Indosurf

What's the meaning behind the band's name?
Its basically two words that were put together to kind of identify the two types of music that we play. "INDO" standing for the reggae side of our music (I wont elaborate, you should be able to figure it out), and "SURF" standing for the surf instrumental or "Surf" inspired music that we play. We obviously play other types of music, now a days, but that is what one of our friends came up with when we first started. We more or lease don't look at the name like that anymore...as two parts. it's just "INDOSURF" now...it stands for our own type of music now and own identity...which feels pretty good..

How did you guys get started with all this??
We started the whole thing back when we were in high school. Matt, who is the lead singer (we'll refer to him as SHMOUK for the rest of this interview....ONLY Shmouk...) has been my best bud since we were in 1st grade. We grew up together, loving music, and I actually ended up taking trumpet lessons when i was about in the 3rd grade...so I was very involved with music at a young age. Another one of my buddies, Eric, (who is an ex singer for the band), was a good friend of mine and Matt's by the time we were sophmores in high school. Matt had eventually picked up how to strum a few chords on the guitar by then, and Eric had learned how to play the bass a little bit. I was really into jazz at the time with my horn, but Eric and Matt were really into Sublime and some of the other early Skunk Records bands (sublime, The Ziggens, Slightly Stoopid, etc...). They were looking for a drummer because they wanted to start a "sublime" like band, and although i wasn't really into that type of music (they got me listening to The Ziggens and i was a changed man), or even played drums, my house had a drum set cause my little brother took lessons. I was good enough to keep a beat on the set just cause i'd been in music for such a long time by then, and just said what the hell. And thus, the greatest thing since yo momma jokes was born.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
To be original. Obviously that's way easier said than done...now a days its so hard cause everything has been done before. But within the reggae realm, alot of bands I personally believe sound ALOT a like. Its a hard genre to stand out in, cause the music can be so limiting sometimes, but I just feel like alot of bands are trying to be the next Sublime, or the next Slightly Stoopid, or whatever. God bless every band, but we're taking our love for that type of music, and other types of music, and really trying to find ways to make it sound original. Whats great about it sometimes (alot of times actually) is that concept natually comes out sometimes too...all four of listen to so many different types of music and artists that it just comes out on its own alot too. We just want to play our own music. We just want to write a good song and be that band that other people cover, not the other way around, ya know?

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
It depends. More recently, we've been talking about trying to be a bit more collaborative. For the greater part of the past two years, myself has been doing the majority of the writing. We all do it tho...Matt, Dave, everyone. Someone will write either a whole song, with lyrics and everything, and show it to the group, or someone will have like a riff or a bass line, bring that to prac, and we'll kinda talk about it and figure out stuff that we can do with it. Either or!

Who are your music influences??
We have TONS. I listed some earlier for the band...Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, The Ziggens, Pepper, Rx Bandits, Dick Dale...all those reggae, rock, and surf guys. For me personally I love anything from Miles Davis and Coltrane to Motion City Soundtrack and Coheed And Cambria. Some of the other guys influences span from E-40 to Mute Math to Guns N Roses. Its seriously all over the place.

What plans do you guys have for the future??
Long term hopefully to be able to make a living playing our music! Shorter term, we are about to head into the studio to record our first full length album entitled "A Hawaiian Love Story". Its a 14 song, conceptual reggae/rock/alternative album that deals with love and loss in short. We are super excited about it and cant wait to tour the state promoting it after we are done!!!

What has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
I dunno if it was really a prank that someone played on him, but at The Vans Warped Tour in 2009, some of the guys went to go chill by the car for a bit, get a lil brew in them, and locked Shmouk's keys in the car. That made for a very interesting afternoon cause our gear was still inside. And it made for a very angry Shmouk too.

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys - Vents Magazine

"I remember the excitement when I heard UB40, a British Reggae Band, when I was growing up in the 1980's. I enjoyed their incorporation of Pop and Reggae into their music to create a wonderful musical vibe. This next group has also captured a unique sound that has incorporated the sounds of Reggae but unlike UB40 they have fused elements of ROCK and Alternative into the equation. What makes Indosurf so appealing is their playful lyrics and creative fusion of different genres to create beautifully tunes." -Issac from Juniors Cave, April, 2009. - Juniors Cave

