Call me old-fashioned, but I still love college radio. That’s when why I found out that area up and comers, Accidental Seabirds are appearing on one of my favorite college radio stations, Brookdale’s own 90.5 The Night tomorrow, I was super stoked to be able to share the news with everyone out there in Web-Log land.
Accidental Seabirds is one of those bands that possess both a strong songwriting skill set as well as excellent musicianship. It’s been quite the journey for singer/guitarist Jesse Lee as he brought this group to fruition, getting the sound out of his head and into fans ears, but the group has hit their stride and their clean, folk-rock sound, intelligent and at times sarcastic and wry lyrics are capturing local hearts and minds as this fundamentally solid and extremely focused act should be.
I had the chance to ask a few questions of Mr. Lee himself, and after you study up below, make sure to tune in online or over the terrestrial airwaves at 90.5 The Night tomorrow at 6 PM. While the band is a full 5 piece, they’re stripping things down when guitarists Jesse and James of Accidental Seabirds will be catching up with area celeb DJ Jeff Raspe and playing a few acoustic versions of their songs live on air. Long Live Indie Rock and the community we compose!
Your Fair Reporter: Hey Jesse, thanks so much for your time today! Let’s start with the basics. How/ when did your band form?
Jesse Lee: I had been recording and performing live as Accidental Seabirds while living in Brooklyn from 2006-2010 but there wasn’t a solid band for any length of time. I myself was distracted and everyone else seemed too busy to practice/perform regularly. My friend Duke helped me record a whole mess of songs which eventually became “the snow and the full moon.”
It wasn’t until I moved back to south Jersey this winter that everything came together. It was perfect timing. Three multi-instrumentalist friends happened to moved to NJ from different cities (NY, Boston, Miami) and we added another friend on keys. I really enjoy hangout out making music with these guys and we’ve been playing shows pretty much once a week since the record came out in January.
From being a musician myself, I know that’s the BEST vibe you can have in a band—the friends-hanging-out-doing-what-we-love-feel. What area is the band from and how was that important in the group’s development?
We’re now scattered around Ocean and Monmouth counties. The good thing about being in this area is that we have a lot of friends who play music and invite each other to play shows together. Also, people here have been very supportive so far and that’s what makes us keep going. Seeing our friends bring their friends out to shows for a good time is really motivational.
The Accidental Seabirds Sat Down With Rutgers Radio WRSU A While Back
Let’s talk a little about your background. Who are some of your major influences?
No one in particular, I think we’re influenced by styles of music rather than specific artists/bands. I’d say 70s prog rock plays a big role as well as 60s songwriters and 90s alternative. There’s probably some jazz, folk, and hip-hop in there, too; I don’t know what comes across to the listener.
I also believe that we are influenced by all the musicians we’ve played with in previous bands. We all learn from each other and it’s really interesting to watch where old band mates and friends take their music years down the line.
Where is your own music these days? How would you describe your sound?
I dunno, Progressive Indie Folk? Singer-songwronger? Acoustic Surrealist Alt Rock? We usually just give someone an Accidental Seabirds sticker and say, “look us up.” I don’t like drawing comparisons because that pre-programs the person’s expectations before they’ve even heard the music. It’s not fair to them or to us. Everyone can sound like someone else, but if you suggest it in advance that’s all they’re gonna hear. It takes away from the initial experience of hearing a new artist. I love hearing something for the first time and appreciating it for what it is on it’s own, without context or comparison.
Yes, the stand alone listening experience—definitely important to appreciating a sound. Speaking of appreciating sounds, why do you think you are driven to be a musician?
I think most of us play music for medicinal purposes. It improves our quality of living.
What’s the most memorable show experience your band has had?
So far it’s been hard to top our record release party at the Brighton back in January. The place was packed and everyone had a great time. I saw lots of people making new friends and most of the crowd stayed until the very end of the night. Mad love.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a number of really good since then. Shore Alternative has hooked us up with some awesome gigs in Asbury, and we’ve done some other parties that were really fun. There was also a crazy show a few weeks ago in Toms River. It was a benefit for OCVTS audio recording school. Most of our favorite bands in the area were there, it was incredible. The students ran the show and the sound was excellent.
