Joe Tricoli, Alance Ward, and Gary James..... recent members and/or guests on CD's include; Todd Mattei, Dave Osborn, Tiffany Kowolski, Tim kinsella, RobRoy Campbell, Ryan Rapsys, Amy Cargill, Azita Youseffi, and Nate Kinsella.
Influences
light, pain, lines, loudness, backwardness/backwoodsness of our culture, young poeple, big money. Joe Tricoli has said: "I see the plan for our collective true-happiness above my head at night. It is scented of daisies and ones own fattest toe. I will sometime smell my own whereabouts and within my pants to see straight, to see the truest light which is twitchy god of pounding sound and string (guitar string)."
Sharks and Seals has been Joe Tricoli (Friend/Enemy, the Bimbobs), Todd Mattei (Joan of Arc, Friend/Enemy), Dave Osborn (Consafos, Belfrie), Alance Ward (Consafos, Belfrie) and Gary James (Box Of Baby Birds).
Tricoli and Mattei started the band as a completely recreational project, recording improvised pieces to a hard drive. Soon they realized that the music deserved to be taken more seriously. With the help of some of their musician friends, they filled out the songs and finished the first Sharks and Seals release, It Used to Be Knobs and Machines and Now Its Numbers and Light (Brialliante). This record was a mix of guitar-based improvisation, digital experimentation, and straightforward song writing (this especially in Joe Tricolis clever vocal arrangements). All of these aspects skated on the edge of delicate collapse.
The new and second Sharks and Seals record, Its Hard Not to Mean Anything (Collage Collective), involved for the band a very different approach than the first record. Bass player Dave Osborn and drummer Alance Ward had joined Sharks and Seals shortly after the release of It Used to Be Knobs and Machines.... The new full-band lineup found Sharks and Seals writing songs in a more straightforward way. Without losing the improvised edge that Sharks and Seals was inspired by originally, the songs became solid entities that could be strongly transmitted live. Happy with this newfound live strength, the band recorded most of the material for the second record live to tape with friend Nate Kinsella (Make Believe, Joan of Arc). The result is that Its Hard Not to Mean Anything is a more formally cohesive record---a bands record. The web of Matteis effects-driven electric guitar and Tricolis airy acoustic guitar remains up front most of the time, with Osborns bubbling bass and Wards rockity drums keeping everything in motion. Again, Sharks and Seals recruited the help of notable locals like Azita Youseffi (Scissor Girls, Azita), Tiffany Kowolski, (Lullaby For The Working Class, Shelly Short, Bright Eye's...etc...etc), and Nate Kinsella (Make Believe, JOA). The record accentuates the pop and rock elements of the music more than ever, without getting rid of the crucial demands of spontaneity. Folding and wrinkling elements of digitalis add color while Tricolis distinct vocals and story-telling bring the whole thing into focus.
.. CDBABY LINK for SHARKS AND SEALS: It's Hard To Not Mean Anything -->
finally released my EP on Itunes. I put a few of the tracks on my player and a link to go download them. I'd love to know what you think about it. Let me know
hey thanks! We did this art collaboration together, we have others not online but the other artist that was part of this, his name is philip. He has more art on his page myspace.com/philippietri his music is rad too
Thanks a lot for the comment guys. It means a lot coming from you guys. Hope all is well and were looking forward to hearing more from you. Take Care, Clark Clouds As Oceans
Hey Sharks and Seals, Just wanted to come by and let you know about two new releases we have out on Naked Tree – Wayter’s The Marco Polo EP & eddie halliday’s ‘Run For The Woods’ Debut Album.
Both Available from our page and plenty of shops and on-line stores.
