Story Of The Sea
The local band makes a Lunar landing.
With a sound that marries Nirvana’s skuzzy pop genius to modern math-rock intricacy, Story Of The Sea have been bringing thunderous tones to bear on Twin Cities ears for the past five years after brothers Adam and Ian Prince finally decided to take the tunes they had been bashing away at together since childhood to a broader audience. Recently expanded to a four-piece, the group’s sophomore release, Lunar Co., makes good on the promise of its auspicious 2006 debut, simultaneously expanding into borderline heavy-metal terrain (on the ridiculous shred-fest “The Beast”) and working acoustic instrumentation into the mix for the first time (slow burning semi-ballad “Away It Goes”). Story Of The Sea headlines the CD-release show for Lunar Co. on Jan. 30 at the Turf Club. The Prince brothers and bassist John McEwen talked with Decider about their Upper Peninsula roots, working with childhood hero J. Robbins, and aging gracefully in rock ‘n’ roll.
Decider: How did growing up in the relative isolation of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula shape your relationship with music?
Ian Prince: Well, we didn’t have many distractions.
Adam Prince: There wasn’t anything better to do than playing music. We were the kids who didn’t snowmobile or ice fish so we were stuck in the house. It helped that our dad was a big music head and a drummer who brought us up right. It feels so isolated growing up there; a lot of weather maps don’t even include us as part of the state. You feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, so that leads to dreaming big, that classic mentality of "I’m going to get out of here and go to a big city and make something of myself."
IP: We just holed up for our entire childhoods either listening to music or playing it. I would drum before I went to school, as soon as I got home, after dinner. It was all we were ever interested in.
D: Is your dad a fan of the band?
IP: Oh yeah, he loves it.
AP: He’s pretty funny. He comes out to shows whenever he can. He likes to schedule trips to visit us based around when we have gigs booked.
John McEwen: You’ll know him when you see him too because he looks exactly like a shorter version of Ian.
AP: He’s usually the buzzed guy walking around talking about how good the acoustics in the room are. [Laughs.]
D: Why did it take so long for you guys to put out a record together since you’ve been playing together for decades?
IP: We were clueless for a long time about how the business side of things worked, so we would end up playing with other people more motivated to get that side of things done. We would be along for the ride as players rather than steering the ship. We didn’t have the know-how to book shows, to scrap together the money to make a record. It was all too much and just easier to be in other bands. But we always played together just for the love of jamming with one another.
D: Story Of The Sea was a trio by the time you were recording your debut [2006’s Enjoying Fire] and has now swelled to a four piece with the addition of guitarist Damon Kalar. What dictated the changes in lineup?
AP: The songs were always written with a full-band format in mind. It was a natural progression we wanted to have happen so it was really just a matter of finding the right people.
JM: It was a “right place, right time” thing for me. Ian and I had known each other for awhile and I was getting done with my band at the same time they were getting done with theirs.
IP: The stars aligned where the time was finally right for us to go for it.
JM: When we recorded Enjoying Fire there were four parts on that whole record so we always knew we wanted to get a guy in the band to make the songs sound like their supposed to live.
D: How has the songwriting dynamic changed with more people in the fold?
JM: Adam’s the suit and we’re the cufflinks. I think you can pick out our personalities in what Damon and I play but the band is still an Adam-and-Ian songwriting thing at its core.
D: Was adjusting to becoming a four-piece part of why it took two and a half years between records?
IP: It’s definitely not for a lack of songs. We have the next two records ready to go songwriting-wise… It’s a matter of money usually.
JM: Us not having any of it. [Laughs.]
IP: We’ve all been in bands before where you sort of eke out records and compromise how you go about things and aren’t really super proud of it in the end, even though you loved the songs in the beginning. I want to put out records that I can get behind for the rest of my life, and I feel like we’ve done that twice now.
D: Was it that mentality that led you to seek out someone like Jawbox’s J. Robbins to mix the record? He’s certainly not your typical low-profile local producer.
IP: I’ve been friends with Zach Barocas [the drummer in Jawbox] for years, so he sort of initiated the conversation for us. We sent J. our first record and he loved it, which was huge for us.
JM: Even just to think that someone who we listened to and loved growing up was listening to our band at all was incredible.
AP: It was really exciting. He ended up contributing a lot to the record—tambourine, glockenspiel, handclaps. It was a surreal kind of a thing because still we haven’t ever actually met face-to-face.
D: As a group of guys in your thirties, how has your approach to being in a band changed as you’ve aged?
AP: The band definitely plays a different role in your life as you mature. It’s a little more nuanced than it used to be.
JM: Life changes around us; I don’t think the music has suffered but there are just more factors that go into making it. It’s still the same at its core.
IP: In the past we were all in bands that put out records as a means to get out on the road and “go for it.” We’re still interested in that but now we’re at a stage in our lives where we need to do that a little more wisely. We first want to put out a record we’re excited about and then go play shows that actually have a purpose rather than just showing up at whatever bar in whatever city.
