The Speed of Sound in Seawater

The Lone Beholder

Here’s a new interview we did with Cardinal Playlists!

CP) When was your first experience with music?

From a very young age I remember my father playing music with various bands at our house. I started playing saxophone when I was 8 or 9 and gravitated towards guitar when I was 12. I would definitely credit my dad with getting me interested in music and I’m grateful for that.

CP) What were your first steps toward becoming a musician? Who acted as your support system?

It wasn’t until I was 14 that I started recording my own songs onto a little Tascam 4 track I got for my birthday. This marked a major shift in the way that I thought about music. Then I met Jordan Seavers (TSOSIS’ other guitarist) when I was a freshman in high school. Jordan taught me a lot about recording and set me up with some very simple digital equipment that pushed me a little further. All through high school he and I would swap songs we’d been recording and hang out with Lucas Ulrici (TSOSIS’ bassist) to record. It’s interesting to me that Jordan is one of the strongest influences over my music and he also happens to be in a band with me.

CP) What bands were you listening to and what songs were you learning during those early days? How did those influences shape the earliest songs you began to write?

Back then Jordan turned me onto bands like of Montreal, Beulah and The Apples in Stereo. To this day Beulah is still my favorite band. I was also listening to The Unicorns a lot. I think their chorus-less style of writing has left a lasting impression on my own songs. I’ve always loved the way parts often don’t repeat in their songs. I also loved the subject matter of The Unicorns’ songs. They dealt with the paranormal and had way too many songs about ghosts. When I sit down to write for TSOSIS I always gravitate towards these mythical or science fictional stories. Much of that tendency comes from my interest in The Unicorns.

Back then I had never heard of “math rock”. All I cared about was writing indie pop.

CP) What were those early songs like and how do those influences translate into your writing of today?

When Fernando Oliva (drummer) and I recorded the first TSOSIS EP (Blue Version) we were just about to graduate from high school. By then we’d combined our love for Beulah and The Unicorns with our new found passion for Tera Melos, Blakfish and toe. Our earliest songs were fairly disjointed musically. Those first songs were very much built around riff writing rather than chordal patterns. Thematically, most of Blue Version is about the paranormal, a characteristic which hung around from our time spent listening to The Unicorns.

Nowadays we try not to build songs riff by riff. This mostly has to do with the way we practice, which is far more democratic these days. Back then it was just Fernando and I, so there was no one else to provide melodic input when it came time to write songs. Things these days are a bit more coherent, but I still love a good riff or two.

CP) Who was the ring leader, roping all of your bandmates together for your first practice? What was it like?

Back when we were a duo Fernando and I were equally responsible for all of the band’s decisions. We would swap back and forth between practicing at my parents’ house and his parents’ house. Then we got the cops called on us by a neighbor at his house and had to make the switch permanently. It’s 2 years later and the living room of the Verrett house is still the practice space for TSOSIS.

CP) How long did it take for you to realize you had a sound worth pursuing and, in your recorded works, what song do you think best represents that original sound idea?

It’s difficult to say when we started taking things more seriously. Seeing people respond positively to Blue Version on the internet definitely had a lot to do with it. The original intent with Blue Version was to record some songs to throw up on the myspace to help us book shows more easily. It’s sort of funny to me when people tell me that Blue Version is still their favorite album. We recorded it in two days and wrote all of the bass lines on the spot on the second day. I wouldn’t change anything about it though, it’s such a perfect snapshot of that infantile stage of our development. We were really weird 17 year old kids who spent less than 500 bucks to record 5 songs in some dude’s bedroom. I couldn’t ask for a better memento of that stage of my life.

Out of those first songs Amy Adams really nails what I wanted the band to sound like early on. There’s a desperation to the lyrics that I have always loved and that main riff is maybe my favorite to play out of any of our songs. Lately it’s the only song we still play off of Blue Version.

CP) What can you tell me about your most recent recorded work? What was the recording process like, are there any musical/lyrical themes on it, what have you done to support it?

