Q&A with Sure Sure

WRBB’s Juliette Paige caught up with Sure Sure on the phone while they ate avocado toast. You know, LA things.

Sure Sure will be at Brighton Music Hall with Wilderado on October 23rd.

Congrats on your debut LP release earlier in the year, as well as another single that came out last month! You all live together and record in your house instead of a studio. How has this recording process shaped Sure Sure as a band?

Charlie: We get to have unlimited experimentation time and never feel pressured to record something. You have songs on the album like ‘Foreign Room’ and ‘Information Machine’ that are more acoustic and lo-fi, then you have super computer-y songs like ‘Hands Up Head Down.’ We like both sounds and we have time to explore different ways of recording. That also makes it hard to finish a song. Sometimes we spend way too much time on one thing and end up killing the song. A lot of songs we’ll be releasing next year are revived old tunes that we needed space from.

The first time you all toured was with Hippo Campus, then you did a headlining tour. What did you learn from the past two tours that you’ll apply for this next tour coming up with Wilderado?

Kevin: Pack a day bag. You have your big suitcase with all your stuff for the month. But what you really need is a bag for 1-3 days so you don’t have to go into the big suitcase. It’s like a mini suitcase!

Chris: It’s good to go on a run or just do pushups at a gas station. It’s important to stay somewhat physically engaged so you don’t become one big gooey blob that just sits in the van all day.

One of my favorite songs of yours is ‘Friends,’ and it comes with such a fun, personality-filled lyric video. What’s the process and collaboration behind making the videos?

Charlie: For those videos, we worked with a good friend named Zach Bell. He had the idea of writing lyrics on a see-through surface.

That must be how you got your album art!

Charlie: Yes! We used it for a lot of things. We wrote on the sunroof of a car for the ‘Friends’ window, we wrote on a car’s side window for ‘Koreatown,’ then just a clear board for ‘Hands Up Head Down’ with a projector flashing light onto a wall. It was mostly just us and Zach having a good time. Like for the ‘Koreatown’ video, we were just speeding around in LA.

Kevin: I can’t believe we did that. We’re good, cautious drivers, but… [laughs]

Your newest single, ‘Lie Lie Lie’ is super groovy and honest. What’s the story behind it?

Charlie: We wrote that right when we got back from our headlining tour in the spring. We gathered around the piano and we had the lyrics “it’s just something you have to do sometimes.” We just couldn’t figure out what it was you have to do. Chris was singing “La La La.” I just thought, let’s make that “Lie Lie Lie” and it all came together.

Kevin: Yeah, we’re all a bunch of liars!

You all have a landline phone number (323-739-0630) that you’ve publicly posted for fans to call. What gave you the idea to do that?

Charlie: We were paying ten bucks a month for a landline even though we never had a phone. So Mike and I decided to stop by Staples and buy an actual telephone. It’s been great, we got invited to a party once and we gave relationship advice.

Did they take your relationship advice?

Charlie: It’s funny, we were telling her she should really talk to this guy and to not let the situation pester, but then we found out she didn’t do anything when she came to one of our shows. I’m sure they worked it out by now.

Kevin: You gotta talk to people. That’s how you keep human relationships alive and healthy.

What’s the short term and long term goals for you all personally and for the band?

Charlie: I think one of my goals is to just make a really rad album. We want to make new music that’s very different from the first one… but it’ll still be us.

Kevin: Short term goal is to make sure this tour is as good as possible. We’ve been practicing and doing as much as we can to prepare. Long term goal is to cozy up and write new music.

Charlie: There’s gonna be an album next year. Maybe an EP in the spring. And more tours. And a music video for our new song… we actually shot it at an animal sanctuary! There’s cows and a goat named Arthur who really stole the show.

You guys are so wholesome!

Charlie: You’re wholesome!

Alright well I have one more wholesome question for you: Sure Sure started out of college, so what life advice would you give yourself back when you were a student?

Charlie: Don’t put too much faith in what other people promise you. You have to have an intrinsic faith in everything you’re doing, even if there’s no external validation. It takes a while to develop that mindset, and I’m still working on it myself.

Kevin: I used to get stressed in college when it was graduation time and everyone had fancy investment or tech jobs. I was thinking it’s crazy that all these people are going to make a lot of money and it stressed me out comparing myself to them. I felt pressure that I had to go down that path too, but I really don’t. It’ll all work out.

And you’re doing music and killing it! Thank you so much for all of your time, I can’t wait to see you in Boston on October 23 at Brighton Music Hall!

Listen to Sure Sure: