In anticipation of Sea of Storms’ debut release, we have interviewed them here at SwitchBitch Noise.
SBN: How did the name Sea of Storms originate?
Brandon: Naming a band is probably one of my least favorite aspects of playing music. I don’t even like naming songs. It’s so final, and naming band at the beginning of it’s life is so much more difficult because you’re deciding on a name that will represent you for the life of the project. We settled on Sea of Storms eventually after many unsuccessful rounds of terrible band names. It was one of the first names suggested, and the one we all hated least.
John: I sort of feel like bands can grow into their names. Sea of Storms was the name of the last song our old band Mouthbreather recorded and it was kind of about feeling helpless and trying to fight to keep from just treading water. With that in mind I think it sort of fits how we started as a band. Mouthbreather was pretty much ending and we started Sea of Storms almost like a life raft so that we could keep playing music and touring with each other. I think that might just be an example of me applying meaning to something when in reality we just thought it sounded cooler than “The Power Bottoms”.
SBN: Being a band that formed from other musical projects, how did the sound of Sea of Storms develop over the years?
Brandon: For me, it was a chance to branch out from the songs I was writing for our old band, Mouthbreather. I was beginning to acquire new equipment and I was starting to play with pedals that weren’t tuners and volume controls, and our band (Mouthbreather) was beginning to grind to a halt. We didn’t set out to write a different type of music, but once I knew I would be handling vocal duties, I knew everything would need to be reigned in a bit. It had been years since I’d written guitar parts with regard to how vocals would play into the song, and that was probably the most notable shift in how I’ve ended up approaching songwriting in this band.
John:The biggest shift for me was from being the singer in Mouthbreather to going back to playing bass. I hadn’t played bass in a band since 2007 and although I had been playing with Chris and Brandon since that time, I felt like I had to relearn how to make music with them.
SBN: What bands or artists shape the minds of the band members?
Brandon: If I’m being honest, my biggest influences, guitar and vocal wise this far, are early(ish) Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, Rival Schools, Criteria, and the Get Up Kids.
SBN: What about the overall band’s sound? Did any specific artists really inspire the essence of Sea of Storms?
John: I don’t think we can point to any real specific band or artist that we draw from, its more a distillation of all our various influences. We all listen to pretty different music, so we’re just sort of a big fondue pot full of various punk, hardcore, metal, post-whatever, fartgaze bands that we all really like.
SBN: You guys have a tour coming up in a couple weeks. Are you excited to be on the road?
John: I think we’re all pretty excited, I know I am. Being in a DIY band and having to worry about the booking and the transportation and trying to get people to promote shows in other towns can get pretty damn stressful at times. But obviously the risk of all the shows falling apart, or nobody showing up, or the van breaking down is worth the reward of going on tour. We’re pretty lucky to still be able to do this and we manage to have a pretty good time whenever we hit the road, regardless of what gets thrown at us. I think this will be our 5th tour by now, and they’ve all gotten better than the last, so I’m pretty excited to see what happens on the road.
SBN: If Sea of Storms could be on tour with any three bands, what bands would they be?
Brandon: Deftones, Hop Along and Now, Now.
John: Since you didn’t specify living or dead or any rules on the time/space continuum, then I chose my rap-rock band that I was in when I was 15, ‘Master of Puppets’ era Metallica (I’d make sure it was Lars this time around), and then a fucking marching band. That sounds like a fun tour, right?
SBN: Dead Weight is dropping very soon, and I’m sure you guys are stoked! What’s the band favorite off of the album?
Brandon: I go back and forth. I love the brevity and crazy energy of “Pathos”, but it’s sort of the black sheep of the album. I think “Got Your Number” might be my favorite as far as what I like to listen to, but “Cedar Run” is probably my favorite to play live.
John: I think “Weak Ones” might be the one I like the most off the record. It’s like our “November Rain”
SBN: How was it working with Chris Compton of The Etching Tin?
Brandon: He was fantastic. We spent a lot of time together between tracking instruments and vocals. He was a huge help when it came to recording my vocals, and I wouldn’t be as happy with how things came out if he hadn’t been so particular with each take. He made me do a better job than I thought I was capable of.
SBN: How have the fans responded to Dead Weight? Is there a fan favorite yet?
Brandon: They love it.
John: They tell us they like it, but let’s be real…would they really tell us if they hated it?
SBN: It seems you guys have quite the future ahead of you. Where is Sea of Storms off to from here?
Brandon: We are writing! I don’t think any of us have ever been in a band that has released more than one full length, and we are all aware of that. This is just the beginning for us. I’ve never felt more at home and comfortable writing than I do with these guys. They’re my best friends and my cohorts and I can’t wait to see where the future takes our music.
John: We’ve got our two week tour in June, we’re doing some shows in July with Planes Mistaken for Stars, we’re playing The Fest in Gainesville FL in October, and we’ll probably tour down and back to that in some capacity. We’ll be out there. You’ll see us. We’ll be with the marching band.
Catch up with Sea of Storms:
Sea Of Storms is:
Brandon Peck: Guitar / Vocals
John Martin: Bass
Chris Brown: Drums
