Brina Kabler, on Sons of Silver’s New Album and Making Music with a Toddler in Tow

As a young girl, Brina Kabler didn’t dream of joining a band or marrying a rock musician. In fact, while studying biology to pursue a career in neuropsychology at the University of California, Berkeley, she was on track for a career in science. But once she set her eyes on a pro-mixing console at a recording studio in LA her entire trajectory shifted.

“It looked like a big spaceship,” Kabler recalls. “I knew nothing about it. And I thought, you know, I think this might be right for me because it’s kind of science and art and one.”

Through her career as a sound engineer in LA, she connected with Peter Argyropoulos (Pete RG), the lead singer and founder of late ’90s indie-rock band Last December, best known for its Dawson’s Creek single, “If You Leave.” Today, they’re married with a toddler, as well as a band of their own, Sons of Silver – an alt-rock supergroup comprising Argyropoulos (lead vocals, guitar); Kabler (keys, backing vocals, sound engineering); Kevin Haaland (Skillet,) on guitars; bassist Adam Kury (Candlebox,); and drummer Marc Slutsky.

The band’s alchemic sound infuses masculine, baritone lead vocals with muscular guitar riffs soulful rhythms, culminating in a musical umami that isn’t bound by a single rock genre: Their 2019 single “Read Em’ Their Rights” a is hard-rocking, gritty, political anthem, while 2022’s “Cause of My Pain” (from 2022’s Ordinary Sex Appeal) is cool, dark, and a little vampiric — the kind of dive-bar rock song that would have worked well on the 1987 Lost Boys soundtrack. Other songs have more of a punk slant.

But what truly sets band apart from zillions of others on either coast is the songs’ thoughtful lyrics. Sons of Silver is a cerebral alt-rock lover’s kind of band.

We recently caught up with Kabler to chat about life, love, and Sons of Silver’s forthcoming single, “Tell Me This,” which drops in February ahead of their Spring album, Runaway Emotions:  

ROCKMOMMY:  What were some of your earliest memories of the music scene, growing up in Southern California?

BRINA KABLER: In Southern California, there is a great music community – so many great venues. Although I didn’t play any instruments in any band, I was going to shows all the time, mostly punk and indie rock, live music was a big part of my life. When I went to UC Berkeley, I played soccer – and I lived this dual life because the soccer team was very much involved with [Greek] life, while most of the friends that I had made there were in bands.

ROCKMOMMY: How did you get into audio engineering? 

BRINA KABLER: After I graduated from UC Berkeley, I was going to pursue neuropsychology, but while I love science and I’m very science oriented, I’m also very artsy. I eventually found my way into a recording studio, just out of nowhere — I had some friends who were there — and I just fell in love with it.

So, I enrolled in LA’s Musician’s Institute Audio Engineering Program and did live sound, worked in studios, and podcasting. I tried my hand at all the different ways you can be an audio engineer and work in sound, and was drawn to what I like best, which is the studio.

ROCKMOMMY: How did you guys get started?

BRINA KABLER: In 2009 Peter was working on new music as a singer-songwriter, after his band Last December had broken up. He had been working on his own music for some time and eventually asked me to be his engineer and start singing with him. First, it was him and I, playing together, and he asked me to go on stage with him and sing harmonies and I’m like, “oh, gosh, I don’t want to do that!” But he convinced me, so for a while, we basically played folk stuff. Eventually, we got bored of that and we wanted to have a full band.

ROCKMOMMY: How does your experience as an audio engineer influence the Sons of Silver sound? 

BRINA KABLER: We’re a guitar-heavy band, so I usually start as an engineer, recording the guys playing live — jamming and songwriting in the tracking room, while I’m recording all of it and taking notes. We all produce, so it’s very organic. Usually, Kevin and Pete come up with guitar parts and work with Adam and Mark on the song structures. I have a pretty clear idea of what drum and bass sounds the band likes, so I tend to commit to sounds in tracking instead of waiting to do it in the mixing process. This plays a big role in our final sound. It’s usually a little later in the production when the guitar parts have been worked out, and the vocal melodies have been worked out, then I’ll bring in the keyboard ideas. A lot of times it’s kind of like, ‘Okay, what is the song missing?’

ROCKMOMMY: Is your forthcoming album inspired by any specific idea, theme, or sound?

BRINA KABLER: I truly appreciate that each member of our band has similar/overlapping musical influences with slight differences. U2 is one of them, but also, Radiohead, The Clash, The Pixies, The Ramones, and so forth are in the mix as well. That edge and grit is a big part of our sound. Not only in the production and tones but also in the topics. We often discuss what is going on in the world with each other, bouncing off ideas and asking questions about society and politics and world topics in general. These discussions and reflections make their way into our music, and you

ROCKMOMMY: You and Peter had a son during the height of the pandemic! How did that shift plans a bit?

BRINA KABLER:

It changed everything. We had to slow down, cut down on hours spent in the studio, and embrace life with a newborn. It was actually perfect timing to have a child during the pandemic because everyone else was slowing down too! Our son Julian is three years old now and a little rocker in his own right! You’ll appreciate this story – U2 is one of Peter’s favorite bands, and Julian happens to love rocking out to U2. So, we’re at a kid’s birthday party and a mom says to Julian, ‘Well what’s your name?’ And Julian says ‘Bono’ – the funny thing is, this very sweet mom happened to know Bono, turns out her husband is very close to him.

ROCKMOMMY: How has your workflow changed?

BRINA KABLER: Our hours and workflow in the studio have changed dramatically. We used to work long hours, diving deep into the music. But now, we tend to work from 12 to 7 with a lot of breaks and interruptions. We take our son to the studio with us. He has a babysitter on those days, but we keep the studio open for him to come in and out as he pleases. He loves playing music, and the guys in the band are like family, so it’s important for us to have him be a part of the process. But that said, it does make it hard to stay in the zone and to finish things quickly. We’re still learning how to balance parent life with work life. 

Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the editor and founder of Rockmommy.