Indosurf
Hawaii EP

It's a good year if you're into ska-punk concept albums. If Madness's recent release The Liberty of Norton Folgate whet your appetite for the format, then you might want to check out Indosurf's new EP: Hawaii. It's a four song preview of a concept album which the band has slated for release in late 2009/early 2010. The full length release is tentatively titled A Hawaiian Love Story.
The story we get a glimpse of on the Hawaii EP is a sad one that's told too often; the story of a guy whose girl leaves him for somebody else (they run off to Hawaii, hence the title). Indosurf, a four piece unit out of Visalia, California, tell the story with poppy ska-punk sound that leans more toward Sublime than Madness.
The guitars are a real standout, especially when the band veers from their ska-punk roots on the instrumental “Dole Ave.” (an homage to the Cure song, “Fascination Street”). The rhythm section stays nice and loose throughout, and I'd imagine this band kills it live. The vocalist's quirky, lispy voice is authentic if unusual.
So what's up with ska oriented concept albums? If you think about it, the roots go far deeper than the rock influence of Pink Floyd or the Who. The early Calypso troubadours (from who's music both ska and reggae spring) are said to have essentially been traveling storytellers, putting the political issues and news of the day into song. Whatever their inspiration, Indosurf have laid the groundwork on this EP for what promises to be an interesting full-length addition to the form.

Tim Madison – MuzikReviews.com Contributor
October 21, 2009
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"LOCAL BAND MAKES A SPLASH"

By Cassie McDaniel

Music fans will get a taste of Visalia's own when Indosurf takes the stage at this year's Vans Warped Tour on August 19.
"We're so stoked. We got the opportunity to play last year's Warped Tour and was awesome, " said drummer Chase Sanborn.
Playing alongside Sanborn are band member Matt Vitale (guitar/vocals), Matt Denis (bass guitar), and Dave Bivona (lead guitar). The band has a close knit, family vibe.
"Our relationship is great," said Sanborn. "Matt V. has been my best friend since first grade and Dave and Matt D. are also good friends."
Their interest in performing as a band goes back to their teen years.
"we started up as a band back in high school just for fun, but the more we played, the more we wanted to make a living playing our original music." said Sanborn.
The band's music is heavily influenced by 90's band Sublime.
"We are based around reggae, rock, and alternative with a twist of pop," said Sanborn.
Playing for high school students has boosted the band's fan base enormously.
"There's a really big high school crowd are we expose our music to teens because that seems to be the people who care," said Matt Vitale. "The older crowd have their own ways and set it to more mainstream. Teens seem more open."
Indosurf performed on May 8 during the annual Starnival, but it was not the first time they have played here.
"We have played at Golden West once before and it was awesome," said Sanborn. "The crowd was great. we would love to come back and perform for you guys. It means a lot to be able to expose our music to new listeners and to just play for our fellow Visalians."
Among those "fellow Visalians" is senior Marli Olson, who enjoyed the band's performance.
"Indosurf is amazing!" sand Olson. "They inspired me to follow my dream of writing songs."
Indosurf has two EP's available on iTunes and can also be checked out at myspace.com/indosurf

- Golden West's

The lifestyles of those who listen to reggae and rock are often deemed completely separate. After all, something just doesn’t feel right about having a poster of Bob Marley next to Led Zepplin.

One brings mental images of lounging under a palm tree while sipping out of a coconut, while the other paints a picture of someone screaming off of the top of their lungs while throwing a television off of a hotel balcony.

it may come as a surprise that the Central Valley has found a balance.

The worlds of rock and reggae collide 9:30 p.m. Friday at The Cellar Door in downtown Visalia with performances by reggae-alternative rock group IndoSurf and post-rock instrumental band We Killed the King.

IndoSurf fans may need a refresher.

While the band composed of vocalist and guitarist Matt Vitale, drummer Chase Sanborn, Bassist Matt Denis, and lead guitarist David Bivona, have previously been featured on such festivals as The Vans Warped Tour and were deemed the winner of the former Ernie Ball “Battle of the Bands,” the celebrated group has played few live shows in the Central Valley since they last released their full-length debut album “Hawaiian Love Story” in 2012.

Rest assured, the Visalia-based band hasn’t spent the whole time lounging. In fact, they’ve been busy self-recording and producing their second album with an EP of three songs from the new album due to be released.

For those still wondering how a band plays reggae and rock simultaneously and gets away with it, they could look to similar bands that reached success in the 90’s such as Sublime and the classic British group UB40 who infused reggae with synthesizers, pop-beats, and early boy-band sensibilities throughout the 80’s.

In the late-90’s reggae-pop took on a form similar to ska music with dominating guitar riffs and massive horn sections.
IndoSurf will play it's first live show in Visalia

IndoSurf will play it's first live show in Visalia Friday since their last performance in 2013. (Photo: Submitted)

IndoSurf sticks to the guitars and drums, blended vocal harmonies, combines them with lyrics riddled with angst, and creates extremely accessible music that periodically shifts entirely between the two genres within the same song.

The transition is seamless and in itself serves as evidence of the skilled musicians at the wheel.

Likewise, opening act We Killed the King bring their own set of talents and unique blend of emotional post-rock sound to the table.

