Surf Bored

surf bored // phantom love

AN INTERVIEW WITH SURF BORED

   A surf rock band and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania is a combination that you don’t hear about every day. I had the pleasure of talking to the creator of the masterpiece album ‘Sweet Dreams’, Ryan Hartman to learn more.

   The album Sweet Dreams was released on Oct. 1st off of the label Crafted Sounds. Hartman describes the album as being about “growing up and growing apart.“ Each song explores the idea of adolescent angst, love, and the hard trials of becoming an adult. If the whole "adolescent angst” thing throws you, you’ll be glad to learn that this album is a 10 megaton blast of hidden meaning, subtle reference and searing lyrics.  The album is full of beach anthems, lo-fi rockers, and dreamy soundscapes.

The first song “Black and Blue,” is an analog drift into guitar driven riffs that creates the vibe of driving down the beach.  The lyrics haunt us with the idea of exiting adolescence into adulthood. The song explores the concepts of brushing infatuations, and the beating delivered by any lost relationship. The multiple backing vocals of “oo’s” and “ah’s" disguise the lyrical of heartbreak in the chorus, by adding a happy tone to the pure frustration of teen love.

    ‘Cats’ is the most relatable song on the album. The opening line “I miss my cats more than I miss her” is a phrase that I believe any cat lover will relate to. Hartman sings about trying to move on from a girl crush he has but simply can’t because of her cats. Hartman’s grasp on the nostalgia of past relationships is only made terrifying by the fact that he just can’t simply move on from those cats. If ‘Sweet Dreams’ has a hat trick, this is it; we get a soundtrack for the breaking apart that comes with moving on in our lives, but it’s not shoved down our throats.  The musical depth and lyrical trickery hide the pain that drives this masterpiece and will haunt you in your dreams.

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I just want to say first and foremost that ‘Cats’ is my favorite song off of this album. It’s so relatable and when I broke up with my boyfriend the only reason I still talked to him was because of his cat.  

Ha, that’s great! Since the album came out so many people have been talking to me and saying “CATS MAN THAT’S THE SONG!” It’s kinda surprising to me because I thought it was too personal. I remember when I wrote it and right away I was like “people are really going to dig this or they’re really going to hate it”. I guess cats are a universal language.

Give us some background!

Ok, so I’m from Pittsburgh, PA, well actually a small little suburban town called Beaver. When I’m not making music I’m a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh.

What’s the Penn influence on the album? Like you have the California 'beach punk’ so how does Pennsylvania influence your sound?

I don’t know exactly. I guess for the most part living where I did just kept me pretty isolated until I came to Pitt a couple of months ago. I wasn’t a part of any music scene, so I was in my own little bubble doing my own thing. And I’m sure growing up in the suburbs affected me in some way and made my songwriting pretty relatable. We’ve all been to Taco Bell before, right?

What was the creative process with this album?

Making this album was very unusual for me because in the past I always worked really quickly. With my first EP, I did the whole thing, writing and recording, in a week. Sweet Dreams was a much longer process. Everything was ready to be recorded in February but it didn’t happen until July. School got in the way and stuff like that. Plus, my drummer Joziah got into a really bad car accident and broke his leg, so I had to do all of the drums by myself except for “I Believe in Ghosts”, which I did with him in August right before I left for school. I’m bummed he didn’t get to be a part of the whole album, but I’m so glad he’s back to normal and playing drums again.

What’s with the ghost theme in the album?

I like to write about ghosts and phantoms because I think a lot of times we don’t see things for what they truly are. Sometimes our perspectives are so different from reality and we don’t realize it until we look back at old relationships or friendships and see all of the ugly parts of them that we never really noticed before. Ghosts and phantoms to me are representations of a past that seemed perfect at the time and the ugly reality that reveals itself. I don’t believe in being practical and realistic all of the time, but sometimes no matter how bad you want something to be true, it just can’t be.

Is growing apart the hardest part about growing up?

I would say so. Everybody experiences growing up differently but I think that was the biggest thing for me. The toughest part about growing up was realizing that’s what is best for me and what I want to do with my life is different than what I’ve always known.

What’s in your most recent playlist at the moment?

This is always the hardest question for me to answer. My roommate and I consider ourselves members of the Church of Jim Morrison, so we listen to The Doors almost every day. I really love the new No Parents Halloween tape. I’m hoping to sneak into their show in Pittsburgh next week. Also my friend Collin introduced me to Mike Krol pretty recently and he’s really awesome. He was featured on a Steven Universe episode not too long ago. I’ve been listening to a ton of Angel Olsen too. I got to see her live and it was a spiritual moment for me.

An artist/song/album that makes you feel a heavy dose of nostalgia?

Definitely the handful of albums I listened to nonstop when I started making music. Every time I hear the opening floor tom and snare drum beat to ’“So Bored” by Wavves I feel like I’m back in my bedroom. The Orwells do that for me too, especially “Halloween All Year”. Oh and the Pixies. Surfer Rosa was probably my most listened to album in high school.

What’s it like being a musician in the 21st century?

I’m sure some musicians would complain about it but I have nothing negative to say. For me, it’s a blast. Technology allows me to be closer to my contemporaries and the people I admire. Without it, I wouldn’t have some of the friends I’ve made. I think it’s nice that there can be a community beyond the community you live in. I talk to people from all over the world because of music and I think that’s pretty amazing.

What’s in the future for Surf Bored?

I’m trying to figure that out right now. My original intentions for after Sweet Dreams was to take a break for a bit and do a bedroom pop record. But then I started rehearsing for shows and song ideas kept coming to me, so now I really want to work on another release soon. I’d love to do a 4 song EP or something and get it released on vinyl. As far as playing live goes, I think either around spring break or early summer Surf Bored will go on its first tour. Fingers crossed that everything works out and that can happen.

Where does the name Surf Bored come from?

When I was a freshman in high school, I was in a band called Water Trash with some of my buddies. That name was a reference to Workaholics. I threw Surf Bored around as an EP/Album title but then the band fell apart, so I just started working under that name and here we are now. Honestly I think the name is kinda awful but it’s almost so bad that it works.

How would you describe your sound in one word?

Twisted.

What’s your favorite song off of the album?

“I Believe in Ghosts” or “Phantom Love.” “I Believe in Ghosts” is more meaningful to me, though.

Why so?

It’s about a girl that I dated for about a year up until like a month ago. To me, it is about finding that idealistic love and then doing everything you can to hold on to it, even when it is doomed. After you experience something like that and it ends, the whole relationship feels so unreal and bizarre. It’s definitely the song that captures the theme of “growing up and growing apart” most completely.

LISTEN TO SURF BORED HERE 

interview by ATHENA BURTON