Nada Surf is a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band formed in the 1990s, consisting of
Matthew Caws
Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...
(guitar, vocals),
Ira Elliot
Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals).
History 1 ...
(drums),
Doug Gillard
Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde.
Early ...
(guitar, backing vocals), and
Daniel Lorca
Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals).
History 19 ...
(bass, backing vocals).
History
1990s
Nada Surf was formed in 1992 by Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca. They originally went by the name Helicopter but later changed it to Nada Surf, which Caws said is "actually referring to something much more existential, it's just surfing on nothing. Being lost in your head or in your imagination but you know, whenever I listen to music I always find myself off somewhere. Somewhere in space. You know, in mental space and it's a reference to that."
Caws and Lorca met at the
Lycée Français de New York
The Lycée Français de New York (LFNY), commonly called the Lycée (in English, "The French High School of New York"), is an independent bilingual French school serving an international community of students from Nursery-3 to twelfth grade based ...
; both spent some of their childhood in France and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, and played in many bands, including The Cost of Living and Because Because Because. Their first drummer, Dan (later alluded to in the song "The Plan" from the album ''
High/Low''), was replaced by Aaron Conte, with whom the band recorded their first 7", ''The Plan/Telescope'' (1994), as well as the demo tape ''Tafkans'', the raw version of ''High/Low''. Those raw versions were later released on their second 7", ''Deeper Well/Pressure Free'' (1995), on the EP ''
Karmic
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...
'', and on ''North 6th Street''.
In 1995, Conte left the band and was replaced by
Ira Elliot
Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals).
History 1 ...
, former drummer of the
Fuzztones
The Fuzztones are an American garage rock revival band formed in 1982.
History
Founded by singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi in New York City, the band has gone through several member changes but is currently active in Europe. Dismissed by some cri ...
, a band from the 1980s
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
scene, and of whom both Caws and Lorca were fans. After a
Blonde Redhead
Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keys/rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums/keys and lead guitar/bass/keys/vocals, respectively) that formed in New York City in 1993. ...
show at the
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.
The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
, Nada Surf met former
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
frontman and
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
producer
Ric Ocasek
Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...
.
With little hope, they presented him with a copy of ''Tafkans''. Three weeks later, Ocasek called back with news of his intention to produce the album. Soon after, the band was finalizing a contract with
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
through an executive,
Josh Deutsch
Josh Deutsch is an American musician and composer. Primarily known as a trumpet player, he is a founding member of the Queens Jazz Overground, leads the band Pannonia and the Josh Deutsch Quintet, and performs regularly in a duo with guitarist N ...
.
On June 18, 1996, they released their debut album, ''
High/Low'', which was recorded and mastered within a nineteen-day period. Prior to this, the band released ''Karmic'' on No. 6 Records, a label run by Elektra A&R head
Terry Tolkin
Terry Tolkin (September 10, 1959 – January 21, 2022) was an American music executive and music journalist.
In the 1980s, Tolkin worked for several record labels, including Touch & Go Records, Rough Trade Records, and his own No.6 Records. Fro ...
. That summer, as Nada Surf toured the United States with
Superdrag
Superdrag is an American alternative rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. They are best known for their 1996 single, " Sucked Out", off their album ''Regretfully Yours'', for which a video was played on MTV. The original lineup r ...
, their song "
Popular
Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group.
Popular may also refer to:
In sociology
* Popular culture
* Popular fiction
* Popular music
* Popular science
* Populace, the total ...
" became a summer anthem, and the band toured overseas.
In 1998, they released ''
The Proximity Effect'', their follow-up album, in Europe. Produced by
Fred Maher
Frederick J. Maher is an American drummer, music programmer and record producer.
He was a member of the bands Massacre (1980–81), the Dance, Material, Scritti Politti, and has recorded and toured with Lou Reed. In 1984 he released ''Basic'', ...
, the album gained little commercial success in the US. Their record label, thinking the album lacked a hit like "Popular", had the band record several covers, including "Black & White" (
The dBs
The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s.
Their debut album, '' Stands for Decibels'', is often acclaimed as one of the greatest "lost" powe ...
