Nada Surf is more than just 'Popular'
New York indie songwriter Matthew Caws recognizes the 1995 teen angst relationship anthem “Popular” may be what his band Nada Surf is best known for among mainstream music audiences, but he insists the group will have much more to offer when they play the Grey Eagle Tuesday in support of their latest album “Know Who You Are.”
“We play it every night. I absolutely love that song,” he said during a brief interview on his day off from the tour somewhere between Columbus, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. “‘Popular’ really was a small hit, if you think about it. The video was really big, there’s no denying that, but the song itself didn’t even go Top 40. It was just an alternative hit kind of thing. We don’t really have conventional hits, but ‘Always Love” and ‘Inside of Love’ go over well and ‘See These Bones’ is a hit in the live sense in that we always play it last in the main set and that is the song which gets people the most excited.”
Caws and bassist Daniel Lorca formed Nada Surf in 1992 when they were playing in various professional rock bands but wanted another outlet for actually enjoying their music rather than just churning it out.
“We just wanted to do it for fun,” he explained regarding the derivation of the band name. “Daniel felt the same way, so he suggested we just call the new band ‘Nothing.’ ‘Nothing’ is ‘nada’ in Spanish, but that was already taken. (Our band name) has nothing to do with surfing, but more about using your imagination and dreaming. I feel that way when I listen to music and want to be somewhere far away, like in the sky or floating with a feeling of escape. For whatever reason, those two words sounded like that to me.”
The four-man act has a lot more than nothing going on these days. While currently on their second U.S. tour supporting the new album, a very different Nada Surf sound will be heard in late October when “Peaceful Ghosts,” an album that was recorded last summer with the FM4 Radio Symphony Orchestra from Vienna and the Babelsberg Film Orchestra from Berlin, is released.
“The composer and arranger Matt Knoth worked these wonderful parts in through the songs which were not just thickening them out but challenging the songs,” Caws said. “There were 50 musicians and it was unreal, but we will be arriving in Asheville as a normal band.”
Caws and his normal band, however, do have a connection to Western North Carolina even if they are preparing to take their music to a more international and orchestral level soon.
“My mom grew up in Wilmington and I have a lot of family in Linville,” Caws said. “My aunt taught me to play guitar at a place on Beech Mountain and in my childhood I used to go to Tweetsie Railroad and the Land of Oz in Blowing Rock. I love North Carolina and we’re really excited to come back to Asheville.”
Caws said he hopes that feeling shows when he and his bandmates play the Grey Eagle next week.
“We love what we do and I feel like we have a slight reputation for writing sort of sad songs,” he joked. “The least charitable way to put it would be calling them 'mopey,' even though I don’t think they are. Our songs are not about celebrating any kind of sadness and the main feeling with the live shows is getting out of all that. If you have a fear of coming to see some heartbroken indie rockers, this is more of a celebratory show. We actually try to be uplifting. If you come to the show, we should clink a glass.”
IF YOU GO
What: Nada Surf with Amber Arcades
When: 9 p.m. Oct. 4
Where: The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville
More: Tickets $17 in advance; all ages show; thegreyeagle.com and nadasurf.com