AG Silver
After winning Michigan’s largest Battle of the Bands in December of 2003, Ag Silver did something that seemed counter-intuitive to
some, they locked themselves in a basement for the better part of 2 years. “We really felt like we were just beginning to scrape the
tip of the iceberg with our songwriting,” said Jon Ornée, lead singer and lyricist. “Even though we were beginning to gain some
regional attention from our live show, we decided to step back, trash most of our music and re-dream the whole thing.”
The result of all that dreaming is Ag Silver’s 2006 “Wake Up and Smell Reality”. “It’s a very home grown project,” said Ornée, “we
did all the initial engineering and production ourselves, everything down to the album art. We just knew what we wanted and decided
that we wanted total creative freedom this time around.” In the end, the band called in Grammy Award Winning Engineer Richard Dodd
(Tom Petty, Wilco, Green Day) to put on some of the final touches. The result? 13 tracks of emotionally charged, radio friendly,
thoughtful rock music.
Perhaps the most unique trait of the new music is it’s believability. Whether they are in a hushed bridge or a climactic outro, you
can feel the passion behind the music, and you get the sense that Ornée is bearing his soul in the lyrics. Most of the songs deal
with common human themes of doubt, love and hope. Ornée seems to be striving for something that he can’t quite put his finger on.
While the lyrics are believable, the music itself makes you want to believe in something, anything. “We really strive to make music
that, in it’s nature, regardless of the lyrics, moves the listener,” Ornée explained. They seem to be succeeding. Their revamped
live shows have become known for their arena like experience, even when they’re playing in a small club.
So what’s next for this four-some? According to Ornée the band intends to tour heavily in support of the new album and then he says
“it’s back to the basement.”
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