) and "Why Are You So Mean to Me?" (
Vitreous Humor
The vitreous body (''vitreous'' meaning "glass-like"; , ) is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eyeball (the vitreous chamber) in humans and other vertebrates. It is often referred to as the vitreous humor ...
), to use as singles. Tired of the requirements of the A&R director, the band judged the album was perfect as-is (even though Elektra suggested the inclusion of an acoustic version of "Popular"), and broke their contract. As a consequence, Elektra did not release the album in the US and dropped the band while they were on a promotional tour in Europe. Despite these events, this album was critically acclaimed in France, where the band did a 30-show tour the following year.
2000s
In 2000, Nada Surf released ''The Proximity Effect'' in the United States on their own label, MarDev (named after Caws' maternal grandmother, Margaret Devereux Lippitt, daughter of the painter
Margaret Walthour Lippitt), after being dropped by Elektra. Subsequently, the band performed at their record release party at
Luna Lounge
Luna Lounge was a bar and music club located at 171 Ludlow Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Opened in 1995 by Dianne Galliano and Robert Sacher, it was a popular venue for local bands and stand-up comics (the rock band Interpol played there ...
in New York City and toured extensively for several months to rebuild their North-American fan base.
From 1999 to 2002, the band members took regular day jobs: Caws worked at a Brooklyn record store called Earwax,
Lorca worked on some computer projects, and Elliot did drum and guitar session work for other artists. Caws later referred to these times as a period of luxury, and the record store job as his "favorite job ever."
In 2002, they released ''
Let Go'', a critically acclaimed album
that included the single "Inside of Love". They went on tour for several months, including many European festivals, in the summer of 2003. Mostly recorded the year before, the album was produced by their friends Louie Lino and Chris Fudurich, who had engineered ''The Proximity Effect''; the band paid them with $1 and $5 bills, the money earned from tour merchandise sales.
In 2005, Nada Surf released ''
The Weight Is a Gift'', an album produced by
Chris Walla
Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie.
Musical career
Early bands
While at Bot ...
(among others), and finished touring for this album in October of the following year.
The record was made during a month spent at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco.
In 2008, the band released ''
Lucky'', an album made with producer
John Goodmanson
John Goodmanson (born 1968) is an American recording engineer and indie rock record producer. He is best known for producing multiple albums by Bikini Kill, Blonde Redhead, Death Cab for Cutie, Los Campesinos!, and Sleater-Kinney.
Selected dis ...
at the
Robert Lang Studios
Robert Lang Studios is a recording studio in Shoreline, Washington, United States. Numerous bands have recorded at Robert Lang Studios since 1974 including Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, The Blood Brothers, Candlebox, and Bush.
In l ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, from material recorded the year before. That same year, their song "No Quick Fix" was featured as the Spinner MP3 of the Day, and they were featured on the cover of ''
Beyond Race Magazine
''Beyond Race Magazine (BRM)'' is a quarterly magazine based in New York City primarily centered on independent and emerging artists, covering music, film, and other arts, such as literature, graffiti, tattooing, and visual arts. The publicatio ...
'' for the publication's winter issue.
2010s
![Nada Surf 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Nada_Surf_2012.jpg)
In 2010, the band released ''
If I Had a Hi-Fi'', an album of covers including songs by the likes of
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
,
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...
,
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...
, and
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...
.
Milwaukee noise rock band
IfIHadAHiFi
IfIHadAHiFi is a noise rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The group originally formed in Central Wisconsin in 2000, following the breakup of the band The Pop Machine. Following the style of the band's name, each member took a palindrome as a ...
reciprocally titled their next album ''Nada Surf EP+3''.
In 2012, Nada Surf released ''
The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
''The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy'' is the seventh album by alternative rock band Nada Surf. The album was released by Barsuk Records on January 18, 2012 in Japan, January 23, 2012 in Europe, and January 24, 2012 in the United States. It ...
,'' an album which included the single "Waiting for Something" and introduced former
Guided by Voices guitarist
Doug Gillard
Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde.
Early ...
as a fourth band member.
