An Interview with Surf Curse

Interview by: Sarah Morrison

Live Photos by: Geoff Taylor

Surf Curse has been around for almost a decade now, swooning youth in the Los Angeles subculture and maxing waves in other parts of the world. The bane recently dropped their newest album 'Heaven Surrounds You,' a record themed around Nick and Jacob's mutual love for film. 

A few months back, we sat down with both men to have a chat about reflecting on past work, their thoughts on subculture in Los Angeles, and how film has become such a critical component within their personal lives and their writing. 

What is 'Casino Hearts'? Is this a side project you still do now?

Jacob: Oh, that's me, Jacob! The thing behind 'Casino Hearts' is that it's my Nevada band. I made up a rule that I was only going to work on 'Casino Hearts' while I'm in Nevada. Since I left, I've started a new solo project called 'Gap Girls.'

Where are you both based now? 

Jacob: We're both in Los Angeles, now, and have been for the last three years! We got out!

Did you consciously know you wanted to end up living in Los Angeles? 

Jacob: No, it just happened, honestly! We had been bouncing back and forth between different places over the years. Nick ended up moving to Los Angeles first, and I was in a situation where I could live anywhere. Nick moved a month before I did, but we've both been out here for the last three years.

Nick: I think we both consciously tried to avoid moving to L.A. for years. I really don't understand why now (laughs). I love it! It's interesting; we initially never liked being here.

Jacob: It came out of nowhere. I never wanted to live here because it's a sort of paradise situation. You never want to live in a paradise, as much as you need moments in one. Not that L.A. is a real paradise, it was just a fun time when we'd come out here when we were younger. Now living here, we found our pace, it's fun, there are a ton of great artists out here, so it's working!

Where did the two of you initially meet? Was this a high-school band that you started together? 

Nick: We technically met in middle-school, or between middle-school and high-school. We had a different band together back then, but it wasn't very serious. We managed to get kicked out of that band and stayed friends for years and years. When we were in college, we started a new project [Surf Curse], which we began to take much more seriously. But we've been friends since we were around the age of thirteen, I'd say around fourteen years now!

Let's start with 'Buds.' Do you remember writing this at all since Surf Curse has been around for almost a decade now? 

Nick: Ya, we started the band around seven years ago, 2011? I definitely remember writing that, and it's funny because this one band ripped off one of our earliest songs recently, and it's been a hot topic lately. We've been reminiscing about writing all of those songs while we were living in a basement together in Reno. It's kind of where we started the project.

It feels like a long time ago, but the memories of writing those songs is extremely clear. Back then, it was a different way of doing things and a very different lifestyle compared to how we operate and record everything now.

Did it come to either of you as a shock at how quickly Surf Curse became apart of the subculture out in Los Angeles? 

Jacob: It's kind of funny because when we started traveling out there, there were a ton of bands that we absolutely loved. It wasn't the Burger Records bands or such; it was groups liked 'Moses Campbell,' 'Palm Reader,' 'Heller Keller'; they weren't the big L.A. bands, just the bands that were important to us.

Nick: I remember us playing this one show, and it all just happened overnight. All of our Bandcamp downloads had spiked up.

Jacob: Every time we'd come back to L.A., our fanbase would have grown even bigger, and the shows would become rowdier.

Nick: It's become a thing where a lot of our pedals or other stuff will get unplugged. Before, we used to play as a two or three-piece, and it already takes away half of the sound. A lot of the time, no one really cares; they still go crazy. If we're playing a slow song, people will still be moshing. People just like to go wild!

Nick: I think we both consciously tried to avoid moving to L.A. for years. I really don't understand why now (laughs). I love it! It's interesting; we initially never liked being here.

Jacob: It came out of nowhere. I never wanted to live here because it's a sort of paradise situation. You never want to live in a paradise, as much as you need moments in one. Not that L.A. is a real paradise, it was just a fun time when we'd come out here when we were younger. Now living here, we found our pace, it's fun, there are a ton of great artists out here, so it's working!

The band opened for Mac Demarco as one of your first string of shows. Obviously, back then, Mac Demarco’s live performances were notorious for being chaotic. With your shows being rowdy, what is the experience like of playing a more intense version of that? 

Jacob: I was listening to Mac Demarco a lot when he made music under ‘Makeout Videotape’ and would share his music on social media and say ‘I have no idea who this guy is, but he’s incredible!’

