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nada surf
an interview with frontman matthew caws
by kellie abrahamson
After 16 years, Nada Surf has seen the music industry’s peaks, valleys and everything in between. They topped
the charts in 1996 with their single ‘Popular,’ but found out how fi ckle fans can be with their second major
label record, The Proximity Effect. Since then, the New York-based three-piece has made three phenomenal
albums with indie label Barsuk Records and has found a whole new fan base. EU recently spoke with Nada Surf vocalist
Matthew Caws about the state of the industry, the awesomeness of MySpace and what to expect later this month when
they rock Jack Rabbits.
EU: You guys have been around the music industry for a while. How have you seen things
changed over the years?
Matthew Caws: I think the great thing is that people don’t have to waste money on records that they
don’t like anymore. They can be educated consumers and check out a lot of stuff for free online
through MySpace and iTunes--that’s amazing. What’s maybe not so good is [that] the form of the
album may be in danger. That’s kind of a pity… Of course the worst thing of all is that record stores
are closing… because that’s a really valuable place. In so many ways it’s good for the community.
It’s where you discover music and dream. I don’t think on iTunes you’re really dreaming, I don’t think
there’s a lot of romance there. Sometimes you just want to look through old records, go through the
used bins. What’s better than that? Just seeing all the names displayed out physically, tangibly. So
[the closing of record stores] sucks. Live music is doing great, of course, because people are sitting
in front of their computers all day and don’t get to be around other people. Communion is missing,
so you can go get that for $15 and have a really good rockin’ time. Big, bloated labels sinking, merging,
dying; I hate to say I told you so, but obviously they brought it upon themselves. Most CDs are
too expensive; shutting down Napster was really stupid.
EU: It seems like I hear you guys more on TV shows and movie soundtracks than on the radio or
12 MAY 2008 | eu jacksonville monthly | music
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Nada Surf will be at Jack Rabbits on May 31st .
Tickets are $15. For more information or to purchase tickets
online, go to jackrabbitsonline.com.
on MTV. Do you think those mediums are sort of going the way of the dinosaur too?
MC: Oh, for sure, for sure. I mean, MTV is gone. Videos are back on YouTube, but it’s not the same.
It might work out better. TV shows are great. A lot of people that program these TV stations must
have worked at college radio stations. And ads are great because we really need the money since
we’re not making money selling records anymore… Everything changed when The Shins did the
McDonald’s commercial. At the time of their fi rst record that was a big deal because here’s a band
who put out a great record in just a few months and I’m like, “This is the best band in the country,
they’re blowing my mind. Oh my God, this record is perfect! Jesus Christ! Whoa, they’re in a
McDonald’s commercial. What the eff? Well, all bets are off,” you know. Where as… in the 80s this
band called the Del Fuegos did a Miller commercial and that was it, their career was over… So things
have changed, even though it still seems cheesy when you hear a Who song or a Zeppelin song in a
car commercial and you’re like, “What the f**k, that’s ridiculous.” But, we do need the money. We’re
certainly not getting wealthy. We live in New York so the rent is so high.
EU: You teamed up with MySpace recently. Tell me a little more about Transmissions.
MC: They’ve done a couple of those and asked us to do the second one and it was cool. We went to
a recording studio in Brooklyn and set up and played some acoustic songs and they fi lmed it and it