APRIL 11, 2010 | The Summit | Columbus OH
Photo Credit: John Danner
I texted Surfer Blood’s lead singer, JP Pitts, as I anxiously approached the entrance of The Summit. He met me at the door. He was charming and fresh faced, with parted curly brown hair reminiscent of a 50’s poster child. “We just got in a couple minutes ago, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just need to help unload the van and then we can get under way.”
About halfway through Turbo Fruit’s performance, JP tapped me on the shoulder and motioned John and I to the green room for the photoshoot. Inside, I introduced myself to TJ Schwarz, Thomas Fekete, Brian Black, and Marcos Marchesani. They curiously grilled me on JackinthePocket as Danner positioned them for the photograph.
I stepped outside with JP just after midnight. 15 minutes earlier he was shredding the guitar while perched on top of a speaker! I must admit I was a little starstruck… and drunk. I tried to get all six members together, but even JP said it was like herding cats.
"It’s a miracle we got everyone in the same room for the photo!" I exclaimed with a giggle.
KP: Describe a day in the life of Surfer Blood.
JP: We wake up around, like, 10 o’clock, then we drive for about 6 hours to the next venue. We usually play a show. We’re on a 72 show tour right now.
KP: What do you guys do on your days off?
JP: It depends on where we are, in Los Angeles we go around and say hi to our friends. Say, “Hey! You want to come out?” and go out to a restaurant.
KP: Aw, well now you have friends in Columbus!
JP: Yeah, I like Columbus, its really cool.
KP: It’s nice, it has a young crowd. Speaking of age… I’ve noticed people confuse your ages a lot. Whats the youngest you all have been mistaken for.
JP: Uh. 12!
KP: Really?!
JP: It goes as low as 12 but I’m not sure if they were serious when they said it.
KP: How do you respond to that?
JP: We say we’re 11. [Laughs] We’re all in our early 20’s but… some of us look really young… including myself.
KP: Well baby faces are good, that way when you’re 80, everyone will think you’re 60.
JP: That’s what my dad says. “You’ll look good later in life.”
KP: I’ve noticed on twitter, you guys have been getting a lot of traffic violations…
JP: Yes. Very true.
KP: How many have you gotten on this tour so far?
JP: We got pulled over once in California, once in Wisconsin… good times in Wisconsin. We have two speeding tickets on this tour so far, but 70 days… you gotta give us a break. [Laughs] And, we have parking tickets in Los Angeles.
KP: When you return to those places, are you afraid of getting arrested?
JP: [Laughs] No we pay all our tickets, we want to be legit.
KP: What have been the best and worst things about this tour so far?
JP: Best things? SxSW… Market Hotel, that show was incredible. Um, San Francisco, Bottom of the Hill. Worst thing about tour has been making a 30 hour drive, two ways.
KP: From where to where?
JP: Vancouver to Minneapolis. Also, a few of us are vegans. So driving through places like Montana… not very vegan friendly. We stopped at a gas station one time, and I got a piece of pizza. Then I looked at the ingredients… there were 600 ingredients! So, I just threw it out. I’m not a vegan, but I’m not gonna eat complete and total garbage.
KP: Where has been your favorite place to eat?
JP: A place in Minneapolis, actually. Everything is local, so local. Like, less than 30 feet away local. Really good.
KP: Ok, now Mighty Boosh. Let’s discuss that because I know one of you is a fan.
JP: Ah, you’re talking to the wrong person. Let’s go find Thomas…..
(We find Thomas loading out guitars and cords)
KP: Who is your favorite character on The Mighty Boosh?
Thomas: Well, my favorite line ever is when Vince says, “Quit tuggin’ on me mink!” and he’s my favorite character too. We actually stayed with Eddie Argos of Art Brut in London. His roommate Sue Denim is in the band Robots in Disguise. She’s super close with those guys, and has actually been on the show a couple times.
KP: Yeah! You’re talking about Dee and Sue?
Thomas: Yeah! Dee and Sue! They have all this crazy stuff from the show at their house. It was pretty cool.
Surfer Blood kicks of a European tour in May and come back to US in June. Check out their debut album Astrocoast available on Kanine Records.