Published: April 8, 2009 11:59 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight April 2009 Edition
Indosurf
Indosurf
I remember the excitement when I heard UB40, a British Reggae Band, when I was growing up in the 1980's. I enjoyed their incorporation of Pop and Reggae into their music to create a wonderful musical vibe. This next group has also captured a unique sound that has incorporated the sounds of Reggae but unlike UB40 they have fused elements of ROCK and Alternative into the equation. What makes Indosurf so appealing is their playful lyrics and creative fusion of different genres to create beautifully tunes. In this recent spotlight with one of the band members of the group, Chase Sanborn, Drums, Vocals, speaks one on one with us about what the band is all about. Enjoy!
Isaac: How do you sum up 2008 for Indosurf?
Chase from Indosurf: Very, very productive and exciting! We got an opportunity to play
with one of our heroes Bert Susanka (which was unreal), got to perform a couple of bigger festivals (with the Vans Warped Tour being one), and began to record our first "legit" studio stuff ever. All a huge step forward for us!
Isaac: Describe the music scene in the Visalia, California.
Chase from Indosurf: What music scene? Haha, jk (Just kidding) ...There has been a lot of good stuff going on in the past couple of years, like venues and stuff, but I think there just needs to be
more venues to play at. We find ourselves traveling around Cali a lot playing rather than playing in Visalia a lot just cause you don't want to "wear out" the places you can play I guess. Oh, and the predominant music around town (hardcore) stinks.
Isaac: What has drawn each of you musically to want to perform in this band?
Chase from Indosurf: I think we all have the desire to just wanna play, and make a living playing music. The thing that is so special about this band is that we've all been friends for a really long time. Matt (the singer) has been my best friend since the 1st grade, and one of our former members was also one of my best friends. It's like friends first, music second. When we play and perform and practice, it feels like hanging out more than rehearsing or whatever...It makes it fun.
Also, I think our band is developing a really original sound, which I feel we're all getting a lot of joy not sounding like other people. We just wanna play original music, drink some beers, and have some fun.
Isaac: What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment for 2008 as a group?
Chase from Indosurf: Probably the Vans Warped Tour. We had gotten word that we were going to play the day we got home from playing with Bert Susanka from The Ziggens in Anaheim this past August. Being selected by Ernie Ball to play that thing was awesome. If you ever play it, and play the Fresno stop, make sure you bring a tarp for your merch. I think the temperature on the pavement was like 120 degrees. Needless to say we forgot ours.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Chase from Indosurf: I myself am a huge fan of Dave Grohl. Too be able to do all the stuff he does as far as producing, play in his own band and other bands, and all that stuff is awesome. As a group, I would say sublime and The Ziggens overall. They were super original, had fun, and had fun doing what they WANTED to do.
Anything and everything about those two bands is simply awesome. But there is tons of other music influences we have...way too many to list.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Chase from Indosurf: Something different, exciting, and fresh. That's probably the biggest compliment I think we receive when we play for people. More often than not people come up
to us and tell us that we have a "different" or "fresh" sound, which is great. A lot of stuff now days just sounds too much alike, and if it doesn't, then it seems like the artist is trying too hard to be different. We are so varied in our musical influences that I think the differences naturally come out in our music, but at the same time, we throw those familiar musical overtones in there
...it's like your crazy little brother got into the kitchen and made stew for dinner, but just threw way too much in there and didn't know what he was doing. But you taste it and it's really good. Like, really good. Sorry that was kind of strange.
Isaac: If you had an align to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Chase from Indosurf: Probably Bert Susanka. He's the man.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Chase From Indosurf: Different, but familiar at the same time. We mix the reggae/sublime flavor with pop/rock sensibility in a way which it's not really used a whole lot I think, making it different, but sounding like you've heard it before and can dance to it.
Isaac: What is your definition for Reggae Music?
Chase from Indosurf: Reggae is music from Jamaica that was derived from Ska and Rock Steady. The term actually comes from Spain, and means "The Kings Music". It's very religious music...if that doesn't make any sense just go listen too Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Lee "Scratch" Perry. You'll figure it our real quick.
Isaac: What has been the inspiration behind your EPs "HAWAII"- EP (2009) and "THE BANANAS EP" (2009)?
Chase from Indosurf: Coheed and Cambria. I am such a huge fan of their music, not only that but was blown away about how it was a 5 part conceptual story. I had written "Waikiki" for us about a year and a half ago, and actually ended up taking a trip out to visit my brother in Hawaii last year. While I was out there, all these ideas were popping into my head about making Waikiki part of a "trio" of songs...which I did. But the ideas kept pouring, and before we knew it, we had written a 13 song story, all based around what Waikiki is about. "Hawaii" is just a preview of the whole story. "The Bananas EP" is a preview of another album we're going to record...it's "normal" Indosurf originals I guess you could say. We wanted to keep the story and the normal songs separate, so this is how we are doing it.
Isaac: Where can fans locate you at online?
Chase from Indosurf: You can check us out on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/indosurf)
Facebook, BattleoftheBands.com, Sonicbids (sonicbids.com/indosurf2) Our Stage,
MP3.com, iLike, ReverbNation, and starting early may, on iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon,
and all the other digital download spots. But definitely our MySpace!
Isaac: What can fans expect from Indosurf in 2009?
Chase from Indosurf: Tons! Music available for purchase through iTunes and others, a tour this summer, our EP's dropping, and some more big festivals later this year. We are planning to finish recording the story and another album late this year. Come check us out!
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Chase from Indosurf: We wanna give a big shout out too my brother Fernandez, for helping us out when we're on tour, Nathan McGuigan at NTM productions for the studio recordings, Jon for doing nothing but drinking when on tour, Bert Susanka, and the ALT, any bands who have traded shows with us or gave us the opportunity to play, and anyone I forgot or who has ever spent the 5 dollars to come out on there Saturday night to watch us perform. Each and every one of your means a whole lot!
Isaac: Final words from Indosurf…
Chase from Indosurf: Thanks Isaac!! Hope to see everyone at some Indosurf shows this year! Check us out on MySpace and check us out on iTunes this MAY!!
