Photo by Frank Maddocks

(Editor's Note: This is a portion of the article featured in the new issue of Variance.)

From the sunny shores of Florida, West Palm Beach’s very own Surfer Blood made its way into blogs, festivals and playlists when John Paul Pitts (lead vocals/guitar), Thomas Fekete (guitar/backing vocals), Kevin Williams (bass guitar/backing vocals), and Tyler Schwarz (drums) banded together to begin the life they had envisioned for themselves.

In 2009, the rock group was formed with clear objectives that included writing, releasing music and touring within a short amount of time. The band managed to accumulate attention from fans as well as media over the course of a few years with the release of their album and EP, Astro Coast and Tarot Classics, respectively. Festivals and tours splattered across their itineraries as their popularity grew. Surfer Blood was later added to Warner Bros. Records, giving the group a chance to check off yet another list of accomplishments.

Jumping into steadily growing careers leaves little room for preparation, but Surfer Blood seemed to handle the pressure with grace and expanded itself alongside its opportunities.The group spent 2011 on the road playing more than 300 shows, sporadically creating the material that would eventually be used for the new album. Over the course of this time, Surfer Blood got tighter as a band and learned to work with one another’s stage presence. They took advantage of sound checks and free time to prepare for the future by writing.

“We would record a song every couple days and record an mp3 of it and that was it; we’d move on to something else,” admits Pitts. “Then we ended up with 25 songs walking into the studio and I think that’s what separates this [album] from anything else we’ve done. It was nice to have a lot of material to work from.”

When it came time to record their most recent album, Pythons, the band took advantage of the resources they had gained along the way and went into the studio rather than recording at home as before. The group stretched themselves out of their comfort zone musically while keeping that Surfer Blood sound.

“We didn’t want to be the band that does the same thing over and over again,” Pitts claims. “We wanted to make a bigger record and get the opportunity to do that, and sign with a major label and work with a producer.”

The trademark sound of Surfer Blood is very much present in Pythons with their summertime vibes and feel-good harmony. Pitts takes note of their recognizable sound but claims that it isn’t intentional.

“It just sort of seems to be what we do well, what we’re good at, and what people latch onto,” Pitts identifies. “It’s definitely not something we do consciously.”

Pitts makes it clear that searching the Internet for reviews of their latest album is not on his to-do list. He also warns against the dangers of doing so at any point in a musician’s career, admitting that it can truly affect the entire process in a negative way.

“Staying off Twitter is probably the healthiest thing you can do,” he assures. “The worst thing you can do when you’re performing every night or when you’re writing constantly is second guess yourself.”

“You have to have some sort of a fluid aspect to it and sometimes you get self-conscious, so anything you can do to get yourself out of that headspace is important.”

Pitts prefers to communicate with fans in a more personable way as much as possible. He expresses the importance of interaction between the band and their show-goers and wants to be accessible. While fans might not be chatting with the group through social media, they do have the chance to get to know the group after a performance.

“I’m not really good with the Internet much myself with my personal life,” he admits openly. “That’s not really something I’ve taken the reigns with.”

After his run-in with the law in 2012, the group’s frontman has every right to be weary of the Internet. Pitts’ arrest for domestic battery weighed heavily on the band and their public image. Although the charges were later dropped, it left plenty of room for the judgment and criticism that fell hard on the band. The group and Pitts specifically received both online and real world hate after the news was made public. While this might have caused their relationships with a number of peers and fans to dissolve, there is still a steady following and dedicated group of friends that support the band and its members in their careers and their personal lives.

“I think anyone who is true to us would vouch for the fact that we’re pretty nice guys most of the time,” Pitts claims. “We have our bad days but we’ve been doing this for 3 or 4 years now and we’ve met a lot of people along the way. I think a lot of people who have written us off or said things that are less than nice – I might say the same thing too if I didn’t know us.”

The group is more than ready to move forward with their fans as well as their careers. Even with their early experience regarding the negative side of fame, the group marches onward with their heads held high. Learning that maybe not all press is good press hasn’t derailed the band from wanting to be in the spotlight. They are pushing forward with their plans to be the band that they envisioned. Pitts makes it clear that his sights are set on living his life in the public eye if it means chasing his dreams.

“If we didn’t like a little bit of attention we probably wouldn’t be playing in a touring rock band,” Pitts exclaims.

A new chapter is being written for Surfer Blood as it continues to move forward and grow. The group’s goals for success are just as evident as they were in 2009 when Pitts says confidently, “We definitely want to take that next step.”