. They rock. They also roll. Look! The body is out of bed. And dig it: he’s dancing! 

- Peter Gerstenzang is an award-winning humorist and freelance journalist, who has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Esquire and a number of other of publications."