Slyde is a smorgasbord of popular music influences from the last twenty five years. With it's retro 80s pop vibes, NES-inspired melodies, alternative rock-isms and heavy metal overtones, their inspirations range from Dream Theater, System of a Down and Foo Fighters to Nobuo Uematsu, Stevie Wonder and everything in between. Slyde is vocalist/guitarist Nathan Da Silva, bassist Nick Favretto, keyboardist Sarah Westbrook and drummer/vocalist Paul Gillespie. Their 2009 demo is a seven-song effort filled with riffing guitars, textural ambiances, old school analog synth leads, hard rock rhythms, poppin' bass grooves, and dance-like beats, all topped with emotionally charged vocal work. The quartet took their repertoire to Gillespie's basement studio to rehearse and record their forthcoming demo, due for a May 2009 independent online release. Produced by the band and engineered by Gillespie, their two-month project yielded close to thirty minutes of video game-inspired hard rock that is lyrically uplifting and, more importantly, musically fun. 'I think our lyrics are kind of cheesy', admits frontman Da Silva, 'but we all know cheese tastes pretty damn good!' In the end, these four Slyders are simply out to enjoy their musical experiences together, which undoubtably relates to the band's overall message. Conveying a positive outlook is the task at hand, whether it's about optimistic perseverance, social importance, growing from past relationships, or simply enjoying nightlife. 'If ya didn't love it, why would ya do it?', says Westbrook. With high hopes and no mopes, Slyde's mission is that of an ambitious group of young and talented musicians plotting to infect listeners with their catchy and quirky take on hard rock and alternative metal. 'Just put it this way,' explains Favretto, 'If Megaman could play guitar, he would be Slyde's second guitarist.'
