After spending a decade-plus
rocking the Right Coast with their positive vibrations, the surfer-musicians of
Jacksonville, FL-based Scholars Word have carved out a niche for themselves as
a paradigm of American reggae. Their smooth bass lines and irresistible, skillfully
woven melodies combine with soothing vocals and insightful lyrics to create a
sound that is distinctly their own, yet maintains close ties to the foundations
of the genre. And as far as surf music goes, Scholars Word is about as genuine
as it gets.
The ocean has been a major
influence on the band since day one, and their unique combo of waveriding and
musical talents even landed them a part in recent surf movie Sounds Of Waves, produced by Monumental
Films and director Luke Thorpe. Now that they’re
embarking on an East Coast tour to help promote the film and spread the word
about their hot new album Perseverance,
Scholars Word is more in demand than ever. Luckily, bassist and percussionist
Michael Stauch still had a few minutes to chat with EasternSurf.com about the band’s beginnings, the messages behind
their music, and life on the road.
ESM: First
of all, what’s the back-story on you guys?
Michael Stauch: Well, it all started when Bryce Creighton (vocals, guitar, keyboard) and
I were both students at the University of North Florida, and we ended up basically
living in the same apartment across from the Jacksonville Beach Pier. We both
were naturally drawn to reggae and surfing, so we started out here in
Jacksonville and found a lot of places to play. Then we spent a couple of years
in Tampa, which has a very large Caribbean influence, and then we started traveling
the state. We kind of just grew from there.
ESM: How
has surfing played into your development as a group?
MS: I
think it’s massive. It’s been a huge unifier for us. We’ve worked with a lot of
different guys, and our lineup has changed over the years, but one thing that
we’ve had in common is that we can all go surfing
together. It’s something we can all enjoy.
ESM: How
did you guys get involved with the movie Sounds
Of Waves?
MS: Scholars
Word had been going to Cape Hatteras, NC, and playing the ESA Eastern Surfing
Championships for several years. [Sounds
Of Waves director] Luke Thorpe picked up one of our early CDs when he was
down at Easterns with some friends, and in about 2006, he gave us a call. We’ve
been friends ever since, and we’ve always contributed back and forth to each
other.
ESM: Aside
from the excitement of your movie role, Scholars Word also recently dropped its
ninth album, Perseverance. How does
it compare to some of your other releases?
MS: They’re
all a little different from each other. You always have new ideas, but as much
as we try to do something entirely different, it still sounds like Scholars
Word. For this album, we basically just tried not to think too hard. We tried
to record our ideas, and there are some aspects that we made up as we went
along. We weren’t trying to record all 14 songs in two days — instead, we
did it over a spaced-out period of time. Maybe it’s a more laid-back recording
in a way, but we didn’t necessarily do anything different.
ESM: What
would you say is your group’s usual strategy for songwriting?
MS: We
don’t have any real strict approach to things. We’re pretty open. One time I’ll
make up a tune, and another time Bryce will, and then the next time it will be
all of us together. If somebody brings lyrics, we use them, and if somebody
brings an idea, we use it. We’re pretty open, and we collaborate pretty well
together after all these years.
ESM: As a
band, you’re also known for including social commentary in many of your songs. Is
there any particular message that you guys are trying to put out there?
MS: When
we sit down to write things, sometimes they end up being serious, but it’s not
that we’re opposed to having fun tracks, like the typical party songs and girl
songs. But I guess when we’ve been hearing about all this stuff in the news,
whether it’s an oil spill, or conflicts in some other country, or whatever, we
want to make comments about it. The idea is just to get a good message across
and hopefully improve on things — not in a complaining kind of way, but
hopefully in a positive way that allows us to make a change.
ESM: Do
you think people get it?
MS: I’ve
always been amazed at how one person’s take on a song can be completely
different from another person’s take, so I just hope that people will get what
they want out of it. Music is like a painting; people see what they want to see
in it, so sometimes we like to let them take away what they will.
ESM: You
guys have toured pretty heavily throughout your musical careers, and you’re
currently on a new East Coast stint in conjunction with Sounds Of Waves. How do you feel about getting back out on the
road?
MS: We’ve
been doing this for so long that we’re almost addicted to it. Every time we
feel like we’re sick of it and we think, “Oh, lets take a break,” we don’t go
more than a month or two before we’re saying, “Hey, lets put some shows
together.” I’d be lying if I said that sometimes it doesn’t get old or tiring,
but we really thrive off the energy of the people that we’re playing for, so
the more fun they have, the more fun we have.
ESM: What
does the future have in store for Scholars Word?
MS: If we
can continue to play for the next few years and travel a bit more, then I think
we’d all be pretty satisfied with it. If something bigger comes along, that
would be great too, but either way, we’ve gotten to drive around and surf all
up and down the East Coast and California. The best thing is being able to play
your original music, have people buy it, and then sing it back to you. It keeps
you going, and it motivates you to go do it again. We certainly haven’t gotten
rich, and we don’t draw huge crowds all over the place, but we enjoy what we’re
doing, and that’s the bottom line.
SCHOLARS WORD TOUR DATES:
7/15 Sundogs (Sounds
Of Waves tour)…………….Corolla, NC
7/16 Martin’s (Sounds
Of Waves tour)……………..Roanoke, VA
7/17 Purple Fiddle (Sounds Of Waves tour)……….Thomas, WV
7/20 Pour House (Sounds Of Waves tour)…………Charleston,
SC
7/21 Aurora……………………………………………. Richmond, VA
7/22 Sundogs (Sounds Of Waves tour)…………….Corolla, NC
7/23 REAL Watersports (Sounds Of Waves tour)…Waves, NC
7/24 Lendys Café ..……………………………………Virginia Beach, VA
7/27 Castaways………………………………………. Ithaca, NY
7/29 Declan Quinns (Sounds Of Waves tour)………Bayshore,
NY
7/30 The Cabana……………………………………...
Long Beach, NY
7/31 Schooners (Sounds
Of Waves tour)...........….Newport News, VA
8/6 Sandbar…………………………………………..Cocoa Beach, FL
|
| |
|
8/7 Amelia Island Sunsplash……………………………. Amelia Island, FL
8/8 Captain
Hiram’s……………………………………… Sebastian, FL
8/12 Mellow Mushroom…………………………………… Jacksonville Beach, FL
8/13 Ace’s Lounge.………………………………………… Bradenton, FL
8/14 Caffeine……………………………………………….. Ormond Beach, FL
8/15 Conch House…………………………………………. St. Augustine, FL
8/28 Caffeine……………………………………………….. Ormond Beach, FL
8/29 Crowne
Plaza………………………………………… Melbourne, FL
9/10 Santa Maria…………………………………………… St. Augustine, FL
9/11 Ace’s Lounge.………………………………………… Bradenton, FL
9/12 Conch House…………………………………………. St. Augustine, FL
9/24 Jamrock……………………………………………….. Jacksonville Beach, FL
9/26 Captain Hiram’s………………………………………. Sebastian, FL |
|
For all things Scholars Word, visit www.scholarsword.com or www.myspace.com/scholarsword
