Before Smallpools, an indie-pop band hailing from Los Angeles, was touring across the country and writing memorable hits like “Over and Over” and “Killer Whales,” they were just four guys trying to make it work in other bands. Sean Scanlon, Mike Kamerman, Joe Intile, and Beau Kuther happened to all be pursuing other musical ventures before finding each other and starting Smallpools. But they gained a lot of knowledge from these other opportunities. “We would tour and travel with our old bands,” explained Joe, Smallpools’s bass guitar player, “so we had a lot of experience already.” It’s all about “learning the ropes” as Sean, the band’s lead singer, said. There are a ton of logistics that go into starting and staying with a band, and they all agreed that it really comes down to how everyone works and writes together. They told me a little bit about their writing process, and what working together to create their unique and punchy lyrics is like. “At the start of it, we would all just kind of jam in a room together, and I would just sing random melodies,” said Sean, “There would be words that would hit, like ‘surrender’ or something. I would think, ‘That’s a cool word, I’ll save that.” And, as Sean explained to me, that’s how the song, “Dreaming” was written. He couldn’t shake how much he loved how the certain words in this song went together, but needed to create music to go along with them. “There might be a line that you really wanna say…so you try and put a melody to that,” explained Sean. This process can take months to finish, but is ultimately worth it in the end, when they had a diverse and authentic album to share with their fans.
Since each band member knows how long it can take to finally make dreams a reality, they had a little bit of advice for artists who might be struggling. “I think the most important thing is to practice and hone in on your craft…keep challenging yourself,” said Mike, the band’s lead guitar player, “When you don’t make it with the first thing you put out, keep it at. No one ever made it by giving up.” Beau chimed in by saying that “if you give up, you’re automatically out,” which is absolutely true. Where would each member be if they stopped pursuing their passion after a few failed attempts? They wouldn’t have been here at TCNJ, playing for the lucky students who got to attend this fall concert. Sean believes that at the end of the day, it all comes back to the music: “It’s all about the song, first of all…if you can get some new variation our vibe. A product of sorts, and then you can find outlets for that…Maybe start playing that song locally until people start to hear.” If you are persistent enough, people will start connecting with the music that you’re creating.
I have had the pleasure of seeing this band perform live before, back in October of 2015, and it was everything I had hoped it would be. I wish I was kidding when I tell you that our mouths dropped when they all walked on stage. Beethoven’s Fifth had begun playing and Sean walked out in a bright red conductor’s jacket. He told the audience the story of how they wrote the song, “Killer Whales” and ended up throwing inflatable whales into the crowd. This band is able to connect with their fans in a way that a lot of other groups simply can’t. I am so glad that the TCNJ community got to experience the magic that is Smallpools.