San Francisco drum and synth duo Seatraffic will be opening for How To Dress Well and Beacon at Rickshaw Stop on Wednesday, December 5th, marking the duo’s debut performance at this particular local venue. We caught up with Seatraffic’s Mark Zannad (vocals, synths) and Brandon Harrison (drums) via email for a Q&A about their latest Bay Area happenings.
Listen to Seatraffic’s debut single “Crimes”:
Seatraffic just got added on as the opener for the awesome lineup of How To Dress Well and Beacon at Rickshaw Stop on December 5th. Did you guys have your eye on this show for a while, or did an unexpected opportunity arise?
I’d say it was a combination of the two actually. We had been meaning to play at the Rickshaw for some time now but we didn’t realize there was an opening spot on this bill until recently. Some people on our team got in contact with the (very nice) Rickshaw staff and made it happen. Kind of like a right time right place situation. We’re very honored to be able to open up for HTDW.
Will you be performing as a duo? What are some of the more unique aspects of your live setup?
It’ll be just us! We take our live shows very seriously so being a duo gives us absolute quality control. Our combination of synths and live drums is something we have always thought to be unique and we’re proud of. We want our live set to bring our music full circle so our goal is to bring you into our world for those few moments you are watching us. We designed our stage backdrops and the lighting for each song to do just that, to make it a more sensory experience rather just seeing a band play. With so many bands these days, you really have to bring something special!
We’ve been enjoying the “Crimes” 7″ since August, which was recorded at the Mission Street Recording studio in San Francisco. Are there any more upcoming releases for us to look forward to?
We are really excited about a series of singles that we will be releasing in installments right after the new year – this is the first we have mentioned it out loud. The singles were recorded at Different Fur Studios here in San Francisco with Nic Pope as engineer. We’re releasing these in a rather unconventional format, working with many very talented people. More on that very soon!
Anything else you guys would like to add about the show, your music, or San Francisco?
We just want to say hello! We are still a very young band and have so much growing to do. We wouldn’t want to grow anywhere else but San Francisco. The city is a huge part of our music and as we play more shows like this one with How To Dress Well, we’re most excited to meet all the amazing perspectives that make up the local music scene. We’ll be doing some touring in 2013 and making our SXSW debut so keep an eye out for us on the road.
Listen to “Crimes” b-side “Put Away” below:
Catch Seatraffic at Rickshaw on Thursday. How To Dress Well, the dreamy new-R&B project of Chicago’s Tom Krell, will headline in support of his album Total Loss, released earlier this year. Electronic duo Beacon will also perform. Kevin Meenan of epicsauce will DJ between sets. RSVP on Facebook.
How To Dress Well, Beacon, Seatraffic
Rickshaw Stop
December 5, 2012
8pm, $12-14
