The Beautiful Girls Interview

WE’LL HOLD.

Yeah, anyway, I was lying bed and there was a bunch of drunk Australian surfers guys singing along to the words of this song I’d written that, to me, was kinda of this really personal, sad song. I kinda wigged out a bit, cause I don’t think they were actually…well, what they got from it wasn’t what I’d put into it. But I just came to realize that people get out of music whatever they want to get out of it, and that’s equally valid to anything I think about it. I remember lying there in my bed thinking, man what am I doing. Music was so personal to me and I felt like I was kinda selling out ’cause people were listening to it…as strange as that sounds. It was a strange time to get my head around.

WHAT ABOUT A MOMENT WHEN IT FELT LIKE EVERYTHING WAS GOING GREAT?

Well, there’s a million little moments like that. Like, turning up at some little festival expecting nothing and all of a sudden there’s ten thousand people there all singing along to the words of this song you wrote in your bedroom on an acoustic guitar. We’ve had a couple of those where people are singing so loud you can’t even hear yourself singing. That’s a trip, ’cause music means so much to me and I’ve been in that same position, singing other people’s songs at the top of my lungs. It’s just a huge release and it’s a huge deal to me, so to be able to do that for someone else, how lucky I am is not lost on me. And other times, if you just catch one person in the crowd, just singing and having their eyes closed and it really means something to them. I always used to say, if there’s just one person out there that this means something to, then that’s enough.

YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A LOT OF TRAVEL SINCE STARTING, RIGHT?

[LAUGHS] It’s been constant travel for the last, what, I don’t even know. Five years or something. I traveled for a couple years before that, and then the band just traveled. We wanted to be old school about it, like an old blues band or folk show and get on the road and just play. And hopefully play good enough that the next time you come into town people have told their friends and there’s even more people into it. I didn’t want us to have to rely on MTV and any traditional music industry methods of getting our name out there cause I just thought most of it was just bullshit anyway. I thought I’d be more settled with myself to do it on a small scale and do it honestly and not have it be watered down or marketed. Music is a big deal for me and I don’t wanna have to dilute it just to sell extra records. I just wanted to do it in a way that I could sleep at night. And one of those ways is just getting out on the road and just traveling. And we’ve been doing that non-stop for years. I love touring and I love being in different places, so it’s all good.

DO YOU GET A BETTER RESPONSE IN BEACH TOWNS?

Beach towns are the same all over the world, which is such a cool thing. I realized today when I was surfing here in Holland of all places, that surfers everywhere are just the same. Everyone was just kicking back and the waves were small, but there was a good vibe and water and people were having fun. I just think that beach towns everywhere are so similar to the town I grew up in that it’s crazy. Also, it’s weird, you’ll be in the mid-west or somewhere where you’d think people might not be feeling it at all and it’ll be…the same. People are just people, I guess. I think surfers are just luckier people because, well, they get to surf.

WHAT SEEMS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR MUSIC IS THE RELAXED, SPARSE-NESS TO THE SOUND.

That’s so important to me. I think so much music just gets filled up ’cause people think it has to. It’s an industry where you have to have this shiny product and you have to make it sound a certain way and fill every little hole. And I just don’t understand why you have to. A lot of my favorite records are really sparse. Stripped back records just put me in a different place than one that has all the bells and whistles and sleek production. I like that in music and I hope people notice it.

 

		THE BEST WAVES! THE BEST SURFERS! THE BEST PHOTOS! AND NOW THE BEST DEAL: SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET 1 YEAR OF SURFING MAGAZINE FOR ONLY $12.00! Take advantage of this special offer-act now! GIVE A GIFT
				Email: First Name: Last Name: Address Line 1: Address Line 2: City: State: Zip: Select a payment option: Charge my credit card Bill me later Do you have a promotional coupon code? Enter Code: Please send me special offers and exclusive promotions from Surfing's premiere partners.