Nada Surf

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Nada Surf
Matthew Caws from Nada Surf
Background information
Origin	New York, United States
Genres	Alternative rock Indie rock
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Barsuk Elektra Heavenly (UK) City Slang (GER)
Website	Official website
Members
Matthew Caws Daniel Lorca Ira Elliot
Past members
Aaron Conte

Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums, backup vocals) and Daniel Lorca (bass, backup vocals).

1 History
- 1.1 Early years
- 1.2 Major period
- 1.3 Independent period and resurgence
2 Discography
- 2.1 Studio albums
3 References
4 Bibliography
5 External links

History

Early years

Nada Surf was formed in the early nineties by Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca. After meeting in Lycée français de New York (USA) and spending some of their childhood in France and Belgium. They played in many bands, including The Cost of Living and Because Because Because. Their first drummer (Dan), later alluded to in the song "The Plan" (High/Low). Dan being replaced by Aaron Conte, recorded its first 7", The Plan/Telescope (1994/Stickboy), as well as the demo tape Tafkans, the raw version of High/Low. Those raw versions were later released on their second 7", Deeper Well/Pressure Free (1995/Deep Elm Records), on the Karmic EP and on North 6th Street.

Conte left the band in January 1995 and was replaced by Ira Elliot, former drummer of the Fuzztones (1984–1985), a very active band of the eighties NYC scene, of whom both Caws and Lorca were fans. Caws and Lorca had always intended to invite him to join, but wanted to wait until they improved as musicians. Elliot's arrival infused a new energy into the band; Caws and Lorca's ambitions greatly increased, partly to ensure Ira stayed with the band.

After a show at the Knitting Factory, Nada Surf met former Cars frontman and Weezer producer Ric Ocasek. With little hope, they presented him with a copy of Tafkans. Three weeks later, Ocasek called back with the news of his intention to produce the band's album. At the same time, the band was finalizing a contract with Elektra Records, through an executive, Terry Tolkin, who was working for its indie branch, No.6 Records, on which their release, the Karmic EP had been released in 1995.

Negotiations with Elektra did not pan out, so Ocasek connected the band with Maverick Records. The band flew to Los Angeles for a hectic audition; Caws had the flu, and they had to rent gear.

High/Low was recorded and mastered in January 1996 within a 19-day period. The recording was paid for by Elektra before the band signed its contract on January 18, 1996.

Major period

During the summer of 1996, as Nada Surf toured the United States with Superdrag, their song "Popular" became a summer anthem, and the band toured overseas.

In Europe, The Proximity Effect was released in September 1998, produced by Fred Maher. However, the album did not gain commercial success in the United States.

Their record label, thinking the album lacked a hit like "Popular", had the band record many covers, including "Black & White" (The dBs) and "Why Are You So Mean To Me?" (Vitreous Humor), to use them as singles.

Tired of the requirements of the A&R director, the band judged the album was complete and perfect as-is (even though Elektra even suggested the inclusion of an acoustic version of "Popular"), and broke its contract. As a consequence, Elektra did not release the album in the US and dropped the band while they were on a promotional tour in Europe. Despite these events, this album was critically acclaimed in France, where the band made a 30-show tour in March 1999.