When preparing for an interview I’m always wondering if they will be nice or have rock star egos. Nottingham’s Seachange fall under the super nice category. These are some of the nicest folks you will ever meet plus they have cool British accents. Seattle’s Crocodile Café played host to this sextet, and I had the pleasure to squeeze into a booth with the band (Dan, Simon, James, Dave, Adam and Johanna) prior to their second to last show on their first full fledged US tour.
I could tell from the start that Seachange had great chemistry together. Not once during the interview was one member able to finish a statement without another jumping in. This tight knit family is why Seachange is breaking down America’s doors with their indie rock experience.
After meeting while attending Nottingham University they all moved into a huge Victorian house where they began their musical journey in a very small cellar. Unlike most bands, Seachange used their practices to learn how to play instruments and how to write songs. “It’s easier writing songs when you don’t know what you are doing. Songwriting gets harder the more you know.” As they were honing their craft they were heavily influenced by Spiritualized and Galaxy 500.
Their debut album Lay Of The Land is a raw masterpiece, but the press has given them some flack for this. Seachange said they just wanted to record a solid debut album. They didn’t want to do a highly polished, over produced record. “Where do you go from there? Plus we made it on a shoe string budget.” The album was recorded in First Love Studios which James built for the purpose of this record but now has recorded many great bands out of Nottingham.
Seachange is on the tail-end stint of a long touring schedule trying to build up a solid fan base. Within the past year or so they have toured with Guided By Voices and our own home town heroes Pretty Girls Make Graves (they even had a BBQ for Seachange when they came to Seattle, so nice) throughout Germany, Scotland and England. They love touring and meeting new people. “In America people are more approachable and will come talk to us after a show. It’s great. English folks are more reserved. It’s nice when you’re in a new place to meet cool people like that.” What else do they like about America? “You can get more food for less money here. Whether it’s better or not I don’t know but you get more.” I did also find out one extremely sad fact. People in America seem to play more air guitar than anywhere else. We should be ashamed of ourselves. No one in their right mind should ever be caught playing air guitar.
The first part of June will find Seachange on tour throughout Germany with Electralane, then its back to the grind. “We are at the stage that a band like us can exist financially while touring but you can’t pay the bills. We need to write new songs and pay rent.” So when they head back home to Nottingham everyone will be returning to work after a long break or looking for a new job.
Don’t expect those day jobs to last too long though. Seachange plans to get back on the road maybe as early as the end of summer to revisit us before heading back into the studio to bust out another superb record. So until they swing back into our area you will have to settle for Lay Of The Land to keep you company. You can also keep in touch with the band via their website which they will also be working on during the off season to make it more interactive.
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