Our latest EP is called Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets. We recorded and mixed it with one of our idols, Robert Cheek (Tera Melos, RX Bandits, Mister Metaphor, By Sunlight) at The Hangar in Sacramento over a three day period. We decided to track the EP live in order to save time and money. I’m thankful for the experience of tracking live. It was a mentally taxing process and the time frame we allowed ourselves was difficult to work within, but I’m pleased with how the EP turned out and am very happy to have befriend Robert Cheek, who is now our go-to man for engineering.

Musically this EP marks a return to a bit more technical style than our second EP, Red Version. This is also our first release with bassist Michael Littlefield of A Lot Like Birds.

Lyrically the EP is more concrete than our past releases. The songs on this release are more concretely related to my own life than any of the songs on Red or Blue Version.

CP) What song do you think came out the best on the record and which is your favorite to play live?

Hot and Bothered by Space is definitely my favorite from this batch of songs both lyrically and musically.

During our first tour in the Summer of 2010 we were camping in Oregon during a meteor shower. We star gazed and mused about space for about two hours while dozens of shooting stars flew over us. The lyrics of Hot and Bothered by Space were inspired by that night and the tour as a whole. It was a major bonding experience for the four of us.

CP) What is your favorite memory from a show?

We played a show in our friend’s basement in Fresno where people were so psyched they started punching holes in the ceiling. That was pretty memorable.

CP) What is the music scene like where you’re from? How have the local artist/audiences there helped to shape the way you write and how is your music received?

Lately many of our original peer group has either blown up or disbanded. A Lot Like Birds and The Dreaded Diamond have always been our brother and sister bands, but ALLB are now a national act and The Dreaded Diamond are on hiatus. We’re the only ones left to carry the torch.

These days there are some awesome younger people making some great music in Sacramento. Our buddies Former Animals are an excellent example of a band with a ton of potential coming out of Sac.

The Sacramento of today hasn’t influenced our music too much, but growing up listening to bands like Tera Melos and Mister Metaphor has made an enormous impact on the type of music we write as well as the people we work with (i.e. Robert Cheek)

CP) Are there any artists from the area that we should keep an eye out for?

Definitely keep an eye on Former Animals. Also, Damien (singer) is about to release a new album under the name So Much Light.

CP) What can we expect from you in the future? What are the band’s big plans?

Right now we’re taking our time with writing for the new album. We’re very anxious to let everyone here where things are headed. This next album will definitely be a full length and will mark a major change in our style. It’s going to be awesome.

http://thespeedofsoundinseawater.bigcartel.com/product/yellow-version-ep
Here it is! The first ever physical release of Blue Version and the second pressing of Red Version, combined in one irresistible package!
YELLOW VERSION
With this re-release our entire discography is now available from our merch store! The first shipment leaves by the end of the week! Place your orders!

http://thespeedofsoundinseawater.bigcartel.com/product/yellow-version-ep

Here it is! The first ever physical release of Blue Version and the second pressing of Red Version, combined in one irresistible package!

YELLOW VERSION

With this re-release our entire discography is now available from our merch store! The first shipment leaves by the end of the week! Place your orders!

: Alright everybody, So Much Light is going on a West Coast tour this...

damienverrett:

Alright everybody, So Much Light is going on a West Coast tour this summer in support of my debut album. I need YOUR help to get these dates booked!

July 5 Sacramento, CA
July 6 Bakersfield, CA
July 7 San Diego, CA
July 8 Las Vegas, NV
July 9 St. George, UT
July 10 Salt Lake City, UT
July 11 Boise, ID
July 13 Seattle, OR
July 14 Portland, OR
July 15 Grants Pass, OR
July 16 Chico, CA
July 17 San Francisco, CA

If y’all could help Damien out with booking his first solo tour that would be awesome!

Email him at jonasmurdock@gmail.com

Anonymous asked: Hey dudes, I was talking to someone, and they some how brought up that Tyler the creator went to elk grove high and was part of the class of 09 for some period of time. I know that a couple of you are class of 09 so I was wondering if this is true and/ or if you guys remember or knew him at all. In addition, what do think to the recent success of said artist, do you guys think he's talented or just a fadster for other fadsters to follow?