The band was just featured on 105.1 The Blaze Sunday, July 19, to discuss their new EP and air their latest single “Mary Magdalene.”

“A lot of our musical influences are post rock bands. we're huge fans of bands like This Will Destroy You and God is an Astronaut and Mogwai etc.,” We Killed the King said in an interview with CHOICES before their last appearance at The Cellar Door. “We got together and didn't really know what to expect and when we started jamming it was obvious we were going to let music and sound tell the story.”

Both bands bring an opportunity to not just hear music, but experience emotion. Considering the vast spectrum each of their respective sounds cover, this one is a veritable roller coaster of both.

Choices caught up with IndoSurf before they make their grand return to a Visalia stage:

Question: For those who need a refresher, could you introduce yourselves and describe your sound?

Answer: Hi everyone! For those of you who don't know us, we are IndoSurf! We are a 4 piece band; Chase Sanborn on Drum/Back up Vocals, Matt Denis on Bass, David Bivona on Guitar, and myself (Matt Vitale) lead vocals/guitar. We are a reggae rock alternative band that's born and raised in Visalia, Ca.

Question: It’s been a while since we’ve last seen IndoSurf on the stage. When was the last time IndoSurf performed in Visalia, and what has the band been up to since then?

Answer: Oh man! We haven't played a show since June of 2013. We played two shows on the same day; it was a Summer Fest in downtown Visalia and VBC. We decided to take some time off from playing gigs to write new music and we started recording the album all ourselves. Chase has really invested a lot of money into sound proofing our band room, along side with purchasing gear to make the self recordings possible.

Question: Reggae-alternative rock is certainly a unique blend. Who are some the influences across those genres that inspired IndoSurf?

Answer: It's definitely an interesting blend but it gives you a vast variety of style and appeals to a lot of different audiences. The obvious influence right out of the gate would be Sublime. We started in Chases garage covering Sublime songs. Through the inspiration of Sublime we fell in love with the Skunk records label, which introduced us to The Ziggens, Slightly Stoopid etc. It really had us exploring music from Bob Marley, Bad Brains, Eek-A-Mouse etc.From there it blossomed and grew along side all the different 90s alternative bands and 2000s bands that we loved (Foo Fighters, Incubus, P.O.D., Coheed and Cambria, Motion City Soundtrack, etc.).

Question: With elements of reggae and rock your sound is simultaneously relaxed, energetic, and occasionally aggressive. How do you go about balancing the instrumentals to make each song flow coherently?

Answer: A lot of it is just song writing. Writing a well structured song is gonna help any band make a great song. But with that I think being aware of other songs you play or have written can help too so you don't end up with a lot of songs that sound exactly the same. And relying on your band members strengths helps too!

Question: Lyrically, your songs tend to have more than a little bit of angst to them, which I think everyone can relate to. Are some of these songs steeped in personal memories for you?

Answer: Yea of course! I think each and everyone of our songs has it's own personal meaning. Some of them can be a bit more fun, and some maybe...not so fun haha. Whether they come out as "angsty" or not, is usually a reflection of what's kinda going on in our lives when we get to any lyric writing on a song. It comes out how it comes out.

Question: I understand you guys just finished mixing down the new IndoSurf EP. Congrats! Could you tell us a little about it? Should we expect something different from “A Hawaiian Love Story?”

Answer: Thanks! The EP definitely is a step in another direction than HLS. We are actually planning on releasing two more EP's that are going to all make up our next album, "The Heart and The Soul" which we hope to release later this year. The new EP's/album are all self recorded, mixed, and produced by us, so were super excited about that! As far as the musical content, it still is our own formula of reggae and rock, but we found ourselves really getting into heavy rhythmic riffs a lot this time around. I think you can hear some 90's influence (a la foo fighters, sublime, Incubus etc.) in there too. And it's not an epic story like HLS. Just music (haha).

Question: Can we expect to hear those new tunes Friday at the Cellar Door?

Answer: You most definitely will hear all 3 songs from our new EP along with a few other songs from the next scheduled EP. We definitely will be playing a lot of material from A Hawaiian Love Story and even older material seeing how we haven't played in a while (mainly because some are major fan favorites).

Question: Anything else you would like to share about the show?

Answer: Opening the show is a killer instrumental band call We Killed the King. They start at 9:30 and we will be on at 10:30. It will be an extremely fun show! You don't not want to miss out on it! We will have the new EP available for sale at the show. Please don't be afraid to come say hi and introduce yourself to us if it's your first time seeing us!

Details: IndoSurf and We Killed The King perform 9:30 p.m. Friday at The Cellar Door, 101. W. Main St. Tickets are $5 for the 21-and-over show. - Visalia Times Delta, Zachary Newcott