Right now I've been rocking out to the band Spiral Beach, from Anaheim California. I was actually able to interview them recently. They are an alternative/powerpop/crazy circus band hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who actually played in the movie "Charlie Bartlett" (Remember the crazy party scene? The band playing there? Yeah, that's Spiral Beach.)
1. Okay-First: What are you names, and what insturment(s) do each of you play?
Maddy Wilde - keyboards/samples, vocals
Airick Woodhead - guitar, vocals
Daniel Woodhead - drums, vocals
Dorian Wolf - bass
2. What are your influences as a band? I've never heard anything like your stuff before.
Daniel: We listen to all kinds of different music, although strangely enough we all have very similar taste. . . which makes it much easier to get along when you're driving for 13 hours straight in a tiny van. To name a few bands that we all take influence from (both stylistically and musically) I'd say the Flaming Lips, Gogol Bordello, Syd Barrett, Animal Collective and these awesome old Bollywood records we keep digging up. Really we just try to write good pop songs and let all the different influences sort of creep in later.
3. If you could use one word to describe your live show it would be? Why?
Daniel: I've heard some people describe the live show as "kaleidoscopic" which is pretty accurate I guess what with all the flashing lights and moving bodies. . . plus it's just a cool sounding word.4. Favorite song to play live?For me (being the drummer) I'd say Casual T. . . it just kind of lets loose and takes off. . . though it has a tendency to self-destruct in that outro part. . .
5. How'd you guys come up with the name spiral beach?
Daniel: Well, sorry to bore but we basically just sat around throwing names out until we found one we liked. . . although we found out later that Spiral Beach is also three very cool things: A beach on mars, a huge man-made sand formation, and a level in Super Mario.
6. You guys did a song for Charlie Bartlett, right? Could you tell me a bit about the experience? Any future in film careers for Sprial Beach? haha.
Daniel: It's definitely very strange for us, especially because more people are just hearing about it now, even though the movie came out a year ago, and we filmed our bit in early 2006! Actually doing the scene was super fun though, a few of our friends are also in the movie and we used a venue we've actually played before (the Opera House in Toronto). We'd definitely love to be more involved with movies, especially doing soundtrack-type music.
7. What was your favorite city to play on your last tour?
Daniel: Well, I still hold up Austin as one of the best shows we've played (though it was a few years ago. . .) More recently I'd say the Ford Plant in Brantford Ontario and the Montreal House in Peterborough Ontario. The more energetic the crowd, the better the show, no matter what size the venue is.
8. What have you guys been listening to lately?
Daniel: We're all listening obsessively to the new Animal Collective record, it's brilliant. . . Airick's been listening to Missy Elliott and stealing production ideas. . . Maddy finally got me into Portishead. . . I think Dorian's in love with the early Hole records. Oh and 2 Unlimited. Seriously.
9. What's next for Spiral Beach?
Daniel: Right now we're just putting the finishing touches on our new record, and we're DEFINITELY planning on coming back to the states around the time it's released (around May-June). If we can, I'd love to do a special record-release party in Austin. . . we've got a bunch of friends there and it's one of my favorite places to be!
So there you have it, Sprial Beach. Check out the song "Voodoo" by them, the song played in the hit movie "Charlie Bartlett."
So what have you guys been listening to? I found a few bands you guys might find interesting.
If you like...Soft acoustic music, like Secondhand Serenade, then you might like Newton Faulkner, a British singer-songwriter who is really starting to rise up the charts with his single "Dream Catch Me."
Songs to check out by him:
1. Gone In The Morning
2. Dream Catch Me
3. People should smile more
If you like...intense alternative/progressive rock, like Chiodos, A Skylit Drive, or Circa Survive, you might like Versa Emerge, an amazing alternative rock band from Florida. They're young kids, I'm pretty sure all of the members are under twenty one.
Check out the song "In Pursuing Design" by them.
