Surfer Blood on Surviving Major Labels and their Act II

After being dropped by Warner Bros and losing their guitarist to cancer, Surfer Blood have gone from being Florida’s most exciting new band to indie rock’s survivors. But now they’re ready for act two, frontman John Paul Pitts tells That's...

Over the course of three albums, Florida’s Surfer Blood have lived through the extreme highs and lows of the music industry. They’ve gone from being celebrated by the New York Times and touring with their idols, Pixies, to being abruptly let go by their label for disappointing sales.

But as they embark on their first tour of China, the quartet seems at peace; comfortable returning to the indie rock world they once looked set to rule. Last year’s 1000 Palms – their first album since being dropped by Warner Bros – was praised as a welcome return to the noisy hooks of their celebrated debut, Astro Coast.

“We weirdly got a clean start,” explains frontman John Paul Pitts from his home in East LA. “It was nice to have no-one really listening or knowing what we were doing. We locked ourselves in the basement, and it was so fun not having to think about anything else except music.”

“I think it’s a grower,” Pitts says of the disc. “It may have been jarring for people at first, but we’re now getting a lot of requests at shows for [the record’s] deep cuts. That is always a good sign that people have digested an album in its entirety.”

Finally able to use songs deemed too weird by a major label, 1000 Palms is an eclectic declaration of independence.

“When you’re 22 years old, you think you can handle anything that comes,” Pitts reflects. “But having to think about whether songs were good for radio, and having A&R guys coming into the studio and making notes in front of you while you’re recording – that pressure was much more than I ever expected it to be.”

Nonetheless, the band’s early success allowed them to record their sophomore album Pythons with Pixies producer Gil Norton (using guitars lent to them by Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago) in the very studio where The Beach Boys created Pet Sounds. “I wouldn’t trade that crazy experience for anything,” Pitts says, without a hint of bitterness.

“[But] the label dumped a ton of money into making Pythons, which we never ask them to do.” he admits. “It was pretty clear that we were self-sufficient and self-reliant.”

This DIY attitude has been Surfer Blood’s trademark since they first emerged from a Florida music scene better known for its hardcore and metal scenes (“people kind of scratched their heads when they came to our shows”). Pitts credits the group’s original guitarist Thomas Fekete with encouraging him to dream beyond the Sunshine State.

“I’ve been writing original music since I was 15. Early on, it was very, very derivative of the Pixies and Fugazi... and still is,” he deadpans. “I was very content recording songs in my bedroom, putting them on the internet and playing the bar down the street a couple times a month. If Thom hadn’t given me that push, I don’t know if I would’ve ever tried to get out of town.”

Although Fekete passed away in May after a long battle with cancer, Pitts is glad “to have seen so much of the world with him and learned so many lessons.” Among his fondest memories is the wild week in 2009 when the group became the talk of New York after impressing an audience filled with major label reps at the CMJ Festival.

"We had played New York City a bunch before, usually to 10-15 people,” Pitts laughs. “But we played a few times that week and suddenly, more and more people were coming to each show.”

Now embarking on the second act of Surfer Blood’s story, Pitts reveals the band have nearly finished writing their next record with an eye toward an early 2017 release (he references “the stranger darker psychedelic stuff” from Cream’s Disraeli Gears as an inspiration). When asked if any of the new songs might make an appearance on the upcoming six-city China tour Pitts wrestles with the idea.

“It might be a good place to try stuff out on totally fresh ears,” he admits. “That’s a solid ‘maybe.’”

Surfer Blood China tour:

Guangzhou: July 7, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB90-120. T:Union, see event listing.

Shenzhen: July 8, 8.30-10pm, RMB90-120. B10, see event listing.

Xiamen: July 9, 8.30-10pm, RMB90-120. Real Live.

Wuhan: July 10, 9-11pm, RMB90-120. VOX.

Shanghai: July 13, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB120-180. MAO Livehouse.

Beijing: July 14, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB120-180. Yugong Yishan, see event listing.