-Interview- Sea Of Cars (3/10/17)

Sea Of Cars talks about their new single, the current state of Emo and much more.

www.facebook.com/seaofcars82

www.facebook.com/seaofcars82
From: Chicago, IL
Sounds like: Emo/Post Punk



1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Sea Of Cars” and is there any meaning behind it?

Well, SOC got started originally as a solo project with just the first two songs off our "S.A.F.E." EP that I (Charles) had written and recorded in my tiny home studio. At the time (and still now), we were heavily influenced by Balance & Composure. We knew we wanted to write heavier driven stuff, but still bring our own mix of Emo/Ambient elements to the table. With that influence and being a big 90s Emo fan (ex. Sunny Day Real Estate), we formed the sounds that you hear before you today. Charles is the one who originally came up with the name for the band. It's actually taken from a lyric in the Wilco song "In A Future Age", which we also do a pretty sick cover of if we do say so ourselves haha. We just think the name fits and is different from most band names.


2. What do you want listeners to take away from your new "Invitation To The Lost Souls Function" single?

All we want is for it to make them feel like their at home. We want them to feel a nostalgic sort of comfort, if that makes sense! haha


3. What can people expect from your live show?

They can expect, chaos, ambiance, dancing, and what we like to call the groove.


4. What's your favorite track to play live?

For me (Charles), it would either have to be "In A Corner" or "Highways" because of the way it ends. "Highways" is just this fast punk driven song, but in the end it leads to this big "climax" so to speak. Then the ambiance of the clean guitar and delay just fill my soul with chills. For Carl (our drummer), he would tell you on a dime that "Ghost" is his favorite. But this new single is starting to inch its way up there for both of us.


5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?

Dang, this is hard. But honestly, Balance & Composure, The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die and Title Fight.


6. Any crazy show stories?

Not really anything too crazy that comes to mind. But we found it goofy that people were moshing to our music when we went out on the road this past January. Actually come to think of it, when we played Rockford, IL earlier this year, we went to gather our merch at the end of the night and someone had stolen our tapes of Highways...not cool.


7. What’s your take on the current state of Emo?

Oh jeeze, I (Charles) personally feel there still isn't a strong enough following for the emo scene or that there's not as many bands out there to show off the genre. So we're trying to continue the revival of Emo but with our own heavier twists to it.


8. What’s the current music scene like there in Illinois both locally and state wide?

Well, locally here in the suburbs, there's honestly a lot of pop punk going around. But we also do have some bigger pop punk bands from the area. (i.e. Real Friends, Knuckle Puck). There's really only a few Emo type bands around. You got us and two of my personal favorites, Bad Vibes and Droughts. Can't go wrong there. But state wide, it just depends. I (Charles) also drum for a Powerviolence band based in Pilsen, Chicago IL and that scene is pretty big there. There's a good mix of electronic and techno stuff out in the city as well which is interesting in itself.


9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?

Well, first, if you haven't illegally downloaded music, than you're just a liar haha. Just kidding. But honestly, it has it's pros and cons like anything else. Us personally, we look at it as, "hey, at least it's being heard" haha not gonna bitch over it like Lars Ulrich.


10. What’s next for Sea Of Cars?

At this point, we're just going to be taking the rest of the year to play some shows and we have actually been working on writing for our first full length that we intend to record in the beginning of 2018....keep those eyes peeled Commuters!


11. Any shoutouts?

We just want to thank anyone who has taken the time to listen to our music, come to a show or supported us in anyway. We do this for the people of the world in hopes they can find a safe place within our music. But of course we have to say thank you to our parents! Without them and their undying support and encouragement, we wouldn't be the people we are today. And thank YOU for having us and for the interview. You guys rock!