We had the pleasure of catching up with JP of Surfer Blood before they head out on a West Coast tour. Check out his thoughts on San Diego, touring, their upcoming album, and go see them February 20th at the Casbah.
So you’re back in San Diego playing the Casbah on 2/20. Surfer Blood has played the Casbah a few times. What’s a good memory of time spent in San Diego? What’s your favorite taco shop?
We’ve played a variety of locations in San Diego, but the Casbah has always been one of our favorites. The weather is always so nice down there.
One of my favorite memories was after we played a show in Denver in 2009, we had a few days off so we decided to drive to the Rocky Mountains. Basically, we almost died. By the time we drove to San Diego and got out of the van at the Casbah, I was like, “We’ve made it. We’re in California.” That was my first time ever here.
But I actually come down to San Diego a lot more now because I moved to Los Angeles a year ago and my girlfriend is originally from there. Our favorite taco shop is called Jalapeño’s. They have the best breakfast burritos. It’s in a strip mall in North County.
How is it living in LA?
I really like living in Los Angeles. The weather and mountains are awesome. My girlfriend and I like being outdoors and we love to hike. Plus I’m originally from Florida so I’m used to driving a lot of places.
After your San Diego show, you’re playing the Air + Style festival at the Rose Bowl with Steve Aoki, Edward Sharpe, Cults etc. How did this come about?
This festival is actually curated by Shaun White. I had no idea but apparently he’s a fan of our music, which is flattering and awesome. And I’m just excited to play the Rose Bowl, I’ve never been inside.
How do you prepare for going on tour?
We try to plan the best we can but road tripping usually means nothing goes according to plan. Rehearse. Pack light. Get in the van and see what happens.
How do you pass time on tour? What keeps you motivated?
We listen to a lot of records. Listen to podcasts because there are a million of them. Usually things like This American Life. On this last tour we really got into “Serial”, which is where they look in detail about this murder that happened in Baltimore over 12 episodes.
We also got really into The Shining audiobook, of all things. We got it for free on YouTube and streamed it, but didn’t finish by the time our tour was over so I actually went out and bought it. I just needed to know how it ended.
You released a 7” and toured with We Are Scientists this Fall. How did that collaboration come about?
That tour was really fun and those dudes are really nice and funny. They gave me an appreciation for on-stage banter. There are bands like us who, if we’re not in the mood, just go on-stage and talk. But they were on it, every night.
The 7” was also a fun process. There’s one song “NW Passage” that’s on there has a fast version and is also going to be on our upcoming album as a slow-downed version.
When can people expect the new album? What’s the song writing process been like?
It will be out later this year, probably late spring early summer. We started writing it during the beginning of 2014. It’s taken us a while because we made this one completely on our own without any label support. Which was all for the better, since I think it’s the most interesting thing we’ve ever done.
What can people expect on this album?
People can expect a lot of variety- really long and short longs. One song is the fastest, loudest, most bombastic song we’ve ever written. And there’s one that’s really slow and almost acoustic. And there’s everything in between.