Indosurf Interview
Q: You decided to release three EP’s that consist of the album you will release in 2017. What was the thought process behind this kind of release?
A: For us it made more sense to do it that way from a time stand point. We are releasing this album completely on our own (minus the mastering process) as far as the tracking, mixing and producing...so being it's a "newer" process, things can take longer. We all have lives outside of the band as well, so that is accounted for too. We figured it'd be smarter to get a finished product to our fans in shorter amounts of time, rather than waiting the full amount of time for an album to be done without any content!
Q: According to your Bandcamp page the album was recorded by the two members Matt Vitale and Chase Sanborn. The album is packed with instrumentation. How do you approach this when playing live?
A: For starters, INDOSURF is a four-piece group with myself on drums, Matt on vocals/guitar and new members Peter Moore on guitar and Henry Sullivant on bass. Matt and I decided to record this album all on our own when there was a bit of a break in the band a few years ago, and decided to just run with that for this album. The songs on the album were pretty much all originally written for the current four member instrumentation, so I'd like to think they stand up in a live sense without all of the strings and horns and what not. Sometimes things will come out during recording that weren't originally written in, like a guitar line or harmony, and a lot of those times we will go back and try to add those in to the live version to help the continuity between the two versions. It also means we can do some killer shows with all that stuff added back in live one day!
Q: Do you feel like each EP was a distinct feel - meaning were the grouping of a particular set of songs based on a predetermined vibe?
A: Not really...I wish though! I've seen that sort of thing in the past with other artists where multiple releases were based on a "feel" or certain vibe….Like a conceptual thing. We just basically had a handful of newer songs and tried to break them up best we could so there were strong songs on each EP.
Q: I was in high school in the ’90s and remember there being more bands around at that time that had a similar sound with Sublime leading the charge. How much of an influence is from the ’90s?
A: Oh man, so much. Matt and I were ’90s babies; even our two newest members are too. During practices we will literally just start playing Green Day songs or 311 or STP songs out of nowhere and like, play the whole song pretty good cause it's imbedded in our brains. It just naturally comes out in almost all the writing I know I've done for the band whether I want it to or not. I can probably speak for the other guys too. It's just part of the fabric of our band.
Q: So far two of three EP’s have dropped. Do we have any dates for when the third EP will drop completing the entire album?
A:: There isn't a certain date anticipated, but we are getting close to finishing up the third EP. We are planning on releasing a few more songs on the actual complete album, so that will be coming as well. The EP's are digital release only, and the album will be physical print and digital. We wanted to make sure the full album still had some "weight" to it.
Q: 2017 is around the corner. What else can we expect from INDOSURF in the next year?
A: More shows! Things are going really well with our new lineup so we are gearing up to get back out on the road and do it. And also, of course, the finished album of The Heart and Soul.
Q: You decided to release three EP’s that consist of the album you will release in 2017. What was the thought process behind this kind of release?
A: For us it made more sense to do it that way from a time stand point. We are releasing this album completely on our own (minus the mastering process) as far as the tracking, mixing and producing...so being it's a "newer" process, things can take longer. We all have lives outside of the band as well, so that is accounted for too. We figured it'd be smarter to get a finished product to our fans in shorter amounts of time, rather than waiting the full amount of time for an album to be done without any content!
Q: According to your Bandcamp page the album was recorded by the two members Matt Vitale and Chase Sanborn. The album is packed with instrumentation. How do you approach this when playing live?
A: For starters, INDOSURF is a four-piece group with myself on drums, Matt on vocals/guitar and new members Peter Moore on guitar and Henry Sullivant on bass. Matt and I decided to record this album all on our own when there was a bit of a break in the band a few years ago, and decided to just run with that for this album. The songs on the album were pretty much all originally written for the current four member instrumentation, so I'd like to think they stand up in a live sense without all of the strings and horns and what not. Sometimes things will come out during recording that weren't originally written in, like a guitar line or harmony, and a lot of those times we will go back and try to add those in to the live version to help the continuity between the two versions. It also means we can do some killer shows with all that stuff added back in live one day!
Q: Do you feel like each EP was a distinct feel - meaning were the grouping of a particular set of songs based on a predetermined vibe?
A: Not really...I wish though! I've seen that sort of thing in the past with other artists where multiple releases were based on a "feel" or certain vibe….Like a conceptual thing. We just basically had a handful of newer songs and tried to break them up best we could so there were strong songs on each EP.
Q: I was in high school in the ’90s and remember there being more bands around at that time that had a similar sound with Sublime leading the charge. How much of an influence is from the ’90s?
A: Oh man, so much. Matt and I were ’90s babies; even our two newest members are too. During practices we will literally just start playing Green Day songs or 311 or STP songs out of nowhere and like, play the whole song pretty good cause it's imbedded in our brains. It just naturally comes out in almost all the writing I know I've done for the band whether I want it to or not. I can probably speak for the other guys too. It's just part of the fabric of our band.
Q: So far two of three EP’s have dropped. Do we have any dates for when the third EP will drop completing the entire album?
A:: There isn't a certain date anticipated, but we are getting close to finishing up the third EP. We are planning on releasing a few more songs on the actual complete album, so that will be coming as well. The EP's are digital release only, and the album will be physical print and digital. We wanted to make sure the full album still had some "weight" to it.
Q: 2017 is around the corner. What else can we expect from INDOSURF in the next year?
A: More shows! Things are going really well with our new lineup so we are gearing up to get back out on the road and do it. And also, of course, the finished album of The Heart and Soul.