We hung out with Tyler quite a lot, actually. Fernando and Damien ate lunch with him just about every day that he went to Elk Grove High (about two months). He’s one of the funniest people we’ve ever met.

While attending EGHS he never mentioned anything about rapping and we only found out about his music after he moved back to LA. 

Honestly, he’s one of my favorite rappers (Damien speaking) and I think Fernando would say the same, though I doubt he remembers us very well considering how quickly his life has changed since 09.

The only frustrating thing about him becoming so famous is that nobody ever believes he went to our high school or that we hung out with him. 

Hey folks! It’s time for the 1st Annual TSOSIS Cover Video Challenge!
Step 1: Film yourself performing ANY Speed of Sound in Seawater song on an instrument of your choosing. Step 2: Upload the video to Youtube and post it on our facebook OR email it to soundinseawater@gmail.comStep 3: Win cool prizes!We’ll pick the winner on April 27th.Runner ups will receive a signed copy of Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets.The first place winner will receive a signed copy of Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets, a free t-shirt, free admission to TSOSIS shows for LIFE and the LAST copy of Red Version in existence. 
Get to it, gang! 

Hey folks! It’s time for the 1st Annual TSOSIS Cover Video Challenge!

Step 1: Film yourself performing ANY Speed of Sound in Seawater song on an instrument of your choosing. 

Step 2: Upload the video to Youtube and post it on our facebook OR email it to soundinseawater@gmail.com

Step 3: Win cool prizes!

We’ll pick the winner on April 27th.

Runner ups will receive a signed copy of Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets.

The first place winner will receive a signed copy of Underwater Tell Each Other Secrets, a free t-shirt, free admission to TSOSIS shows for LIFE and the LAST copy of Red Version in existence. 

Get to it, gang! 

damienverrett:

Hey guys! Here’s a video of me playing one of the songs that will be on the debut So Much Light album.

Don’t forget that you can download the teaser EP for free here: www.somuchlight.bandcamp.com

Check it.

New Merch very soon! Stay tuned. 

: Dinner and a Movie on a Post-Apocalyptic Earth (wall of text)

damienverrett:

Here’s a post Damien did about some of the nuances of writing Dinner and a Movie. 

bensemisch:

37/366
Unassisted Human Flight.
These words come from the song “Unassisted Human Flight” by The Speed Of Sound In Seawater. The song is about the illusion of control in a free fall towards earth. I like to think it’s a metaphor for life, we’re all plummeting to our deaths, but we have control over what we do before we hit the ground, so we must make the best of it.
The photo comes from a trip to Kansas I took with my friends James and Austin after Austin lost his ass on a show he was promoting. An awesome tour package of his friends were coming through and that’s as close as it was getting so rather than dwell on the loss he decided to make a 4 hour trip and spend time with friends. That trip meant a lot to me, psychologically speaking and it really helped me out, even if I wasn’t the reason for the trip. Just thinking about it makes me excited for the next three months and the trips I have planned to do nothing but shoot photos, make videos and hang out with some great friends.

Really cool typography of some lines from Unassisted Human Flight! Thanks, Ben!

bensemisch:

37/366

Unassisted Human Flight.

These words come from the song “Unassisted Human Flight” by The Speed Of Sound In Seawater. The song is about the illusion of control in a free fall towards earth. I like to think it’s a metaphor for life, we’re all plummeting to our deaths, but we have control over what we do before we hit the ground, so we must make the best of it.

The photo comes from a trip to Kansas I took with my friends James and Austin after Austin lost his ass on a show he was promoting. An awesome tour package of his friends were coming through and that’s as close as it was getting so rather than dwell on the loss he decided to make a 4 hour trip and spend time with friends. That trip meant a lot to me, psychologically speaking and it really helped me out, even if I wasn’t the reason for the trip. Just thinking about it makes me excited for the next three months and the trips I have planned to do nothing but shoot photos, make videos and hang out with some great friends.

Really cool typography of some lines from Unassisted Human Flight! Thanks, Ben!