With the windows of my car rolled down and the sunroof open, I welcomed the first official day of fall by listening to The Coasts’ debut, self-titled album while driving down the highway. The classic rock ‘n’ roll music was the perfect soundtrack to my drive. This musical duo consists of 2008 Harding graduates Ike Peters, a guitar player and singer from Little Rock, and Ohio-native drummer Eric Mount. I had a chance to talk to the pair and get to know more about their music and what inspires them.
Nicole: Did you form the band at Harding?
IKE: We were best friends all through Harding, but we never really did music together. We graduated in 2008, but it wasn’t until the beginning of this year that we started doing The Coasts’ stuff.
Nicole: What was it like recording the album in one weekend? (Which is pretty impressive, I must say.)
ERIC: It was a great experience. I personally knew absolutely nothing about the recording process, and I don’t think Ike knew much more. Fortunately our producer, Isaac Alexander, knew what was going on and led us along. But it was a very educational weekend — I gained a lot of respect for the art of ‘making’ an actual record. If that’s an art.
Nicole: What artists and bands had a big influence on your album and music style?
I: For me, The Kinks are always a huge influence on me. For the album though, it was Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” and Weezer’s “Pinkerton.”
E: Because of the way our recording session was set up, we knew we were going to get a pretty raw, lo-fi sound. So bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and Delta Spirit were in the back of my mind. I liked the sound that came through on their albums.
Nicole: What aspect of your music do you enjoy the most? (Song writing, lyrics, composing, etc.)
I: To me, the best part is composing and just coming up with creative ways to make a song work. Songwriting is probably the worst part of anything ever. Hate it.
E: For the most part, this is how it goes: Ike writes the song and, since we live in different places and it’s 2011, will send it to me via e-mail. I’ll listen to it and give him feedback on what I thought. Then we will kind of morph the song into what we think works best; Ike is very open to the songs being “ours” and not just “his.” So I guess I’d say the composition is my favorite, to answer your question.
Nicole: Fast forward one year from now, what do you see The Coasts doing?
I: One year from now, I see The Coasts promoting and/or recording another record. We don’t really plan on stopping.
E: Hopefully, the exact same thing we’re doing now. The last few months have been a blast and we hope to keep it up.
If you want to learn more about The Coasts, find them at www.facebook.com/thecoasts, http://thecoasts.bandcamp.com or follow them @thecoasts on Twitter.