In 2012, Caws, who had moved to England, recorded acoustic versions of five of the songs from ''The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy'' as b-sides, in collaboration with record producer
Lee Russell. The material was released as ''The Dulcitone Files EP.'' The group released a compilation of rarities called ''B-Sides'' in 2014.
Nada Surf's eighth studio album, ''You Know Who You Are'', with an official release date of March 4, 2016, was released for streaming in late February 2016.
In 2018, for the fifteenth anniversary of ''
Let Go'', the charity album ''Standing at the Gates: The Songs of Nada Surf's Let Go'' was released to benefit the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
and
The Pablove Foundation. It consists of tracks from the band's 2002 album,
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
by various artists, including
the Long Winters
The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington.
History
Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, where he formed the Bun Fa ...
,
Ed Harcourt
Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...
,
Ron Gallo
Ron Gallo is an American people, American musician, singer, songwriter and artist. He began a solo career in 2014, after fronting various bands including Philadelphia-based band Toy Soldiers (band), Toy Soldiers and since then has released four ...
,
Rogue Wave
Rogue waves (also known as freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are unusually large, unpredictable, and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous to ships, even to lar ...
,
Holly Miranda
Holly Miranda (born 21 September 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Besides being trained in piano, Holly is a self-taught guitar and trumpet player. In 2001, she recorded ''High Above The City'', a 20-track solo album available ...
, and
Aimee Mann
Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...
.
2020s
In November 2019, Nada Surf announced that their ninth studio album, ''
Never Not Together'', would be released via
Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...
(US) and
City Slang
City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany.
History
The label was founded in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus, exclusively to release The Flaming Lips' '' In A Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine S ...
(UK) on February 7, 2020. At the time of the announcement, they released a new single and lyric video, "Something I Should Do". According to the band, their experience while celebrating the 15th anniversary of ''
Let Go'' in 2017 pushed them into a different creative mindset. They recorded many demos before thinning down the selection in an effort to find focus. The band also announced a major world tour to celebrate the album's release, starting on January 14 in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, before moving through the US and also encompassing dates in the UK, Germany, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Another single followed in December, entitled "Looking for You", accompanied by a music video directed by the band themselves.
Nada Surf opened the new decade with a single release, "So Much Love", on January 8, the third from ''Never Not Together''. It garnered ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''s attention, who reviewed the single favorably.
Double J in Australia added it and the previous single "Something I Should Do" to their playlist. On January 15, Nada Surf began their ''Never Not Together'' world tour at
Neptune Theatre in Seattle.
Discography
* ''
High/Low'' (1996)
* ''
The Proximity Effect'' (1998)
* ''
Let Go'' (2003)
* ''
The Weight Is a Gift'' (2005)
* ''
Lucky'' (2008)
* ''
If I Had a Hi-Fi'' (2010)
* ''
The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
''The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy'' is the seventh album by alternative rock band Nada Surf. The album was released by Barsuk Records on January 18, 2012 in Japan, January 23, 2012 in Europe, and January 24, 2012 in the United States. It ...
'' (2012)
* ''
You Know Who You Are'' (2016)
* ''
Never Not Together'' (2020)
Band members
Current members
*
Matthew Caws
Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...
– lead vocals, guitar (1992–present)
* Daniel Lorca – bass, backing vocals (1992–present)
* Ira Elliot – drums, backing vocals (1995–present)
*
Doug Gillard
Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde.
Early ...
– guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)
Contributing / touring members
* Louie Lino – keyboards
*
Daniel Brummel
Daniel Brummel (born September 15, 1981 in Pasadena, California) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who has performed and recorded with various musical groups including Sanglorians, Ozma, Weezer, Nada ...
– bass, backing vocals (2016–present)
* Martin Wenk – trumpet, keyboards, xylophone
Former members
* Aaron Conte – drums (1993–1995)
Bibliography
* ''The Hyperspace-Perspective in the Lyrics of Nada Surf'', by Christian Auinger. Doctorate in Anglo-American language study, University of Vienna - 2005
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Alternative rock groups from New York (state)
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)
Jangle pop groups
Musical groups established in 1992
Barsuk Records artists
City Slang artists
Heavenly Recordings artists