The guy who was running The Holland Project [an all-ages music venue in Reno, Nevada] messaged me saying, ‘Hey, I see you keep posting about this guy, and I just got an email regarding the potential of him playing the Holland Project. Should I book him?’ I encouraged him to do it, and he asked us to play it as well.

Only around 34 people came. The venue actually still has the ticket number sub. It was just a low-key show, and they were all really nice.

I spoke to Mac and told him how excited I was for ‘2’ to be released, and he offered to send it to me. Of course, I was all giddy and happy! Friends would try asking me to send them over the new Mac Demarco album, and I would tell them they’d have to come over and listen to it because I wasn’t going to leak it.

It’s funny thinking back to that because it was such a good time. We actually ran into Mac another time and he kind of remembered who I was. It was still special, to think back to that show compared to how it is now.

Towards the beginning of your career, a lot of your merch was DIY, hand-drawn work. How did you keep up with stock? Did you manage to hold on to any copies to have for yourselves? 

Nick: I honestly think it’s all disappeared between various moves.

Jacob: Some stuff got lost in a car accident. I think my grandma has a copy of everything we’ve released hidden somewhere.

Nick: My ex-girlfriend has a couple of copies of the hand-drawn CD’s. She messaged me the other day and asked if I thought any Surf Curse fans would want to buy them off of her.

Jacob: Wait, really?

Nick: Ya!

Jacob: Which one, Hannah or Danielle?

Nick: Hannah. But I think both exes have held onto a few of those.

Jacob: But yes, all of ours have been lost!

Your first record release show took place at a venue called ‘The Smell.’ Tell me what that venue meant to you? 

Jacob: It’s a significant venue. I ended up going there when I was eighteen and told Nick, ‘It’s an incredible all-ages venue in Los Angeles. We’d drive down and play these shows, and it became this essential space. Growing up in Nevada, we didn’t have these all-ages music venues. Having a scene like that is so important, and we loved experiencing that.

We recorded our first two records there, and the shows we’ve played there have always been really great. It gets a little bit more miserable every time we play there because it gets boiling, we’re getting older, and the kids are crazy! They’ll climb up the walls and the pipes, and the venue doesn’t have air conditioning. It can be chaotic, but at the same time, it will always feel magical.

Back when you released the first record, you decided to release it on tape. Around that time, Burger Records was making a significant impact on the revival of tapes, so what made you decide that was the type of media you want to release on? 

Jacob: Well, tape is just so cheap to put out, and the label we released it with was strictly only releasing tapes. They’ve always been an affordable form of media to make, and it’s cheap for fans to buy as well. We’ve always released on tape, regardless. We understand as we’ve been in a situation where we’ve been broke and wanted to support a band. 

All of your albums have had three-year gaps between releases. Is this something you plan, do you need that time to break, or is this something that just naturally happens? 

Nick: I think it’s just complications within our lives.

Jacob: It’s nothing artistic. It would be due to someone moving; Nick was moving back and forth from New York, and I was moving back and forth between Vegas and Reno. It would be one of those things where we’d just have to say, ‘Hey, are you ready to do this next record?’

With this new record, we recorded the album in September 2018. But this time, it was label stuff.

Nick: Politics!

When you listen back to that older material, do you still relate to it in any way? Does it make you re-live old emotions, or do you feel removed from that chapter of your life? 

Jacob: Stuff like 'Pony Boy,' it still feels really good to play. When you're performing it, and you've got the crowd singing it with you, there's a lot of love behind that. It's a really high energy. We've stopped playing 'Make-Out with You' because we now feel embarrassed by it. Playing some older songs, you think, 'Wow, that is just a really fun song!'

The thing is, as we get older, there are songs that we begin to feel ashamed of, but then we think 'No, this is important for any eighteen or seventeen years old to hear.' We've gone through different perspectives over the years. You always want to improve as an artist.

Nick: I agree with a lot of that. Some of the songs we wrote are definitely outdated; we wrote them seven to eight years ago. We are different people now. Unlike a lot of other art forms, you're continually performing your older works.

Usually, you release something and then move onto working on the next thing. In your mind, you have moved on, but everyone else has the opportunity to be newly introduced to that or norm a nostalgic attachment to it. No matter what, when you're at the show, you have to channel that old energy. That can be one of the troubling things about being a musician; you're always attached to that past work.

Jacob: When you release something, it takes on a life of its own and becomes other people's thing. It's almost part of your job, you've got to go back to it and almost re-live it or go back to that one place in time.

