Current Swell

In the Press

Canmore News Article

Current Swell to break over Valley
DAVE WHITFIELD CANMORE
With a non-summer now wound down and few signs of a warm autumn in the offing, maybe a warm, coastal Current Swell is just what the Bow Valley ordered.
While the Victoria four-piece won’t be riding into town in a 409-powered Little Deuce Coupe when they visit Communitea Café, Sept. 30, the band will be driving a sound that embraces the blues and reggae of warmer climes.
Founded by St. Albert, B.C. natives Scott Stanton (vocals, lap slide, guitar) and Dave Lang (vocals, harmonica, guitar), Current Swell is rounded out by native Victorian Chris Petersen (vocals, drums) and Ontario import Ghosty (vocals, bass), last seen in the Valley fronting Funk Vigilante.
The band has now produced four albums that have garnered critical acclaim, includ- ing Protect Your Own in 2009 and are eyeing upcoming studio time for another work. They’ve shared stages with the likes of Xavier Rudd, Bedouin Soundclash, Beach Boys and others and have been inked to Canada’s Fontana North and Japan’s Surf Rock Records labels.
Dubbed both new roots and surf rock, Stanton said he’d rather not be pigeonholed into a particular genre. Rather, he said, the Current Swell sound, like the band itself, simply hap- pened.
Stanton and Lang had known each other in St. Albert during their school years. “We weren’t good friends then,” said Stanton. “We’d see other at parties, though. Then he moved to Victoria and I did shortly after.”
In Victoria, they ran into each again at a jam. Stanton picked up a guitar and Lang said, ‘sweet, you play guitar? I do too.’ “We ended up showing each other some songs we wrote, then Louis (former bass player) heard us and said ‘sweet, I’ll play bass in your band.’
“We said you can jam with us, but we’re not a band...”
And from those humble beginnings, Current Swell has embarked on cross-Canada and inter- national tours, including Australia earlier this year.
Stanton and Lang have worked together now for five years, Petersen’s been riding the swell and Ghosty hopped aboard a year ago when the former bass player started a family.
“It started as a fluke,” said Stanton, “but we’re always getting better, our shows are getting fuller and fuller and now we work at it a lot more and take it all seriously. We now have more of a purpose; it used to be for fun, but now it’s fun and we’re making a living with music.”
The Current Swell sound ranges from the harmonica infused “Five White Boys” and “So I Say” to the rockabilly “Nail’em Up” to quiet harmonies in “Protect Your Own”.
As a B.C. South Island surfer who loves international travel, Stanton said influences come not only from the music he listened to as a youth, but through his regular travels in Indonesia, for
example. In putting pen to paper with songwrit- ing, Stanton writes the majority of the Current Swell tunes, with Lang chipping in or with the pair collaborating.
“And this is a very, very open band,” said Stanton. “If someone doesn’t like something, we tell everybody. When you write a song, you’re inside it and think it’s perfect; you need some- body to tell you what they think.
“I’ve had songs I’ve written on my laptop that I think are great. But when I go back to them, I think this is the worst piece of crap I’ve heard.”
Once lyrics are set, the band arranges coop- eratively, “and Chris has a big part in that as the drummer.”
In living with the surf rock genre label, Stanton said, “technically, I guess we play what people call surf rock. But I’m a surfer and I don’t
like using surf rock to sell. We all like folk and roots and we sometimes take a song and look at how it’s traditionally done, then do it different.
“With one of our new songs, we have banjo, but with a synth line. We go acoustic through amps and lately, we’ve been trying to experiment more.”
For himself, Stanton he grew up with the blues – Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Water and the like. “Then I got into punk as a kid and even folk as a kid. I listen to everything.”
While based in Victoria, Current Swell plays many gigs in places like Edmonton and Calgary, which helps keep the band’s sound fresh, said Stanton. “We play as much in other places as we do around Victoria and I like that people don’t know where we’re from. They like the music, which is what I like.”
Dave Whitfield - Outlook Entertainment

Maui Times

Maui Times - Anuhea Yagi Arts and Entertainment - Current Swell February 02, 2011 Oh, Canada. Known for its maple syrup, ice hockey, lumberjacks and surf. OK, Canada isn't exactly known for its surf, but it does have surf—the best of which can be found around Vancouver Island off the coast of British Columbia, the country's westernmost province. Hailing from this wintry isle—and immers... View Full Article
Anuhea Yagi - Maui Times
»View Original

Canmore News Article

Current Swell to break over Valley DAVE WHITFIELD CANMORE With a non-summer now wound down and few signs of a warm autumn in the offing, maybe a warm, coastal Current Swell is just what the Bow Valley ordered. While the Victoria four-piece won’t be riding into town in a 409-powered Little Deuce Coupe when they visit Communitea Café, Sept. 30, the band will be driving a sound that embraces th... View Full Article
Dave Whitfield - Outlook Entertainment

The Swell Season

The concept was a day in the life of Current Swell. It’s been well over a year since the band’s third album, Protect Your Own, was released but last March a video for the single “Young and Able” became available for viewing. A sensuous but earthy groove, the video follows a few members of Current Swell as they head out to the beach near their homebase in Victoria. Surrounded by British C... View Full Article
Kathleen Bell - See Magazine
»View Original

Ottawa Blues Fest review

Current Swell dropped a West Coast hippie groove on the unsuspecting audience in the Barney Danson theatre. In cutoff shorts, tank top and bare feet, surfer-blond singer-songwriter-guitarist Scott Stanton looked like he had just come from a campfire jam on the beach. If so, no doubt he was the star. Stanton's quicksilver vocal style was drenched in funky rhythms that were underscored by the energ... View Full Article
Ottawa Citizen - Ottawa Citizen
»View Original

Edmonton Journal April 2010

Victoria's Current Swell is currently riding high with its charming new video, Young & Able, now in rotation on MuchMoreMusic. The clip features the folk-roots musicians in their VW van, driving to the beach to meet their friends, then carrying their surfboards through a forest. (Oddly, there are no shots of them on their boards in the water ... ) Current Swell stars two Edmonton natives and surf... View Full Article
Sandra Sperounes - Edmonton Journal
»View Original

SBC Article 2009

Susan Hollis - SBC Magazine
»View Original

CD - Review : Current Swell - Protect Your Own (independent)

With their second release, this local surf/ska/reggae/rock outfit has really begun to find their own distinctive sound. Current Swell’s debut, 2005’s So I Say, sounded more like a Sublime tribute record, but Protect Your Own shows the boys branching out and really experimenting with new styles. Most notably, there’s a lot more slide guitar and harmonica, adding a grittier, bluesy aspect to t... View Full Article
Amanda Farrell - Monday Magazine
»View Original