Silvertide is an American blues rock band. They come from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Silvertide was formed in January 2001 in northeast Philadelphia. At first, Silvertide (which was originally called Vertigo) had four members: lead singer Walt Lafty, lead guitarist Nick Perri, rhythm guitarist Mark Melchiorre (who also plays banjo and the Indian sitar), and drummer Kevin Frank (who has cited the Who's Keith Moon as a major influence). The lineup was completed with the addition of bassist Brian Weaver. The young rockers had been jamming and rehearsing in the basement for several months when they started performing live in Philadelphia clubs, and listeners were shocked to hear a group of 21st century teenagers sounding like they had just stepped out of the '70s or '80s -- in fact, most of Silvertide's members were still in high school and weren't old enough to vote when the band was formed.
Because their sound was so unapologetically retro, they felt like musical outcasts in high school. When other northeast Philly teens were listening to KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, Eminem, and Jay-Z, Silvertide's members were admiring the Rolling Stones, the Who, Peter Frampton, Jimi Hendrix, and the Faces. When other high-school students were adoring Britney Spears, *NSYNC, and the Backstreet Boys, Lafty was being influenced by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose, and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant.