“Swampy-tonk” SoCal outfit The Sea Monks will perform at the Cinema Bar the weekend, so band member Jason Kapchinske told the News about what they have in store for Culver City…
When did you start playing and performing? When did the band form?
Noah and Kai are brothers, and they started playing music together in elementary school. They formed a duo they called The Rubber Band, and they played school and local neighborhood events (covers by Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Waylon Jennings, The Stray Cats, etc.). They asked their dad Jason if he would get a bass and learn to play a few songs before the elementary school craft fair so they could “sound like a real band”, and that’s how the family trio began. It was fun… so they kept going!
Describe your sound…
It’s a little hard to fit into a genre, but folks have called it swampy-tonk, punky-tonk, SoCal rock & twang… The band plays a mix of originals and covers influenced by a wide variety of American roots music, including blues, rockabilly, and outlaw country. Noah and Kai also have pretty good jazz chops, so every once in a while those sounds find their way into the mix, along with other rhythms that don’t really fit what people typically think of as country or Americana.
What are your career highlights so far?
We’ve been able to play The Continental Club in Austin several times, which is a place with a cool history where a lot of our heroes have played. We’ve opened for Dale Watson there a few times, and he is a favorite that Noah and Kai grew up listening to. We’re from San Diego, and we’ve also been able to play The Belly Up, which is a really cool San Diego venue where a lot of our favorite bands have also played, so getting to play there felt really cool.
What recorded music is available — particularly the most recent?
We put out a collaboration album called New Dreams last summer with our friend Johnny Sapphire, and we put out a new single called Ghost Song last month (March). We also have more than a dozen other tunes in various stages of recording that we plan to put out as singles over the next year, so we have a lot of new music coming. We expect to release a few tunes in April and May, so please stay tuned. The songs can all be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major streaming platforms.
Have you performed at Cinema Bar before?
Yes, we performed at Cinema Bar for the first time the past winter with our friend RJ Bloke from Patrolled by Radar. That was our first and only time at The Cinema Bar, but we really liked it, and we’re happy to be coming back!
What can we expect from the set this time?
We’ve been working on a lot of new music, so we’ll be playing several relatively new originals along with a fun, rocking mix of the tunes folks expect from The Sea Monks. Lately we’ve been playing a medley that goes from Bo Diddley to Grandmaster Flash to Merle Haggard… so you’ll get a mix!
What else do you have coming up?
We have a lot of shows around San Diego and Los Angeles this spring (they can be found on our website at seamonks.com/gigs). A few highlights — we’ll be playing the beer garden stage at the Encinitas Spring Street Fair on April 27, and we’ll be playing fun shows with other bands at Bigtop Bandstand at Frogtown Brewery on May 10, the Honkytonk Saloon at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon on May 14, and Westside Westerns at Grandmaster Records on May 16.
The Sea Monks perform at 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 at the Cinema Bar. Go to thecinemabar.com for more information about the venue.
Elsewhere this week
The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.
The next concert at Boulevard Music is on April 19, with Taylor Roberts. Go to boulevardmusic.com for more info.