Press

October 2008

"A North Swell is About to break onto the Santa Cruz Coast." The Voice -Santa Cruz, CA.

From the outside of the storage space I could hear the voice of Lawrence Matinez wailing from inside the rigged metal door. "It's free to come along leave your judging alone!" A slight pause, then, "That sounded funky, like cheese." A second voice replied, "But some cheeses are supposed to be like that." Confused, I tapped on the door of the unlikely practice space and was welcomed by Jesse West, lead singer who started with Lawrence the rhyme maker, co-created the Santa Cruz phenomenon known as North Swell.

What I was hearing, I soon discovered, was a recording session taking place in "the cage," four foam walls surrounding a microphone stand that hooked up to a MacPro and countless other sound equipment. I took in my surroundings; walls freckled with foam soundproofed the space, filled with drums, amps, and a carpet made of wires. I was told there was a death metal band in the storage unit to the right, and on the other side rock band composed of middle-aged men. Gone are the garage bands of yore - now is the era of mini-storage bands.

And North Swell is making the best of it. What began as an idea between two friends has now transformed into a musical mosaic. West and Martinez, who both had been in bands before, were intending on making their next enterprise something worth the effort.

"It's like if you've been married before," Martinez comments. "If you get divorced after being married 10 years, you don't want to jump up and get married right away. You want to make sure this time it's right, this is the one." That idea has seemed to take, as after many transformations the members, Eric Zwierzynksi, Michael Felix, Ben Vanderplas, Martinez and West, have become more of a family then just a band. Vanderplas, the band's youngest member, has been greatly impacted by the group.

"My lifestyle has improved because of the band, because of the talks we have. I was just passing time before, doing things just to take up the days. these guys are the reason my life is better," said Vanderplas.

Before they hit the first note you sense the camaraderie between the musicians, and then they start to play. The music -oh the music- hits your ears and you can almost taste the different sounds that are coming at you. A strong rock flavor, peppered with a twist of reggae and hip-hop, seasoned with a touch of indie-syncopation maks the North Swell sound. Think of a mix of Sublime, Rage Against The Machine, and Public Enemy, without nearly all the sin.

Although their music hits hard, you won't find messages of hate or disorder in their lyrics. The band is guided by their faith: in each other, in their family, and in their God. While some may classify them as a Christian Rock band, there's no sugar coating in their sound.

"We don't talk about doves and rainbows in our lyrics," Martinez said. "All that stuff is nice, but we talk about real life situations, things that are going wrong with our society. And we're definitely not trying to say we're better than anybody! Anyone who wants to listen, whatever religious background or culture they come from, can appreciate our music."

Appreciate we shall, as the band prepares for a performance at the Santa Cruz Halloween Ball, headlined by legendary band Fishbone. If you already have plans for Halloween, you can check them out again on November 13th, at the Catalyst.

By Mary Palac -Freelance Writer