Mention the “Sharod” brothers in any pub or music venue in Weymouth or Bridport, along with the surrounding areas and you’ll be greeted with a host of positive comments about their various gigs and music prowess. The Sufin’ Birds have been treading the boards for quite a while now and have performed with a heady mix of notable artists from the Buzzcocks to the Blockheads, from The Damned to Demented are Go. The trio have performed and nailed virtually every local festival and were recently nominated for an Original Music Award. After the release of the 2023 album “Blue Room” the band return with a new single entitled “I’ve Got A Feeling” that has quite a story behind it. Grab yourself a brew, relax in your comfy chair and I’ll begin:
2015: A Riff is Born
Tucked away in a bedsit on Abbotsbury Road in Weymouth, Paul Sharod plucked the first chords of a bright new riff into a 90s Tascam 8-track tape recorder. Influenced by a Yoko Ono cover of “Don’t Worry” on the 1983 album ‘Whammy’ by the B-52s and ‘The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads’ (1982) by Talking Heads; this new riff had all the makings of a catchy, colourful track infused with the happy sounds of its major key. Paul arranged the music initially without lyrics and together with the original Surfin’ Birds line-up, which included Richey Farthing on electric guitar; Harvey “Slick Grief” Weschke on acoustic guitar and Liam Sharod on percussion created the first tape recording of “I’ve Got A Feeling”.
2016: Car Crash Lyrics
After several months of fine-tuning the track, Paul and Harvey met one afternoon in the Summer of 2016. Sitting on a bench with an acoustic guitar and overlooking the Nothe Fort, they began to pen the lyrics. With cigarette in hand and an ice cold can of Coke, the two engaged in their regular routine: Harvey took the lead on the verses and Paul helped with the hooks on the chorus, while playing the guitar chords on a loop for the hours it took the lyrics to come together. Their intention for the song was to go as corny as they dared, while keeping a dark undertone to deepen the layers. The day was hot, the bright sun warm and welcome on their gently sizzling skin and what emerged was a sunny love song about an obsessive girlfriend and the climactic car crash such a destructive love might lead to. By the end of this single meeting the first draft was done.
2017: The Rise
Several years of supporting Pronghorn on the local festival circuit lead to an invitation from Dorset-based company ‘Fuelled By Cider’ to record an album. Initially an events company, Fuelled By Cider were starting to record bands on their roster. Their intention for The Surfin’ Birds was to capture the energy of their usual live performances. Paul however had greater ambitions and so brought along a plethora of experimental songs that were far more complex than their regular material. An album drenched in dark, neo-Psychedelia with Rock and Jazz undertones, ‘All My Dreams’ was to be their largest project yet. ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ provided the light bright relief track, a bizarre juxtaposition; Jon whose inclusion signalled the disarray to come with a project of this magnitude.
2018: The Fall
The album launch in January was a hit. Over the previous year the band had solidified into a strong four-piece, showcasing pieces of the album at various festivals and gigs to growing audiences. By the time launch night rolled around they were well-rehearsed. the venue was jam-packed and the songs well-received by supporters and other musicians alike. But the success of the night couldn’t mask the fact that the album had been rushed for the launch. It fell so short that Paul refused outright to release it: the songs that he and the band had poured everything into deserved to be sent out sounding as good as they could. It was the beginning of the end. Fuelled By Cider let them go. The album was dropped and the single along with it. The band fell into disarray and Paul discovered he had an aortic aneurism that was ready to burst. He couldn’t gig and they couldn’t book any more festivals until Paul got a date for a surgery that never came. The Surfin’ Birds were stuck in limbo, their future uncertain.
2019: Open Heart Surgery
A full year later and still no date for surgery in sight, Paul’s aneurism split in three places. Open heart surgery saved his life but left him unable to play. Six months of rehabilitation and determined effort later and he had regained enough mobility to pick up a guitar and sing gently. By this point, the band existed only in name, but with a few new members including Mac Taylor on keys. They started revisiting some of the old songs. I’ve Got A Feeling was one of the first they made into a tape demo on Paul’s Akia. This time around, everything sounded more put-together than past efforts and by the end of the year, they were ready to record. 2020 looked promising.