In that respect, I definitely still think there is that attachment. But a lot of our material is outdated and not what we want to be performing now.

Why did you decide to re-issue your material on vinyl? 

Jacob: There's a new guy working at Danger Collective named James, who's very nostalgic towards our music. He felt it would be a really great idea to re-release them and to have our music released on vinyl finally. They were only ever released on tape prior to that. Had to get that hot wax out there!

Wait, your music wasn't even released on disc, only ever tape? 

Jacob: Ya, we've only ever done tape!

A lot of the tape level stuff that was happening around early 2010 was more of a necessity than anything else. Vinyl is really hard for independent labels because it does cost so much. Some people try to settle on a 7 inch, but it's sort of a waste really.

Nick: It's funny because back then, having a record or vinyl was really important or this 'big-step.' I personally don't have a record player; I don't have a philosophy of vinyl, I listen to all my music digitally. I'm just stoked that we've got our music on media that is accessible to anybody. It's great if our music is on YouTube for free; I like that philosophy more than having to create a product. It's apart of the system to becoming successful or paying your rent; to have that product to sell at your shows.

‘Disco,’ your first single off the new record ‘Heaven Surrounds You,’ stays true to your originating sound but expresses a very mature and new layer. Was this purely just a growth, or was there an underlying inspiration that led you to play around with new ideas for this next record? 

Jacob: The way we approach writing is that we will bring one another a guitar part or a structure and then sort of bounce off of each other. Lyrically, which was new to this album, as we tried to create a cinematic feeling, we wanted to represent the films we know and love.

Nick: It’s so hard to talk about the process of writing these songs. It was a natural progression of what we were working on. A lot of our writing, I believe, isn’t very intentionally compared to other types of writing. It comes from improvisation, which becomes more structured over time.

In terms of substantial influences for the lyrics on this record, it came from a ton of film. ‘Disco’ is sort of based off of the movie ‘Last Days of Disco.’ There’s one scene where this couple comes home from a club and slowly begin dancing to this song, which begins to build. It was about capturing that feeling you receive from a song.

I find it funny that you would say that. I was going to point out that from my perspective, the music video for ‘Disco’ looked like a scene right out of a film, and the music video for ‘Midnight Cowboy’ reminded me of a cult or independent film. 

Nick: That’s exactly what we were going for!

Jacob: We’re such film fans, and we feel really moved by particular scenes or the meaning behind the film. Whatever we’re going through, there will be these connections and inspirations that we can’t ignore. We’ve got to do something about it!

Film and cinematic approaches are something that seems to be driving a lot of musicians. Is this due to residential location, or is this something that comes directly from your personality? 

Jacob: I believe it’s a part of us. When we were in high-school, we’d hang out on weekends and watch three or four movies and even watch movies throughout the week. We’re both twenty-seven, and we’re still getting together to watch films.

Nick: The thing about L.A. is that we now have access to a better film experience. Instead of sitting at home and watching movies, we can go out to these theatres and watch old and new films. We’ve now got access to newly released independent films and retrospective double-features. It’s become intensified.

Jacob: I mean, L.A. has Hollywood! I do believe that where we film has been more of an impact on our writing.

Nick: I’ve always considered us cinephiles; film nerds. We could both talk about film for hours and hours. It was a major component to the start of our relationship; discovering and talking about film. It’s very natural that it melds into our musical approach.

The songs on ‘Heaven Surrounds You,’ will each be influenced by a different film? The first few singles each of distinctively different from one another; if each song reflects a different film, would each song be completely separate then following a theme? 

Jacob: They’re different, but not too far off. This album has a nice flow to it; it can be fun but also can become very dramatic. Each song is definitely its own scene from something.

Nick: Each song will be its own scene within the same movie.

Did you have the music videos in mind while you were writing each song? Did you have the plot figured out before delving in? 

Jacob: For ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ I knew exactly what I wanted to do. When I wrote the song, I knew exactly the approach to the music video I was going to take. It wasn’t until we actually went in to film the video that it became a different idea.

Nick: With ‘Disco,’ I had five different ideas in mind for the music video. Some of those were impossible to create, so I broke it down to one or two different concepts. The next video will be a combination of some other ones. I think for me, a lot of those came afterward. It’s funny how all the different interpretations of these movies channel themselves through the songs. We create our own visual representation of that from there.