Silberman's Antlers are stuck on Brooklyn

By Meredith Deliso

Home, in the most basic sense of the word, is the place where you hang your hat. For musicians, it’s the place you return to time and time again after each tour.

For Peter Silberman, that place is Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn is definitely our home base and I feel home when we’re here, it’s just not that often that we’re home,” says Silberman, who fronts the indie rock band The Antlers.

Since releasing their acclaimed third album “Hospice” last spring (and not forgotten when magazines and blogs made their top 10 lists last year), the band has been called to all parts of the country, on the road for months on end.

They hit the road again next month, this time including jaunts to Europe, but not before playing BAM’s Sounds like Brooklyn Festival on February 5 with headliners Ra Ra Riot.

“I love BAM,” says Silberman. “I’m really excited to be playing a room like that, and for us to have a chance to do something that’s a little different than we normally would. I feel like we should dress up or something.”

Beyond presentation, previous local outings have seen the likes of horn sections, a small choir and guest vocalists like Sharon Van Etten, and this go around the band’s also figuring out what they can do musically to make the show extra-special.

While he’s in town, the Greenpointer is also looking forward to actually living in Brooklyn.

“I’m trying to temporarily have a regular life again,” he continues, “with full knowledge that I’m about to leave again.”

That life includes usual stuff like hanging out with friends, as well as revisiting new favorites in his neighborhood, including getting a beer at Pencil Factory, eating a burrito a Papacitos, and having coffee and a bagel at Cafe Grumpy (“The rest of the world – not so good with bagels”).

Three days after the BAM show, they’re up in the air again, as you will find them in San Francisco playing with the Editors. And while this year will see the band – comprised of Michael Lerner on drums and Darby Cicci on keys – traveling for most of it, Silberman is grateful for the opportunities that have come with getting your name out there to so many people.

“All that touring is what helped us get to where we are now, and the freedom to work on new material,” says Silberman. “We’re looking forward to the unpredictability of this year.”

One thing’s for sure – when’s all said in done, they’re be back in Brooklyn.

The Antlers play BAM (30 Lafayette St.) January 5 with Ra Ra Riot as part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival. The Festival kicks off January 29 with Les Savy Fav and Vivian Girls, with shows at BAM and at additional Brooklyn venues from February 4-6.