JM: And expecting people to be there because [mock-enthusiastic] “we’re so good!”
IP: It’s hard to justify leaving for a month and a half for what’s not going to turn out to be a good tour. We all have houses and wives.
AP: I don’t think we would have been able to put these records out in our twenties. … If we’re in the same position career-wise when we’re putting out our next record, that’s not something that’s going to bum us out. We just love playing together and putting out records. I can’t imagine not doing it.
Decider: How did growing up in the relative isolation of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula shape your relationship with music?
Ian Prince: Well, we didn’t have many distractions.
Adam Prince: There wasn’t anything better to do than playing music. We were the kids who didn’t snowmobile or ice fish so we were stuck in the house. It helped that our dad was a big music head and a drummer who brought us up right. It feels so isolated growing up there; a lot of weather maps don’t even include us as part of the state. You feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, so that leads to dreaming big, that classic mentality of "I’m going to get out of here and go to a big city and make something of myself."
IP: We just holed up for our entire childhoods either listening to music or playing it. I would drum before I went to school, as soon as I got home, after dinner. It was all we were ever interested in.
D: Is your dad a fan of the band?
IP: Oh yeah, he loves it.
AP: He’s pretty funny. He comes out to shows whenever he can. He likes to schedule trips to visit us based around when we have gigs booked.
John McEwen: You’ll know him when you see him too because he looks exactly like a shorter version of Ian.
AP: He’s usually the buzzed guy walking around talking about how good the acoustics in the room are. [Laughs.]
D: Why did it take so long for you guys to put out a record together since you’ve been playing together for decades?
IP: We were clueless for a long time about how the business side of things worked, so we would end up playing with other people more motivated to get that side of things done. We would be along for the ride as players rather than steering the ship. We didn’t have the know-how to book shows, to scrap together the money to make a record. It was all too much and just easier to be in other bands. But we always played together just for the love of jamming with one another.
D: Story Of The Sea was a trio by the time you were recording your debut [2006’s Enjoying Fire] and has now swelled to a four piece with the addition of guitarist Damon Kalar. What dictated the changes in lineup?
AP: The songs were always written with a full-band format in mind. It was a natural progression we wanted to have happen so it was really just a matter of finding the right people.
JM: It was a “right place, right time” thing for me. Ian and I had known each other for awhile and I was getting done with my band at the same time they were getting done with theirs.
IP: The stars aligned where the time was finally right for us to go for it.
JM: When we recorded Enjoying Fire there were four parts on that whole record so we always knew we wanted to get a guy in the band to make the songs sound like their supposed to live.
D: How has the songwriting dynamic changed with more people in the fold?
JM: Adam’s the suit and we’re the cufflinks. I think you can pick out our personalities in what Damon and I play but the band is still an Adam-and-Ian songwriting thing at its core.
D: Was adjusting to becoming a four-piece part of why it took two and a half years between records?
IP: It’s definitely not for a lack of songs. We have the next two records ready to go songwriting-wise… It’s a matter of money usually.
JM: Us not having any of it. [Laughs.]
IP: We’ve all been in bands before where you sort of eke out records and compromise how you go about things and aren’t really super proud of it in the end, even though you loved the songs in the beginning. I want to put out records that I can get behind for the rest of my life, and I feel like we’ve done that twice now.
D: Was it that mentality that led you to seek out someone like Jawbox’s J. Robbins to mix the record? He’s certainly not your typical low-profile local producer.
IP: I’ve been friends with Zach Barocas [the drummer in Jawbox] for years, so he sort of initiated the conversation for us. We sent J. our first record and he loved it, which was huge for us.
JM: Even just to think that someone who we listened to and loved growing up was listening to our band at all was incredible.
AP: It was really exciting. He ended up contributing a lot to the record—tambourine, glockenspiel, handclaps. It was a surreal kind of a thing because still we haven’t ever actually met face-to-face.
D: As a group of guys in your thirties, how has your approach to being in a band changed as you’ve aged?
AP: The band definitely plays a different role in your life as you mature. It’s a little more nuanced than it used to be.
JM: Life changes around us; I don’t think the music has suffered but there are just more factors that go into making it. It’s still the same at its core.
IP: In the past we were all in bands that put out records as a means to get out on the road and “go for it.” We’re still interested in that but now we’re at a stage in our lives where we need to do that a little more wisely. We first want to put out a record we’re excited about and then go play shows that actually have a purpose rather than just showing up at whatever bar in whatever city.
JM: And expecting people to be there because [mock-enthusiastic] “we’re so good!”
IP: It’s hard to justify leaving for a month and a half for what’s not going to turn out to be a good tour. We all have houses and wives.
AP: I don’t think we would have been able to put these records out in our twenties. … If we’re in the same position career-wise when we’re putting out our next record, that’s not something that’s going to bum us out. We just love playing together and putting out records. I can’t imagine not doing it.
