By Charlie Matthews

Shurwood, out of Tampa, Florida, was a whole new world of music for me. I am not really familiar with emo and the various different sub-genres that fall under that label, so I didn’t know what to expect from Shurwood. These guys are hardcore and are pulling influences in from punk, shoe gaze, and old school post-punk. It took me a couple of times to digest their newest release. Actually, I called Brett on the phone to talk about emo and what Shurwood was actually doing. It was worth the effort, and I think you should check this band out. I am betting their shows are insane!

2016 was a big year for Shurwood. In March, they released “Under My Skin”, a two song project you can download from their bandcamp page. In October they released “Euphoric, Narcotic, Pleasantly Hallucinate”, another two song project, but this time on cassette and available from Empty Headed Records. It’s only $5.00! More people need to be doing this. Cassettes are popular again, and they look good on the merch table. The band is currently working on an EP and have plans to do a mini-tour in June, traveling up the eastern seaboard.

Shurwood is:
Brett - Bass & Vocals
Bailey- Guitar & Vocals
Danny-Guitar & Vocals
Matt- Drums

Brett answered most of the not-so-standard interview and made me go look up a new (to me) band, because….no, I just don’t know the differences of the different styles of emo!

1) How do you describe your music to people?
It depends on who it is. If it's someone who doesn't really have an interest, like someone from work, I usually just reply with something like "alternative, grunge”. However, if it's someone who knows the difference between American Football emo and My Chemical Romance emo, I usually explain further what kind of sound we are going for. I say something like emo/shoegaze with lots of fuzz and reverb.

2) Tell us about your local music scene?
The Tampa music scene has had its ups and downs. Tampa used to be known as the Metal capitol of the world. There still is A LOT of metal bands. The drummer of cannibal corpse lives right down the road from me. There is also a really strong hardcore scene. The emo/alternative scene is pretty small, but there is a lot of cool DIY places to play in Tampa. So we just try and support any small tours that come to Tampa and meet some cool bands from out of town. 

3) It is the weekend. Who should we be checking out in your town? 
Ivy League Dropouts - young dudes playing Joyce Manor-style pop punk with catchy leads. Blacksmith- melodic emo sad boys. Empire Cinema- If Joy Division was an emo band. 

4) What’s the immediate future look for your band?
Like I said previously, we are spending the next month recording our new EP. Then we are going to tour in support of the new EP. Right now we have 5 songs that are definitely going on it. We are trying to bang out one more song to make it a solid 6 song EP. June14th-25th we will be hitting the east coast. And then in July, we have shows lined up all over the state. 

5) What’s your outlook on the record industry today?  
It's a bummer. The internet has destroyed the record industry. I buy records on the regular, however I am also guilty of downloading music for free. It's cool because it makes it easy for people around the world to hear your music, but nobody can sell records anymore. It's cool that there are labels out there putting out good emo/alt records though. It's not completely lost. And new record stores are popping up, shit they sell records at Guitar Center and Urban Outfitters. So, records are making a comeback which is really freaking awesome. 

6) What 3 bands are you listening to right now?
Brett- Heart Attack Man, Ring Finger, Nothing 
Danny- Cloakroom, Modern Baseball, Drake
Matt- Code Orange, Career Suicide, Frontierer
Bailey- Sunny Day Real Estate, Snowing, Hum

7) What is that one piece of equipment you just cant' live without?
Brett - Either my SansAmp or my vintage EHX Electric Mistress pedal. When I bought it, the guy at the store told me: "This is like the Delorean of pedals”, so a few months later I velcroed Bailey's little brother’s Delorean hot wheels car on it. 
Bailey - My '61 reissue Gibson SG. 
Danny - EHX Holy Grail Reverb pedal.
Matt - I just bought a new snare, so I guess my brand new Gretsch snare.

You can catch Shurwood on their tour here:
June 10th - Boca Fiesta Backyard - Gainesville, Fl.
June 15th - Birdhaus - Statesboro, GA.
June 16th- Schoolkids Records - Raleigh North Carolina.
JUNE 19th- Stamps Bar - Buffalo NY
June 20th - Black Magic House
June 21st - Meat Locker - Montclair New Jersey
June 23rd- Bubes Brewery
June 24 - TBA 

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