When you think of Palm Beach, Florida, what comes to mind?Comprised of members JP (dubbed “The Mastermind” by the rest of the band), TJ, Thomas and Brian, Surfer Blood met one fateful night at an after party for Miami’s Ultra Festival, though they didn’t attend the festival itself (“We do not like the D’n’B,” they proclaim). After discussing music – what else? –for the remainder of the night, JP decided to recruit the other guys to perfect some songs he had been working on, and thus, the band was formed. “I knew Brian because we went to the same high school, and I had seen Tom around at a lot of shows”, JP now recalls. “Tyler and I had been playing with a few different people and nothing seemed to be working out. When Tom approached me at that party, he seemed dead serious about touring and trying to make the band work. I had seen how his previous bands had been; his old band had done a tour up to Atlanta over spring break when they were fifteen. It was exactly what Tyler and I needed. I gave him my phone number that night and he called me the next afternoon. He came by our rehearsal space and I showed him the recordings that would become “Astro Coast”. The fact that Tom and Brian believed in the music from the very beginning was a huge catalyst”.
From then on, things moved at a breakneck pace: after hearing the recordings, Tom and Brian opted not to decamp to Miami as was originally intended, JP decided not to sign up for fall classes at FAU to focus on the band, and they decided to use their college scholarship money to buy musical equipment. A mere two months after they met they started touring outside of Florida in July, up to New York in August and then to Chicago in September. On a recommendation from a friend, they started recording “Astro Coast” at a studio in Port St. Lucie Florida, but when they only finished the drums at the end of a two day session, Tyler and JP decided to take matters into their own hands, spending the next six months tracking and mixing the record in JP’s apartment in Boca Raton with a copy of Pro Tools which Tyler procured for “dirt cheap” through a community college where he was studying in Orlando. JP asserts, “It gave us the opportunity to give our album the time and thought it deserved”.
Their live shows started coming into their own as well, with the band practicing every day and touring nonstop, their newfound energy resulting in a constant evolution and refinement of their sound. “Our live set is always changing”, JP says. “Subtle things begin to work their way into the songs and before you know it people are coming up to you after shows and telling you that the live show is a completely different experience from the record”. The tipping point for the band, of course, was last year’s CMJ Music Marathon, where they played a whopping 13 shows in 7 days, catching the eye of the likes of Interview and The New York Times in the process. With the resultant excited chatter anointing them as the band to watch bar none, and a record deal freshly inked with Kanine Records (introduced to JP through Jacob Graham of the Drums), Surfer Blood are now preparing themselves to battle through the whirlwind of hype. Their debut UK shows in February for instance, were raucous affairs, with the band playing to rowdy, expectant crowds in rammed venues. Luckily, they all have more than level heads on their shoulders. “I think the secret to longevity is not letting all of the press stuff get in your head. I’m really glad people are writing about us, but there are going to be a lot of journalists who try and pick you apart”, JP muses. “I’m not saying you should go through life with blinders on, but you have to keep moving forward to keep yourself sane”.
Even more fortuitously, in “Astro Coast”, they also have an absolute gem of an album under their belts. Indeed, it is hard to think of many recent albums that arrive sounding so urgent and fresh, so gigantic and fully-formed; with every song sounding like a classic in waiting. JP says that was the intention. “I think a lot of the melodies are catchy and timeless. I also think the album as a whole is good front to back, there isn’t a lot of filler on the record. There is a clear arc in the record, something that kind of resembles a narrative, even though the plot might not be quite as clear. I think a lot of people today get carried away with singles and don’t listen to an album all the way through...our record as a whole is stronger than the sum of its parts”.
If you’re wondering about the name, the band ain’t got no surfer blood in them, and actually denounce the surfer kids of their youth for making their high school experience miserable. As for the moniker itself, one of the band members just randomly yelled it out over the radio in the backseat of the band’s car, which is as good a naming process as any. They say that others making music is their inspiration for them to in turn pick up their instruments and see what they can create. And despite the tidal wave of buzz and acclaim, the band’s goals remain honest and simple. “We want to continue to write, record and tour for years to come”, JP says. “I want to continue to win over new, loyal fans, and I never want to be too afraid to try something new”.
East Coast lo-fi troop and Sunderland's post-punk yelpers. This Twin Shadow remix of "Floating Vibes" kind of sounds like The Police and Everything Everything too
Floating Vibes (Twin Shadow Remix)
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