Post Adolescence and Bizarre Circumstance

Written and Photographed by Rick Perez

San Diego band Silent Island discuss becoming better artists, growing into adults, and their latest EP, “Youth In Borrowed Time”.

San Diego, USA

The sun was setting as a I walked through the streets of Downtown San Diego, scouting good photo spots for my upcoming shoot with indie rock band Silent Island. I was out all day and admittingly tired, but I love taking band photographs so my excitement overwhelmed my fatigue.

Arriving at the meet location, I met with Neeco Beltran, Ian Hughes, Julio Dominguez, and Tyler Neal, members of the band Silent Island. The boys were baby faced and pleasant to talk to, creating an easy environment for the shoot.

As were getting ready in our first location, I asked them how they got together and formed Silent Island.

Neeco responded, “A lot of people in bands right now will tell you to start bands with your existing set of friends…but I’ve learned that there’s always exceptions to the rule.”

The members of Silent Island met through the threads of reddit, places of work, and group therapy sessions; all from different backgrounds and interests but somehow built a genuine bond with each other.

“I’m very surprised we have as much chemistry as we do as a band,” Neeco expresses honestly, “Whenever we hang out it feels pretty natural and organic.”

As we ventured down India Street in Little Italy, I wondered how being in the band pushed them to be better artists.

“I’ve transitioned into musically creating an environment for my bandmates to shine,” Julio said, which I thought was beautiful. “If I can provide a super solid backing to one of Ian’s solos - that's when I know we are in the zone.”

For Ian, being in Silent Island made him a better songwriter, “I’ve definitely learned a lot more about writing and recording songs and sort of the process you go through individually and as a band. It’s a really unique blend between friendship and almost, co authorship.”

“I’ve learned how to communicate visions of how the songs will manifest themselves live to other people,” Neeco admitted. “It’s weird when you have this vision in your head that might be hard to communicate, but once you find the words to encourage people to try it, it usually works out great.”

Tyler loves the reward of hard work, “It was surprising to me how we could come together a few times and practice for a show and nail it despite infrequent rehearsals. It was like we knew what work had to be done and got it all covered in time.”

It was completely dark now and the lights of Downtown San Diego turned on, like manmade fireflies coming out to play. After shooting in different locations and outfit changes, we were on our last few photos and I inquired about the new music they recently put out into the world.

Silent Island’s latest EP, "Youth On Borrowed Time", was released in February 2021. When I listened to it, I felt a sense of nostalgia takeover, and wondered if that was the feeling they wanted to give. “What kind of journey are you taking us on?” I asked.

“I want the listener to experience the feelings that I’ve naturally felt over the past 18 months as a young adult.” explained Neeco, “such as existentialism with respect to getting older, liking somebody, and learning to accept disliking people.”

As an adult in his mid-thirties, I definitely know what he’s saying. Part of me always wants to hold onto the freedom of youth while navigate being on my own. I asked what kind of growing pains they are experiencing as they advance into adulthood.

“My sense of time has been warped,” Neeco says. “Up until I graduated from UC San Diego, there was always a ‘next’ step. Things were always partitioned. You had elementary school, middle school, high school, and college, along with all the other steps along the way (like getting a driver’s license, first job, graduations, etc.). For the first time in my life, there isn’t a clearly (or societally, for that matter) defined ‘next step.’ Everything feels so wide open, and time has gone quickly! The ten months since I’ve graduated college have gone by super fast.”

Ian chimed in, “I feel pretty under-qualified to answer any questions about being an adult as I’m the youngest band member at the ripe old age of 20 but there are a few major differences. I think one of the key things is that as a kid, you can typically make plans and stick to them pretty heavily but when you get older, all kinds of things sort of get tossed into the way and sometimes you have to flake on things you were really excited about. The pandemic hasn’t helped with that either of course! But overall things have been pretty cool. Might have to revisit this in 5 years...”

“I guess I’ve been an adult for about 7 years so I should be qualified..,” adds Julio. “I think appreciating how much work and resources go into doing anything was quite a growing pain. It’s easy to say “oh yeah, i'm gonna do X”; it takes grit and consistency to actually execute well.

“I started grocery shopping for myself and I really suck at that,” Tyler revealed, “I feel a little stab every time I run out of food and then have to go to Vons, or even worse, Ralph’s .”

As adults, I wondered how they prepared for this time in their lives and they are struggling with anything they didn’t expect.

“I was prepared to spend most of my day not being a musician,” Neeco laughs. “It’s a tough industry! But luckily my day job is incredibly interesting and rewarding, to the point where I have the same amount of love for it compared to music, it’s just a different type of love. As far as something I didn’t expect, fruits spoil quickly! You gotta eat your fruits the day of, otherwise, they get spoiled.”

Julio continues, “I was not ready for this whole ‘buying insurance’ business. So expensive! I was totally ready for all the activities that became legal once I became of adulting age.’

Ending our shoot, I thought about adulthood and how we perceived it as we were children and if we would give ourselves any advice to prepare. “What would you tell your childhood self?” I asked.

“Don’t be afraid to be interested in what you’re interested in even if it’s not cool,” Neeco says confidently. “I used to really want to fit in with everybody when I was a kid, but now, I’ve realized the importance of having your own interests and pursuing them without caring what anyone else thinks. That’s why I write the songs I write.”

“Firmly agree with Neeco on this one!” Ian responded. “Nobody cares if you’re a little out there or different when you're older. In addition, there are definitely some things to take seriously when you're growing up like school and mental and physical health but overall, do what you’re passionate about and don’t worry about the little stuff!

Julio would emphasize trust, “I would say to trust myself way more and to be careful about overthinking everything. But at the same time, do give some thinking, but not too much.”

Candidly, Tyler said, “Fuck what that one kid Corey thinks about your pants.”

As I drove back to Los Angeles that night, I reflected on my own experience growing into adulthood. My parents did a lot things for me as a child and young adult, so when I moved off on my own, I chose to ignore certain responsibilities and focused on having fun. That kind of mentality ended up biting me in the ass, but I learned. “Adulting” in today’s world means struggling between between being young and free and paying your bills. Some people learn this quickly and others take years, sometimes never.

The members of Silent Island grasp this concept of “adulting” perfectly in their EP, “Youth in Borrowed Time”. It’s something that we all have to go through eventually and I’m glad they addressed this. I look forward to following them on their journey into adulthood and how the band grows because of this.