You may recognise one of the members of new US band Beach Weather. A Rocket To The Moon's Nick Santino is back and his newest project, Beach Weather are set to storm the UK on tour with Sleeping With Sirens. We couldn't resist sitting down with the boys after hearing their first EP, "What A Drag". Click below to as we chat to the band about how they got together, English accents and baptisms of fire...
In terms of the band you’re pretty new on the scene, but you’ve all got history in the music industry. Has having that previous experience helped? And how different is this new project?
Nick: Yeah we're a new band but we all have a music background. Reeves played with friends around Nashville for a bit. Austin was doing similar things around Phoenix and filling in for a few bands on some tours. I was in a band that I started in 2006 called A Rocket To The Moon and we split up in 2013. I would say all of that has helped in many ways. I've been fortunate enough to make some great friends along the way such as the Maine guys who was nice enough to give us a chance with our first tour. So it doesn't hurt to have some ground to stand on while starting something fresh.
Sum up Beach Weather in 3 words...
Nick: Groovy. Fun Weirdos.
How did Beach Weather come together? Because am I right in thinking you’re from all over America?
Austin: That's correct, we live pretty far apart. Nick's in the Boston area, Reeve is in Nashville, and I live in Arizona. We came together through mutual friends who sort of acted as match makers haha. So we set up some "blind dates" to jam, felt a really great connection, and decided to pursue being in a band together.
You released the debut EP and then days later hit the road with The Maine; was that quite a baptism of fire doing so much in such a short amount of time?
Austin: "A baptism of fire", sounds like a really awesome song title. We had planned to release the EP a little later than we did, but we had the opportunity to tour with The Maine guys so we bumped the date up and felt like it would be a great way to kick start our first release as a band. I like to think baptism still requires water, so it was more like a huge wave in the ocean. We intend to accomplish a lot in short periods of time. However, being human we must take time to prepare ourselves to grow and become better each day; as individuals and as a band. That way each movement of water or rising fire is different and an indication of who we are and what we are capable of achieving in that time of our bands life.
You’re over here in the UK with Sleeping With Sirens next month; most of the are shows are near to selling out! Are you looking forward to the tour?
Reeve: Ya man, it'll be rad getting the tunes played in front of more people who haven't even heard of us yet. It excites me!
How did you guys end up on the bill with SWS?
Nick: Kellin was actually into my last band and my solo stuff and reached out to me last year about doing an acoustic tour with them. It was in the US and I was more than happy to be a part of it. While we were on that tour they were planning this UK run and asked me if I wanted to join them. A few months after agreeing to that, we announced and released Beach Weather. The Sirens fellas heard it and immediately asked if I wanted to bring the whole band and do the UK run as Beach Weather instead and we couldn't refuse!
Have you all been to the UK before? What’re you most looking forward to over here?
Reeve: I know has Nick before, I'm not sure if Austin has. But, this is my first time, so I'm going to have a ball! Girls with English accents make me swoon & just observing the cultural difference are my top two things I'm stoked on right now.
This is the first time people will be able to see Beach Weather live in the UK; what can we expect from the live show?
Austin: You can expect a ton of excitement and energy on stage from us 3 dudes. We are so grateful to be given the opportunity to play music in the UK and meet people who come out to the shows. The songs off our EP take on a whole new life when performed live; from improvising to really crazy jam sections. We look forward to every single show and just can't wait to get this thing started.
The debut EP has gone down incredibly well; it’s the perfect soundtrack to get us ready for summer. What/who were the influences when you were writing and recording it?
Reeve: We all have our own artists and bands we dig, but we have those few classics we all agree on... Like Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, etc. But, this is my first time playing bass in a band & I have never played until I joined. I was studying Jared Followill, bassist in Kings of Leon, because he is one of my favorites. He didn't even play bass until he joined a band too, so that's pretty cool.
Nick: I remember, was listening to a lot of War on Drugs, Ryan Adams & some other goodies. Austin re-introduced me to Kurt Vile's records. We all constantly show each other music, which is a nice luxury to have.
Thanks guys- looking forward to seeing you on the SWS tour!
