Pleased To Meet Me: R.E. Seraphin
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)
Ray: I’m Ray! I’m the R.E. Seraphin of R.E. Seraphin. I grew up Berkeley, CA but have lived in Vallejo, CA for six years, which is sort of the no-man’s land between the East Bay and North Bay Area. Also the home of Norma Tanega, Sly Stone, Johnny Otis, Mac Dre, and Nationwide Insurance spokesperson H.E.R.
Joel: I'm Joel Cusumano, citizen of the world, I play guitar and wrote a couple of the songs on this record.
Why do you play music?
Ray: Other than the enormous monetary advantages and non-stop public adulation, I have no clue!
Joel: Because I can't not play music (believe me I've tried).
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band? What’s a favourite book or film?
Ray: Some of my favorite authors are Breece D’J Pancake, Katherine Mansfield, David Goodis, Flannery O’Connor, Jim Thompson. I’m big on short stories. One of my favorite songwriting “tricks” is to take the title of a story I like and create an entirely different narrative around it. I did that at least twice on this record – “Clock Without Hands” (Carson McCullers) and “Expendable Man” (Dorothy B Hughes). That doesn’t really address your question but there you go!
Joel: Specific to this R.E. Seraphin album, probably the guitar playing of Tom Verlaine, Bob Quine, Alex Chilton, Robert Fripp, Mick Jones. A favorite film (that I just rewatched) is the original Taking of Pelham One Two Three. For favorite book I'll say Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live? What would be a dream collaboration?
Ray: Despite playing shows for 20 years and fronting my own bands, I have near-debilitating stage fright, so I much prefer recording to playing live. And writing and recording in my home is just the most gratifying musical process there is. To quote David Thomas, playing shows is more about “moving big black boxes from one side of town to the other” to me.
I don’t have a dream collaboration per se, so I’ll use David Thomas for my answer to that question, too.
Joel: I love the writing and arranging aspect of recording, especially the creative on-the-spot writing of new parts to liven the mix. Sometimes a song doesn't really take form until it's recorded. I love listening back to the mixes. But overall recording is tedious. I'm usually pretty grumpy after a recording session. So as a pure experience I'd say I prefer playing live. As far as a dream collaboration goes, I've always loved Marshall Crenshaw, is he available?
Describe a favourite album.
Ray: Just because my bandmate was badmouthing it at practice last night, I’ll choose The Days of Wine and Roses by The Dream Syndicate. It has that blend of order and chaos only the best records produce – a certain je ne sais quoi.
Joel: Blue Öyster Cult's On Your Feet or on Your Knees Live. It shreds.
What's your favourite local haunt?
Joel: I've been really digging Little Hill Lounge in El Cerrito, the vintage decor and the little back room where bands play. Some great shows happening there lately.
Ray: I second the Little Hill Lounge in El Cerrito! The Makeout Room in SF is great, too.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
Ray: I’ve had more sad shows than strange ones – playing in an empty bowling alley, playing in an empty barber shop, playing in an empty fast food restaurant, etc. Those can be surreal in their own way. That said, one that comes to mind immediately is the single show I played in Brussels about a decade ago. There was a skinhead initiation of sorts performed next to the stage we were playing on. Me and my (also Latino) bandmates were a little concerned that night but made it out fine.
Joel: In 2017 my band Cocktails toured Europe, and our last show was performing for the students of a yoga school in the deep countryside of Tuscany. We were the only band. It was just an odd place to play. Like a lot of gigs in Italy, we examined the crowd beforehand and were thinking, "you all really want us to play here?" We were an unknown band playing an hour set for a captive audience, not necessarily rock fans. But everyone was super friendly and excited about the music. We stayed in a little quonset hut in the woods afterwards. Haven't had that kind of experience in the states.
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in (your city here)?
Ray: Anyone who isn’t disgustingly wealthy will tell you that living in the Bay Area is tough work. That said, there is and has always been a surplus of inspiring music. Too many good bands to list!
Joel: There's still something recognizable as a scene here, with lots of great musicians, some of whom are OK to be around socially. I'm glad to count many of them as my friends, and I get to play with them often. I don't know if there's any more benefit than that. I think after your 20s no one is impressed that you play in a band.
Has the current COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine influenced your creative process?
Ray: Not to sound contrarian but I think the pandemic has been enormously helpful in my creative development. I feel like the isolation allowed me to express my ideas more freely and to care less about others’ opinions.
Joel: It made me even more mentally unwell. The resulting tension could only have benefitted my songwriting and playing.
If you weren’t playing music in (your city here) where would you be ?
Ray: In a state of becoming.
Joel: I'd be on a beach in Sicily.
Any sage advice for young musicians?
Ray: Never take any advice. Also: learning a little theory is actually good for you.
Joel: For guitarists, learn every note on the fretboard. That way there'll be one less member who doesn't know what key the song is in.