Like millions of other people, I first encountered Nada Surf when their 1996 single, �Popular,� hit �Buzz Bin� status on MTV. The song and video ruled the airwaves in the summer of 1996 and the New York-based trio of vocalist/guitarist Matthew Caws, vocalist/bassist Daniel Lorca and drummer/vocalist Ira Elliot sold hundreds of thousands of copies of their album entitled �high/low.� After hundreds of shows in support of their Elektra Records debut, the band returned to the studio to make the heavily-emotive �The Proximity Effect.� However, after Elektra�s endless demands for another �Popular� � a track, itself, which was somewhat of a fluke � none of that was to be found on the completed version of �Proximity,� and Nada Surf was released from their contract by the end of 1998.
The next few years were somewhat of a dark span for the band as �Proximity� was released to minor success in Europe while still shelved in the United States.
Fast-forwarding a year and some, a new collection of songs has morphed into 2003�s �Let Go,� released by the Seattle-based Barsuk Records, which has earned the band performances on high-profile TV appearances on �Late Night With Conan O�Brien,� �Last Call With Carson Daly� and MTV2�s �Subterranean.� Matthew, Daniel and Ira have also embarked on lengthy overseas jaunts in support of �Let Go,� doing high-profile gigging with the likes of The Vines and Starsailor. Early 2004 will likely see the official release of �The Proximity Effect� on Barsuk along with pre-production on Nada Surf�s fourth full-length effort.
This fall, I had a chat with Ira Elliot, drummer for Nada Surf, about his early days as a student at Hofstra University and the band�s on-going comeback.
The first known band that you played in was The Fuzztones. When and how did you join that group?
I was between my freshman and sophomore year at Hofstra. It was 1982, I suppose. I went to visit some musician friends at a performing arts summer camp I had gone to a few years before near Pennsylvania, called French Woods. (Stop that snickering, Darren) So I go, and while I�m there, this counselor hears me play and later tells me that her brother has a band in the city that�s looking for a drummer. So when I get home a few days later, I arrange an audition. I go to this apartment on 9th Street and Avenue B, which at the time was extremely sketchy � Thompson Square Park was referred to as �Needle Park� at the time � and I get the job in this rockabilly band called The Drive-Ins. Turns out the bass player was also fairly new, he and I were hired to replace the last rhythm section � who had become, surprise, junkies. After a few weeks, the bass player, Rudi, tells me he�s got this other band and before you know it, boom, I�m in The Fuzztones. Dyed my hair black and didn�t look back. I lasted one more semester at Hofstra and that was it. Mr. Good Example, that�s me.
�Let Go,� Nada Surf�s third full-length, has been getting quite the warm reception from fans and critics alike. Are you at all surprised about the �comeback� that the band is currently in the midst of?
Personally, no. I had a really good feeling as we were making the record and at one point out of sheer optimism, I made a little list of some predictions � things I thought might happen during the year. I must say a good number of them have come to pass. Doing �Conan O�Brien,� for example. �Carson Daly� was on the list and we�re doing that next week. A lot of stuff I didn�t expect, like going to Australia for the first time, a great review in Mojo, playing the Montreaux Jazz Festival. Insane shit. Now if I could only cross �Meet Sheryl Crow� off the list...
Describe the conditions in which �Let Go� was made. I hear it was a very liberal process since there was no record label to please...
Very low key, really. We were in a studio we had used during the making of the previous record, �Proximity Effect,� with the same engineer, so we were very comfy. Not to mention that the studio in Venice Beach was a fifteen-second walk to the ocean so don�t mention it. I think it�s pretty clear when you hear it that there was no stress going on. Actually, to be perfectly honest, the first two or three days of tracking were a bit rough, but it was as simple as making up my mind to just fucking relax and do what I do. Easy. Hit drum � good.
A lot of people find humor in a band being more popular outside of their native country than at home, but I hear Europe has been very good to you guys. Why do you think that is?
Bribes. It�s a lot of things. First of all, I think that European countries, particularly France it seems, have an appreciation for certain types of American bands. The French rock fans are way into American underground music like Sonic Youth and The Pixies and so forth. Bands that fly below the radar in the States can actually earn a living touring in Europe. It was that way with American jazz musicians in the �50s and �60s and it�s that way now with rock bands. Plus, the fact that both Matthew and Daniel for various reasons speak French like natives, which has been a huge help in terms of our relationship with the press over there.
Personally or professionally, is there anything you�re still itching to accomplish?
That�s a good question. We�re not very goal-oriented by nature, as a band or as individuals. I think there are some places we�d still like to go, like South America and Japan. Hackensack, I dunno. We fantasize about going to Russia. I think there�s a part of me that still wants to take a whack at fronting a band. I think I�d be really good at it; I�m such a natural ham. Actually, I�d like to have my own late night talk show band, or late night talk show. Whatever comes my way.
Will 2004 be another busy year of Nada Surf? I hear that your next album is going to be produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie, who had done some of the production on �Let Go.�
I�m expecting another year of touring madness. We�re gonna have Chris do something with us, but it remains to be seen whether he�ll produce the entire record. It would be very cool if that happened. We�re still looking at all our options. Hopefully we�ll record in January and be back on tour by April or May. We�ll see, we�re pretty bad with deadlines.
Is there anything that you wish more people knew about you?
I wish more people knew about my ability to bend furniture with my mind, or my uncanny skill at cross-country backgammon. But then again, why bother?
And finally, Ira, any last words for the kids?
Pants.
