They burned brightly, but briefly. Now, they have rekindled the flame. For Beachwood Sparks, the metaphor is all too easy and all too apt. The band’s discography is succinct: two albums, plus an EP and a few singles. There wasn’t much, but there was something indelible about those records. They took the cosmic American music of the Flying Burrito Brothers and Byrds, added the bittersweet sounds of middle-period Beach Boys and Sister Lovers Big Star, then turned them into a sun-dappled, dreamy, psychedelic brand of alt-country. But by 2002, Beachwood had run its course, and the group disbanded amicably, five years after it formed. Now a decade later, Beachwood Sparks—guitarists Farmer Dave Scher and Chris Gunst, bassist Brent Rademaker and drummer Aaron Sperske—is back with The Tarnished Gold (Sub Pop). The quartet will also be guest editing magnet magazine.com all week. Read our new feature on the band.
Rademaker: Alex Knost is the guitar player and singer for Costa Mesa, Calif.’s Tomorrows Tulips, a band that, as he puts it, “is never going anywhere and who cares.” A refreshing take in a world where even the so-called lo-fi, West Coast, California-sun-loving indie-rock bands want to be a “brand” and make it big. From the early ’90s indie to Britpop, surf culture and design has been exploited on record sleeves and videos. (Remember the oval band logo?) All the striped OP and Hang Ten shirts? The only problem was that there was rarely a surfer in the band let alone a member who lived near the beach.
And then there are the bands bathed in reverb and distortion with an F-U Mary Chain attitude who secretly have managers/agents/trust funds and are going for the brass ring. Then there’s the whole other side of the coin the “mellow, laid-back, acoustic-strummy, barefoot, surf-music hack” whose surfing props make everyone overrate their music. None of these describe Tomorrows Tulips.
Alex and his bandmates Christina Kee (drums) and Ford Archbold (bass) pull up to their gigs “get in the van” style, stumble out smiling and get on with it. Lacking any of the ego you’d expect from someone who just placed fourth in the U.S. Open of Surfing Longboard Pro. Their set up is simple: Christina plays drums standing up in the tradition of Mo Tucker and Heather Lewis, all with an early Royal Trux Jennifer Herrema style. Ford plays mainly quarter and whole notes on the bass through a Turbo Rat distortion pedal. No kick drum, no eighth notes. No muso noodling no fancy effects. Christina started playing drums when the band started up. (Alex and Christina are boyfriend and girlfriend.) Ford is also a world-class surfer and son of surf legend Matt Archbold. Ford smiles a lot, and it’s real. I love this band. I asked Alex a few questions. Read them after the jump.
Do you watch TV?
I haven’t had a TV for nine years, since I was living with my parents, or at least I think. So when I’m in a bar or restaurant and it’s on, I trip out, completely infatuated. The content is much more entertaining when it’s given in small doses.
What surfers past or present do you admire and why?
I have a certain fondness for surfers who surfed in the past. It seemed like an exploration of feeling then; today it’s exterior.
There’s never been a band like Tomorrows Tulips in the sense that in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the “indie/DIY” type bands adopted the West Coast surf aesthetic/look/style, but most of the musicians weren’t even surfers. Musically, your sound harkens back to that era. Is there more influence beyond that sound?
I don’t really see a connection to surfing and the music I make; if it exists it is probably just a coincidence; well, I don’t know actually. I really like the Beach Boys for recording techniques.
How long have you known Ford, and how long has he been playing? What is his status in the surfing world?
I’ve known Ford forever; he is the best ever. If I ever get bummed at our performance at a gig or in studio, he trips. He has this idea of music being for fun, freedom and nothing else. It’s really cool how uninhibited he is; he helps to remind me of how much I love my Beat Happening records. Oh, and he surfs good, too.
I like the vulnerability you display in the music world when you are outside of the “surf scene” and are just another band doing what you love (like the other night at the Echo). Do you find your notoriety as a surfer ever gets in the way of just being Tomorrows Tulips?
Yeah, for sure. Sometimes it bums me out to think that perhaps some music fans think I’m a jock-y surfer dude or something weird, but maybe I’m just paranoid. I couldn’t careless what other surfers think.
Do comparisons to the heyday of Sarah/K/Creation Records era make you feel one way or the other?
That’s cool. Any association with greatness is cool.
Name the records/bands/people/whatever that have had the most influence on Tomorrows Tulips.
Matt McCluer, for sure. He’s the best, taught me how to write a song, introduced me to music as a drug. Buy his Burger tape. Christina’s amazing drumming. I love White Fence, all my friends’ bands for sure. Alien Lanes by GBV, Beat Happening, Burger Records and Further.
Sorry this is hard. I just want to put some facts behind my own view and love of the band. You guys are special. Thank you, Alex!
