This Landshark Was Made for You and Me
By Chris Manson December 18, 2003 Issue

After catching Landshark at Snapperheads—where the acoustic duo performs Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m.—I asked Mike Silberhorn if I could see his guitar. He obliged, and I began to pick out the one riff I sort of know, Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Flat Top Box. It didn’t sound quite right to me.

Silberhorn explained that he and his partner Larry Esco tune their guitars down a step to E-flat. Oh, great. I’m dealing with some world class guitar players here, and I’m still trying to figure out the chords to Masters of War. “For some (Led Zeppelin) songs, we use open C tunings,” Silberhorn added. Huh?

The good news is you don’t have to know anything about kooky tunings to enjoy Landshark’s renditions of beloved tunes like Jimmy Buffett’s Come Monday, Pure Prairie League’s Amie—I wondered if they’d heard the version by Randy Scruggs and Travis Tritt, but forgot to ask—and Dobie Gray’s Drift Away. Silberhorn and Esco are full of energy and faithful to the original artists.

Fire and Rain by James Taylor and Neil Young’s classic Old Man and I Am a Child represented the great singer-songwriters. Young is one of Silberhorn’s favorite writers, along with Doyle Brahmall —“he wrote a lot of stuff for Stevie Ray Vaughan”—and Rush’s Neil Peart. Esco cited Kris Kristofferson as a strong influence. “He’s just beautiful at putting words together and making it sound simple and down home,” Esco said.

Silberhorn and Esco have only been playing together for about six months and haven’t had time to work on any homegrown material. “It’s a long hard process,” Esco said. Silberhorn added that he has written some songs that the duo may incorporate into their act next year.

The night I saw Landshark, Silberhorn sang all of the leads, although Esco distinguished himself with solid rhythm playing and fine harmony singing. Esco grew up with three older brothers who were into music. He listened to a lot of Everly Brothers and Beach Boys before discovering the harder rocking sounds of the Allman Brothers. Esco’s brother Rob also plays guitar and taught his brother a few things. “I learned quite a bit from him about being on stage, being in front of people,” Esco said. Esco and Rob used to play in the band Kemosabe together.

“Since I’ve been here, there’s a lot more places going up, there’s more places for people to play, more variety, different styles. The music scene has definitely changed for the better. In 1970, when I first got here, there were maybe two bands playing,” Esco observed.

Silberhorn spent his youth in and around Chicago and started playing music in high school. Around 1991 he played lead guitar in his first band, a southern rock and blues outfit. Silberhorn also developed his talent in jazz-rock bands while living in Naples, Fla.—“we did a lot of Steely Dan stuff. They’re another one of my big influences.” He left Naples last November and works as a draftsman full-time. “I’m usually working by five or six in the morning, but I make time for music,” he said.

Esco describes the duo’s repertoire as “whatever blows our skirts. I’ll toss something out and if Mike likes it, we’ll try it out and see if it works. If not, we’ll put in on the backburner and come back to it.”

“Larry and I are very agreeable. We pretty much agree on the songs,” Silberhorn said.

Upcoming rehearsals will include some Christmas favorites. “I love that (Greg Lake) song I Believe in Father Christmas,” Silberhorn said, while Esco named the Eagles’ Please Come Home for Christmas as his favorite holiday standard. Silberhorn also indicated that he’d like to work up some Steely Dan material—Pretzel Logic is a possibility—for the two-guitar format.

“We’re gonna keep plugging. I like playing with Mike,” Esco said. “Things are working out good so far.” A lot better than the E-flat tuning on my beat-up old guitar, I’m sure.

Mike Silberhorn’s Five Desert Island CDs

1. Eric Johnson, Ahvia Musicom. (“Great album, you gotta hear it. It’s jazz-rock, lots of Hendrix influenced,” Silberhorn says.)
2. Rush, All the World’s a Stage.
3. Neil Young, Rust Never Sleeps. (“…or Live Rust.”)
4. Al DiMeola, Casino.
5. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III.

(NOTE: Larry Esco mentioned the Allman Brothers’ Eat a Peach and Derek & the Dominos’ Layla, then said he’d get back to me with the rest of his selections. I’m still waiting.—CM)

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