We asked the band some questions, here’s what they had to say:
MATT KELLOGG
1) What was the first album you bought with your own money?
Well, I grew up listening to a lot of my Dad’s music like Santana and Earth, Wind and Fire. When it came to buying my own stuff, I think my first two albums I bought together were Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins and Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate. Although, there was some early 90’s R&B in there…
2) What comes first – music or lyrics? Then what happens?
Definitely music. Lyrics are very important, but the initial melody has to be strong to get your attention. I think its the reason good songs leave you humming the melody almost immediately after you hear them. This brings you back to the lyrics.
3) What’s the one thing that listeners would never guess about you?
That even though I play electric guitar in a rock band, I’m a totally responsible grown up! I have a real job!
4) If your fans had to write a sentence or two to describe your music, what would they write?
I’d say eclectic ambient folk rock… with a penchant for songs about the ocean.
MATTHEW VEVERKA
1. First album I bought with my own money I believe was Beach Boys Concert. I remember it was Beach Boys and it had Monster Mash on it.
2. I say lyrics, because it dictates what emotion to convey with the music. From there it is a matter of figuring out where a song is going dynamically and how best to fit the feel for any given part.
3. People probably wouldn’t guess that playing the bass was an easy transition from guitar for me because I started playing the tuba when I was in the 7th grade and actually kept playing my first 2 years of college.
4. I think that they would say that our music has a quality about it that really resonates with them deep down at the core. Seawall has a depth that not all bands have.
JON KAYDEN HALL
1) What was the first album you bought with your own money?
In junior high I walked into an eclectic music shop and bought Sunny Ade Synchro system with no idea who he was and no listening station. He sings mostly in African the entire time and really gets down with the African beats. I thought it was pretty cool.
2) What comes first – music or lyrics? Then what happens?
I do most of my songwriting while in the car driving. I usually start with a beat or some melodic hook and build from there. I then begin mashing words around the melody for days. When I feel its a song to take to the band I’ll learn my part on the guitar and then communicate to others the basic feel and meaning of the song and often specific riffs. The song comes to life as each Seawall member infuses their creativity.
The most challenging song I have dictated to others is I Am Loved as it took me all day to write down notes on a music staff for a tuba, trombone and trumpet. I’m not much of a music theory guy.
3) What’s the one thing that listeners would never guess about you?
Hmm… My freshman year in college I was a pre-med major. I kind of hit a wall and wanted to go on a find-myself-voyage, so I lived amongst various tribes in the jungles of Papua New Guinea for a few months.
4) If your fans had to write a sentence or two to describe your music, what would they write?
That might depend on which song they were listening to, heh heh. I would like to steer toward being described as an Indie rock band with Baroque pop influence (Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene), undercurrents of post-punk (Bravery, the National) and ambient folk rock (Wye Oak).
I like how Wye Oak can take folk and tear into a wall of sound and bring it back again in such a satisfying way. I like the idea of getting hit with waves of sound at the proper time. Part of the idea of Seawall in my mind is somehow bottling up some of the vast calm and ferocity of the sea and cracking it open for listeners.
