Their band name is a reference to the famous children's author Shel Silverstein , who the band had admired and whose work they had read as children. The band achieved moderate success with their second studio album, Discovering the Waterfront , which was nominated for a Juno Award and reached No. Silverstein's lineup remained unchanged from May to July , then consisting of lead vocalist Shane Told, lead guitarist Neil Boshart, rhythm guitarist Josh Bradford, bassist Billy Hamilton, and drummer Paul Koehler.
In September , the band had announced that Neil Boshart had been fired and replaced by Paul Marc Rousseau, who also joined Billy Hamilton on backing vocals. The band left long-time record label Victory Records in Misery Made Me , the band's eleventh studio album, was released in Silverstein formed in February In December , he joined the band after Told helped him learn the music for the songs. Following a rehearsal on Boxing Day December 26 in , he officially debuted with Silverstein.
The next spring, original guitarist Richard McWalter left the band to move to Victoria, British Columbia , to study engineering. He was then replaced by Neil Boshart, childhood friend of Shane Told. The following January the band went into the studio to record their first full-length debut album, When Broken Is Easily Fixed.
When Broken Is Easily Fixed sold over , copies, [ 12 ] [ 13 ] surpassing the expectations of the band. Silverstein's Victory debut is a jarring mixture of emo's earnest determination, elements of hardcore, and the heaviest of heavy metal. While vocalist Shane Told delivers lines like "How can I say I love you back, you never made me happy" in a cracked, soaring singing voice, When Broken Is Easily Fixed actually begins with a ragged scream that's as arresting as his singing is plaintive.
Musically, the LP is dominated by the dynamic shifts and driving melodies of emo. But Silverstein's membership was derived from existing hardcore, metal, and punk squads, and these fragiles are never very far from view. But just as the fragile strains of a violin drift in, Told's growling, scarred alter ego appears behind his singing self. In August the band's second studio album, Discovering the Waterfront , was released through Victory Records.