2020: Lockdown
Lockdown. The restrictions meant that the already-loosely formed band could not stay together, couldn’t gig together, and definitely couldn’t record together. Brothers Paul and Liam formed a bubble and worked on creating what would become ‘Blue Room’. As restrictions eased, they reformed The Surfin’ Birds as a stripped-back duo and poured their time into gigging and recording. Towards the end of the year, Paul and Mac reconnected to build a whole new album around the single I’ve Got A Feeling. They changed the original melody because it sounded too much like Bananorama’s “Really Saying Something” and built the rest of the instrumentation from a click track with guitars, bass, synths, keys and vocals. After reworking the vocal melody and backing harmonies to suit the band’s more ‘Garage’ vocal style, they had the early fragments of a new Pop/Psychedelic album.
2023: Echo Town
In the years that followed, Mac moved on to other projects and the Sharod brothers were busy with everything Blue Room. But in June of 2023, the band were invited by Nick and Grace Capaldi to record a single at their new ‘Echo Town Studio’. They had three days to record and mix a track with sound engineer Gareth Matthews, but the hardest part seemed to be selecting the right track. At this time, original band member Richey Farthing was back in the picture after a stint on the Channel Islands as part of “The Recks” and now staying with Paul in Weymouth. Richey’s cousin, Bobbie Sparks had also been playing bass in the band for a year. This combination of a solid, stable line-up with a blast from the past led the band to seTTle on I’ve Got A Feeling. It had the right combination of feelgood energy with catchy, radio-friendly vibes that never really fit in with the darker tones of ‘All My Dreams’. It was a track without a home, which made it the perfect single to record in the glossy high-tech studio at Echo Town. The band went to work, continually playing and reworking it to the point where the regulars at the nearby pub commented on how catchy the new song was. By the time the recording sessions at Echo Town rolled by, The Surfin’ Birds were well rehearsed and ready to immortalise the track that began its life in a bedsit in Dorset so many years ago.
2024: Audio Meets Visual
The single recorded, mixed and mastered; it sat on the back-burner while The Surfin’ Birds focused on the release and aftermath of Blue Room. Other projects also began to take shape, none of which included a home for I’ve Got A Feeling. But as the landscape of the music industry changed, they realised that singles were key. While they plugged away slowly at their future albums, The Surfin’ Birds saw that I’ve Got A Feeling could finally take centre stage. There was only one thing missing. The final piece came in the form of a collaboration with visual creative ‘Lu Gossian’. Working with the band since its reformation as a duo in 2021, Lu had been rebranding and redefining the visual language of The Surfin’ Birds with each new release. Following on from the raw vintage textures of Blue Room, she took a more pop culture approach to suit the vibrant tones of I’ve Got A Feeling, effectively translating the bubble gum edge of the track into the edgy bubble gum tones of the artwork and visuals.
2025: I’ve Got A Feeling
Some ideas need to see the light of day as soon as they are conceived. Others need time to mutate in the shadows, slowly becoming exactly what they need to be until they are ready to show themselves to the world. I’ve Got A Feeling has had many false starts – we could make an EP of the demo versions alone, but finally all the pieces are in place. Ten years in the making and at last The Surfin’ Birds are releasing I’ve Got A Feeling on January 31st 2025. The single could not have happened without every individual involved, from its inception at Paul’s bedsit, to Harvey’s brilliant catchy lyrics, to performing it at countless festivals and to finally recording it with the team at Echo Town Studio. With a journey hampered every step of the way by failed album launches, a global pandemic and literal open heart surgery, I’ve Got A Feeling encapsulates everything joyful about persisting in the face of adversity when all you have is a contagious riff, the right people in your corner and a feeling that you’re onto something special.
The single is released on 31st January.
The Surfin’ Binds in 2025 are…
Paul Sharod: Lead Vocals / Guitar / Slide Guitar / Harmonica
Liam Sharod: Drums / Percussion / Backing Vocals
Bobbie Sparks: Bass Guitar / Synths / Backing Vocals
Links
https://www.thesurfinbirds.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheSurfinBirds
Article by David Chinery (Chinners)