Jesse Shares His Passionate Performance With The Masses
I LOVE, LOVE the Shore Alternative family! They are some really great people with great sensibility. I think they’re so important to our community. Are there other venues you really like? What are some of your favorite places to play?
The Brighton Bar in Long Branch is where we feel most comfortable. James and I have been playing there in different bands for ten years. Jacko is a good guy and urges bands to experiment. That place is all about music and community. We have a good time anywhere as long as people are open to hearing new music. It helps if there’s good artwork on the walls instead of flatscreen TVs. We’ve played a few gallery openings and they were all really fun nights.
When’s your next area show? I hate to say this but I have yet to see you live, and I can’t wait to.
Friday May 6th we’re playing with our good friends Brick + Mortar at Asbury Lanes; Southwork and Big Eyes are also playing. Sunday the 8th we’re playing the Idiom Magazine’s new book release party at Brighton Bar. Skiz/Ross/Detroit/Veil are also playing and our favorite poets will be reading throughout the night.
Sounds like you’re lined up with some great acts from the community. What other acts do you recommend that people might not know about just yet?
There’s a lot of good music around here these days. These are some of the bands we like… Elevator Art, Intense Men, Brick+Mortar, Thomas Wesley Stern, Puppy Grease, 117, Vera’s Lair, Birthwater, Mouth to Mouth, Mothguts, Grand Alto, Mike Cuntala, Saska, River City Extension, St. Joe Louis, Charm School Dropouts, Mad Feather Group, the Amboys, the Do-dads, Wakah Chan, DJ Steel, Hipshots, The Obvious, Stem Trio, Zombie Club America, Dogmatic, Sex Zombies, Weasels and Mumps, and any band featuring Jack Monahan… in no particular order, of course.
Yes, we’ve got quite the scene going on in the area, nice shout out. I really love Grand Alto, (my band) The Obvious ( wink, wink) and River City especially, too! Let’s bring the conversation back to you guys for now.What are your releases to date? Are there any you are promoting right now?
We’re currently promoting our first LP “the snow and the full moon” which was released January 14th, 2011. It’s an album of 17 songs that reflect the way I felt during my first couple of years living in New York. It was strange to be a part of that powerful machine of a city full of people but not feel truly connected to very many of them. It took a while to get comfortable there. A lot of the record also deals with relationships between people; what happens when we finally let each other into our own private worlds.
Untitled by Accidental Seabirds
That is classic content that goes back to Shakespeare, The Greek Comedies and Tragedies, even. It’s a topic of endless fascination! I’m gonna lighten it up at this juncture. Here’s one I always like asking. What trend in popular music do you highly disapprove of?
The lyrics really bother me in most pop songs. Lots of the same ideas and even the same words coming up over and over. I especially dislike the ones that promote materialism, consumerism, and violence. Also the ones that treat women as nothing but sexual objects pretty much disgust me.
Autotune is also really annoying. All the extreme studio corrections are beat. I’m not saying leave all the really bad mistakes, but try to make an accurate representation of what the artist can actually do. Nobody is perfect. A lot of pop music sounds mechanical because everything is tweaked to match the standards of today’s commercial market. Forget the competition and let music be music.
Ha! You are not alone in the auto tune resentment! Last question, what do you think of the Billboard top 40 these days? Is there a decade you wish you were around for in popular music?
I’ve never read Billboard magazine.
Ha ha! Good answer!
Popular music in this country has always been pretty lame. It’s about entertainment, not art. Luckily, it’s easy enough to find great music just beneath the surface of pop culture. I’m happy to be alive today, we have access to more music than we have time to listen to. There’s a lot of amazing stuff out there, go find some for yourself. Share it with your friends. Peace.
So there you have it folks! Be sure to tune in tomorrow, and catch these guys next Friday at my adoptive home, The Asbury Lanes with one of my favorite area acts, Big Eyes. Indie Rock Still Rulez.
XOXO!
Ang
