Airtab Music Artist Spotlight: Surfer Blood with Michael McCleary

We sat down with Michael McCleary of Surfer Blood for a Q&A session to learn more about what inspires his popular music. ⁣

🎤 When was the first time music gave you chills?
MM: The first time playing my dad’s 1970’s Alvarez acoustic guitar. I grew up going camping with my dad and he would sit around the campfire with us and play. It was always a mixture of his originals and if he did play a cover it was generally Segar or Marshall Tucker, but he enjoyed playing his own original songs more.

🎤 Did your dad’s preference to play original songs rather than covers have an impact on your music?
MM: Yes, he had a log wood jam room that was set up in his garage. I would go over there every weekend and hang out with my dad and his drummer, who’s nickname was "cookie monster”. He was a lefty drummer, which forced me to learn on a left handed setup. It was a pain in the butt at the time but looking back now, it forced me to work my left hand a lot earlier which made a big difference down the road. Having access to those instruments early on gave me a place to experiment with sound. I felt comfortable enough to mess up and figure out how to fix it. It was fun.

🎤 Who are your top 5 favorite artists to follow online?
MM:
Yo La Tengo - @TheRealYLT
Guided By Voices - ⁣⁣@GuidedByVoicesOfficial
Deerhoof - @Deerhoof
Neil Young - @NeilYoungArchives
Spoon - @spoontheband

🎤 Do you have any pre-show rituals and if so, what are they?
MM: Depends on what band but yes. In Surfer Blood, we huddle up and kind of put our hands in…wait a second this is a secret…I can’t say much more (breaks into a restrained hysterical laughter)… and we are still in the process of trademarking it.

🎤 What is your dream place or venue to perform at?
MM: Red Rocks Amphitheater (@redrocksco) and Madison Square Garden (@TheGarden)

🎤 If you had to introduce someone to your music using only one song, which song would you choose?
MM: Grand Inquisitor. If you can handle the spontaneous nature of that song in particular, you can pretty much hang with the rest of our catalog. It can be erratic, spontaneous and unsettling at times, which makes it fun for us and hopefully for the listener too. I can’t really speak to the lyrics, that’s JP’s (lead singer) thing. It also has one kick ass music video to it as well. It’s kind of our masterpiece.

Airtab Music Artist Spotlight: Sierra Lane

We sat down with Sierra Lane Music for a Q&A session to learn more about what inspires her popular music. ⁣

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🎤 When was the first time music gave you chills?
SL: Music has always brought out very positive and exciting emotions for me, but the first time I played a solo on electric guitar, note for note, without messing up, LIVE… that moment definitely gave me the chills.⁣

⁣🎤 Who are your top 5 favorite artists to follow online?
SL:⁣⁣
Vulfpeck - @vulfpeck ⁣⁣
Smino - @smino ⁣⁣
Jon Bellion - @jonbellion ⁣⁣
Hiatus Kaiyote - @hiatuskaiyote ⁣⁣
Stick Figure - @stickfiguremusic ⁣
⁣
🎤 Do you have any pre-show rituals and if so, what are they?
SL: I have a “hype” playlist that I listen to in the car on the way to every show. The songs get me pumped to play and it’s a great way to warm up my voice too! ⁣⁣

🎤 What is your dream place or venue to perform at?
SL: Hands down, @redrocksco (Red Rocks Amphitheater). ⁣
⁣
🎤 If you had to introduce someone to your music using only one song, which song would you choose?
SL: That’s tough. I think I would choose my original song “Without Me,” because it showcases my writing style and is lyrically very personal to me. It ties with my other original “Deep Dive,” which showcases the different styles that I like to incorporate into my songs.

215 Speakeasy: transport to another time and place

Entrance through the alley door.

Nestled on the second floor of Sour Bon (formerly the historic Doran’s) in downtown West Palm Beach, 215 Speakeasy is a hidden gem. That is not to say that it is hiding: with live jazz on the weekends and hours that end when the party does, this spot is a favorite of those who are in-the-know.

Walk past the main dining area, down a narrow hall, past the kitchen window, and up a dark stairway painted in blood red. Consider the tone set.

Good drinks will be had.

The speakeasy is small, it feels full with 20 people inside. The ceiling are low, the walls are dark, the wood is old. There is no other place I’d rather be.

The proprietor and bartender is Vincent, a welcoming Frenchman, bearded and tattooed. He makes drinks for people based on interactions instead of ordering from a menu (which does not exist here).

Vincent Toscano.

The bar is a wall of colored glass, well stocked with influential players and rebellious up-and-comers. It inspires discovery, trying something new and unexpected that you would not get in a street-level locale.

On this occasion, Vincent makes me a nameless concoction made with Pine Barrens Gin and a home-made syrup in a vintage cut crystal decanter. The pièce de résistance is the aged balsamic he delicately lays across the the top of the ice and on the edge of the glass, so that when I take my first sip, my lips taste the rich and complex reduction followed immediately by the impeccable freshness of the cocktail. It’s amazing. I’m haunted by it still.

WHEN are we??

Next he makes an Old Fashioned by smoking a glass with Michigan cherrywood slices, Old Forester Kentucky Bourbon, and a Washington cherry that he batches himself. With no simple syrup it is considerably less sweet than what I am used to, and I like that.

Every element of the bar has a story: the dried lavender comes from his mother’s garden in Toulouse, the citrus garnish he dehydrates in his own home, the vintage barware that he has collected along the way. The paper origami boats and planes with handwritten notes that he clips to the edge of his cocktail creations.

By the end of my time here I realize that, clearly, this is the way to drink. The word “mixology” doesn’t do justice to the approach taken to making drinks. A woman next to me orders a mocktail, and over the course of 4-5 minutes I watch Vincent create a drink with a hand-crushed ice ball, dried daffodil, fresh blueberry and a dried lavender sprig that he lights like incense.

Because, as Vincent would say…

C’est la fucking vie.

And, who doesn’t want to enjoy the hell out of it?

215 Speakeasy is located at 215 Clematis Street, 2nd Floor, West Palm Beach Florida

Open Wednesday through Saturday after 7:30 pm.

https://www.instagram.com/215speakeasy/