Next time PEV is overseas in the UK hanging out with our buddies Lance and Mark Curran (the latter happens to be the lead singer of PEV alum and rock n’ roll powerhouse, Curran), we certainly need to try and meet up with brothers Pete and Alex Chisholm (better known as the in your face rock band, The Sea) – most certainly, the two will have some of the more interesting stories we’ve ever heard over a few drinks.
Former junior national surfing champions and participants at various international surfing events, Pete and Alex actually kicked off their careers in music with a show at pal James Morrison’s birthday party…and the stories don’t end there. We’re talking about neck breaking surfing accidents, 100mph car crashes, near drownings – stories for another day. Today, we’re all about the new singles from The Sea, including the latest: “Get Up Stand Up Die”. The duo, who focuses on stripping down rock to its most basic elements, gave us more details on what to expect in the near future: “We’re releasing 3 singles all on limited edition vinyl and a mini album AND if we can pull it off another full album this year. We feel we’ve really found ourselves musically (god that sounds corny, sorry) but we do, we know (or we think we know) what people love most about The Sea and we’re trying to highlight that on these new tunes. So short sharp songs, riffs, choruses, loud, loud drums and guitar.”
The Sea will keep pounding our ear drums, and hopefully take on the scene here in the states in the near future. Head to http://www.theseasounds.co.uk/to get into it, sample some of the new tunes and demand some shows state side. There’s still much more to get into, so read on for all the answers to the XXQs below.
XXQs: The Sea
PensEyeView.com (PEV): How would you describe your sound and what do you feel makes you stand out over others in your genre?
The Sea (TS): I guess it’s Rock with a healthy influence of Blues. As we’re a two-piece, our songs have to change direction quickly or else it sounds boring, so we try to make it as unpredictable as possible, but try to maintain decent choruses and riffs.
PEV: Calling London/Newquay home, what kind of music were you two into growing up? Do you remember your first concert?
TS: As we’re brothers, we grew up listening to the same things. Our Dad was a huge Beatles fan, so we were force-fed that from an early age. Also The Stones, Led Zep, Cream…all the greats. As kids we both loved Oasis, Pulp, Blur and then later we both got into more Jazz – Coltrane, Davis – we loved the idea of making something as wild as jazz but with choruses like the Stones or Beatles. Our first ever gig was at our friend James Morrison’s (yes the UK pop star) birthday party!
PEV: What was it like trying to break into the music scene in your hometown, when you first started out as a band? What was your first show like together as a band?
TS: We quickly became the most popular band in town, basically because there was nothing else like us around – people hadn’t heard of The White Stripes in our town.
PEV: What can fans expect from a live The Sea show?
TS: It’s gonna be loud! You can expect two brothers fighting for attention – one armed with a guitar and one with a drum kit! It gets pretty sweaty!
PEV: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you step on stage?
TS: Apart from “I hope my equipment doesn’t break today”, not much. Maybe “let’s give these people a good time.” We hate bands that can’t be bothered – we’ve toured more than most bands and even when we’ve been on the road for a couple of months, we still try to be as fresh as humanly possible. At the end of the day, if all these people have paid good money to see us, the least we can do is keep our end of the bargain!
PEV: How has playing in The Sea different from working with other artists or projects in the past?
TS: Sonically and personally it’s more immediate! “You wanna rehearse?” – “Yes” – “OK Let’s do it.” There is no waiting for others members, cross checking etc etc (which is so so lame). Also the music is much more hard hitting for it.
PEV: What is the underlying inspiration for your music? Where do you get your best ideas for songs?
TS: To strip rock n’ roll back to its most basic elements – no faffing around with “Let’s do a nice little bit before the middle 8 comes in” – the idea (at least) is ‘good bit, good bit, good bit, end’ – Some people love it, some don’t. We’ve learned that you have to please yourself first when it comes to writing. If people like it, great! If not, never mind. Ideas for our best songs are varied: love, life and everything in between.
PEV: Thinking back to when you first started out, do you ever look back on your career and think about your earlier days and how you’ve arrived where you are today?
TS: Yeah sure – most of the time we talk about how we messed up important gigs by being drunk (we stopped doing that a long time ago).
PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about the members of The Sea?
TS: We were both on the British National Surfing team! Alex (drummer) broke his neck surfing (although that’s a well-known story).
PEV: Tell us about your latest releases. What can fans expect?
TS: We’re releasing 3 singles, all on limited edition vinyl and a mini album AND if we can pull it off, another full album this year. We feel we’ve really found ourselves musically (god that sounds corny, sorry) but we do. We know (or we think we know) what people love most about The Sea and we’re trying to highlight that on these new tunes. So short sharp songs, riffs, choruses, loud loud drums and guitar.
PEV: What is the feeling you get after a song is complete, and you can sit back and listen to it for the first time?
TS: We tend to get too involved – usually when writing a song, I think to myself “oh this is great, this is THE tune I been waiting for”, then when it’s finished I usually say I don’t like it anymore. So we don’t listen to it for a while, then check back a few days later to find we’re actually happy with it.
PEV: With all your traveling, is there one area you wish you could travel around and play that you have not yet?
TS: Australia! So we can go surfing. Our booking agent never books us in surfing locations. L.A. – really want to go back there again this year…we just love traveling really…we’ll go anywhere!
PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your career? What’s it like when you get to play in your hometown?
TS: Hometown gigs are always special. We try to limit it to once a year, make sure we have two days off afterwards and really just party. Our friends are pretty proud of us I think…as are our family. It can be hard being away from loved ones, but we won’t be able to do it forever and they realize that within 10 years, we’ll be burnt out, probably on the dole and then they can see us all the time .
PEV: What can we find each of you doing in your spare time, aside from playing/writing music?
TS: Surfing, surfing, surfing.
PEV: Name one present and past artist or group that would be your dream collaboration. Why?
TS: Jack White and Alison Mosshart for now, because they’re both making music that we love. Past…gotta be The Beatles and Led Zep (because, well, it’s The Beatles and Led Zep isn’t it?!). OH! Have you heard the mash up of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘Helter Skelter’ on YouTube? It’s wicked!
PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?
TS: Hmmm there’s a lot. Try Drenge or Kezia.
PEV: If playing music wasn’t your life (or life’s goal), what do you think each of you would be doing for a career?
TS: Failed pro surfers? Hahahaha – god knows, I always fancied myself as a shrink – maybe I’ll do that one day…maybe not!
PEV: So, what is next for The Sea?
TS: Keep making music and releasing it as long as people care to listen. Keep touring everywhere and generally be the rock stars that we are…if we conquer the world great (I imagine we will), if not, we’ll go down laughing…