Interview: Seabear
Meet You At The Show: How was SXSW, being your first show in North America?
Seabear: Good, but different (laughs). In Iceland, we only played two shows a year in Reykjavik. We’ve toured over in Europe quite a bit, and it was very different from here.
MYATS: In a good or bad way?
Seabear: Erm.. We are treated much better over there, and we are taken care of more. It is much tougher as a small band to tour here in North America. In Europe, we had a home to stay in and a hot meal waiting for us each night. However here we must pay for a hotel each night, out of our own pockets. It gets very expensive. But both Europe and North America are very well-attended.
MYATS: Although Seabear began as solo-group, you guys are now an impressive 7-piece band. How did this come about?
Seabear: Sindri Már Sigfússon was playing his first gig in Berlin, and he asked me (Uðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir) and Örn (Ingi Ágústsson) to back him up. It went well, and he pretty much immediately nailed a record deal. We went on a bigger tour, and brought along a drummer and bassist. Within a year, we were a full band.
MYATS: Did the added musicians change the direction of the original sound you were hailing for?
Seabear: Obviously when you add six other musicians you change the sound. Everybody contributed and brought something of their own to the table.
MYATS: So how do you guys find the music scene over here in the US and Canada different from Iceland?
Seabear: Just different (laughs). In Iceland, no one is playing for fame or for the adventure. No one is playing to be a rock star because it is so much harder to become known. Everyone who plays plays because they love it.
MYATS: Why did you choose to sing in English?
Seabear: I think it is because there are only 300,000 people who understand Icelandic. English is the most international language, so it seemed like a good option. From 2004-2005, people began singing in Icelandic again, but English is still more widely used.
MYATS: How do you think living in Iceland has influenced your sound?
Seabear: Where you grow up is what influences you. We lived in a small, weird society over in Iceland. Because we were so small, there was an urge to be the biggest and the best, so we work really hard at what we do.
MYATS: How was the writing and/or recording process on We Built a Fire different from 2007’s Ghost That Carried Us Away?
Seabear: On Ghost That Carried Us Away, Sindri would play an acoustic guitar line and we would figure out our parts accordingly, but on We Built A Fire everyone was putting in together and coming up with ideas. We jammed more on this album. Getting seven people together to record is difficult, especially with everyone living all over the place. Some of us live in Holland, some of us live in Iceland.. so we record our parts separately. It is impossible otherwise.
MYATS: I love the YouTube covers on your myspace page. Where did that idea stem from?
Seabear: It is so amazing there are people everywhere listening to our music, some in Russia, some in the US are listening to and playing our music! We really appreciate it and want to thank them. It is so sweet of them.
MYATS: What are Seabear’s absolute necessities in the tour bus when you guys are on the road?
Seabear: New socks (laughs). I always need a new pair. But we have a hard drive for movies we watch in the van.
MYATS: So how do you choose what to watch?
Seabear: We all sort of take turns.. but with seven people there is always an unhappy one. I like dramas, but a couple of the other guys like American/Hollywood comedies. It is hard for everyone to be happy.
MYATS: Alright, well that’s it! Thanks so much for the interview and enjoy the rest of your tour exploring North America.
Seabear: Thank you!
Interview Conducted by Amelia Robitaille
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We’d like to extend a big thank you to Seabear for taking some time to chat with us. We wish them luck on the remainder of their tour, and hope to see them again in the near future. Click here for a review of their Montreal show last Tuesday, March 30th, 2010.
