When describing his band's musical style, Jordan Warner, vocalist and guitarist of Sea Ray, says, "It's music you can wrap around yourself like a warm blanket."
The dreamy, atmospheric sound put forth by Sea Ray, a psychedelic rock sextet from Brooklyn, New York, is reminiscent of such a comfort. Set to perform tonight at the Mohawk Place, located at 47 East Mohawk St, in downtown Buffalo, Sea Ray's music is every bit as artistic and unconventional as Warren's description of it.
The members of Sea Ray, who are touring in promotion of their sophomore effort, "Stars at Noon," utilize guitars, bass, drums, cello and electric piano as well as viola and flute on certain songs to produce their relaxed, yet provocative brand of indie rock.
"The cello and keyboard both add more texture to our sound. Using nontraditional instruments expands the possibilities of what we can do musically," said Jeff Sheinkopf, the band's keyboardist.
Formed in 1997 in Brooklyn's thriving independent music scene, Sea Ray cites their major influences as everything "from New Order to the Beach Boys" said Sheinkopf. On "Stars at Noon" they blend elements of classic sixties rock with a more modern indie rock style to produce a truly original sound.
"Our live show is definitely an act. We feed off of the energy of the crowd. Our music has a wide range of feeling so our show has a wide range of emotion. We spend a lot of time creating our set lists to make the transition from song to song smooth," said Sheinkopf of Sea Ray's performances.
Sea Ray adds an original aspect to live performances by complimenting their music with corresponding films projected behind the band, which are created by videographer Brian Dermen.
"Brian interprets our songs and mixes footage with psychedelic images that he thinks corresponds to them. People should know that they are not just random images being projected behind us but footage made to compliment our music," said Sheinkopf of the background projections.
As Sea Ray continues to make music and tour, they are enjoying a substantial increase in public exposure while remaining true to their roots in the independent music scene. While "Stars at Noon" was created without the aid of any record label, it has already enjoyed a great deal of success, especially on college radio.
Their "Revelry" EP, released in 2002, has already been played on over 100 college, public and satellite radio stations across North America and has been placed on several top 10 charts.
"Increased commercial success is great because it allows more people to be exposed to our music. We're not doing this to be on TRL, but we also haven't put any limits on where we could go as a band," said Sheinkopf.
Say Hi To Your Mom, another Brooklyn-based indie-pop outfit, will join sea Ray tonight at the Mohawk Place. With song topics ranging from meter maids to secret decoder rings, Say Hi To Your Mom play a minimalist brand of indie-rock in the vein of The White Stripes that is both catchy and extremely fun to listen to.
The show begins at 8 p.m. tonight at the Mohawk Place, located at 47 East Mohawk St. Broadcast Schedule, a female-fronted, three-piece rock outfit will open, followed by Say Hi To Your Mom and Sea Ray. Admission is $7.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
