“We saw music videos of one another on YouTube before we met. Once we became friends, it just made sense for us to write songs together,” Kelsey, their vocalist and lead guitarist, says.
Kelsey called her former band-mate, Lee Garrett, a fourth-year visual communications student, a few weeks later and asked him to join Dead Surf on drums . Michael Roberts, the band’s bassist, studied abroad this semester, leaving Sean Shoppell, a first-year media arts student, to play with the band in his absence.
Originally finding their sound from surf-inspired music like The Ventures, they toyed with the names Siesta Key and The Maldives before deciding on Dead Surf.
“The name goes along with where we thought the sound was going so it just kind of fit,” Randy Moore, their vocalist and keys player, says.
Despite playing their first show last October, Dead Surf has already finished their first tour, playing at venues in New York City and Atlantic City. With no plans to slow down, they’ve already begun working on a summer LP release and tour plans.
“Each show we’ve played has built on the ones we’ve played before it. We’d love to play South by Southwest eventually, but we’re really just having fun and seeing what happens,” Randy says.
Check out Dead Surf’s music at www.deadsurf.bandcamp.com and follow them @Dead_Surf.
