The Silos

One of the pioneering bands of the early alternative country scene, the Silos were the brainchild of vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader <a href="spotify:artist:6qrZlCTUWyFb6pzKE81jdf">Walter Salas-Humara</a>, who was born in Florida to parents who were exiled from Cuba. <a href="spotify:artist:6qrZlCTUWyFb6pzKE81jdf">Salas-Humara</a> began writing songs while he was a student at the University of Florida in Gainesville in the early '80s (where he played in an early version of <a href="spotify:artist:0dJjgLPwn4EtXDxHr78C3J">the Vulgar Boatmen</a>), and by 1985 he had relocated to New York City and was eager to record an album. <a href="spotify:artist:6qrZlCTUWyFb6pzKE81jdf">Salas-Humara</a> began working with bassist and guitarist Bob Rupe, another former Floridian. Calling themselves the Silos, the pair recorded -- with the help of a few friends -- a low-budget album called About Her Steps. Released by a small New York independent label called Record Collect, About Her Steps earned a number of rave reviews, and <a href="spotify:artist:6qrZlCTUWyFb6pzKE81jdf">Salas-Humara</a> and Rupe assembled a touring version of the Silos to support the release on the road.

In 1987, the road-tested Silos went into the studio to record Cuba, which added a tougher and more confident tone to the debut album's blend of jangle and fuzz; the album became another critical favorite, and the band signed a major-label deal with RCA, who released the band's self-titled third set in 1990. A more delicate and carefully crafted effort than its predecessors, The Silos was lovely but a tough sell, and sold poorly by major-label standards (though it moved significantly more copies than Cuba or About Her Steps). RCA dropped the band, and Rupe parted ways with the Silos; <a href="spotify:artist:6qrZlCTUWyFb6pzKE81jdf">Salas-Humara</a> opted to continue without him, and the Texas-based independent label Watermelon Records issued Hasta la Victoria! in 1992. After 1994's Susan Across the Ocean, the Silos tool a break for several years, but with 1998's Heater, the group began to solidify with a new lineup -- <a href="spotify:artist:6qrZlCTUWyFb6pzKE81jdf">Salas-Humara</a>, bassist and pedal steel player Drew Glackin, and percussionist Konrad Meissner -- and a series of strong albums followed, including 2001's Laser Beam Next Door and 2004's When the Telephone Rings. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi