This article is an artist profile of a local St. Louis rock band called Ocean Rivals that I did for the upcoming issue of Eleven. I interviewed the band before writing the article. They were my first “band interview.” The “Quick Tracks” at the end are short descriptions of two of Ocean Rivals songs. Here’s the article:

Ocean Rivals are a rock band. What you see is what you get. Listening to their music for the first time feels familiar. It doesn’t sound particularly new, it just sounds right. Their influences are culled from past half century of rock and roll: the Beatles, the Kinks, Oasis, Wilco, and Spoon, to name a few. However, Ocean Rivals’ sound cannot be summed up by any one of those bands alone. Their music feels old yet fresh at the same time, but most of all, it sounds damn good.

Ocean Rivals are four guys who have been playing in the St. Louis scene since they first learned how to play their instruments. Vocalist and guitarist Daniel Alexander and guitarist Andrew Joseph have been making music together since they were teens, and they formed Ocean Rivals with bassist Scott Edward and drummer Robert Lewis (and a third guitarist who has since left) after their respective bands broke up. “We felt like they had the same drive and mentality for the kind of music we wanted to play. It just felt natural,” says Daniel.

That was almost three years ago. Ocean Rivals have since put out a record, and are applying the finishing touches to a new full-length entitled Summer’s Dogs. While all the drums and the mixing are being handled by Firebrand Recording, they’re doing the rest themselves. Since there is no rush on the finished product, why not be a bit picky? “We really wanted to take the time to dial in very specific sounds for all the guitar parts” Daniel explains. Despite doing most of it on their own, there was no shortage of gear to go around. “We’ve been in the scene so long, and we’re friends with really cool people and bands, it’s so easy to call someone up and get a Les Paul for this, or a nice vocal mic for that.” It’s nice to have friends with toys.

Summer’s Dogs should be out by the end of the summer, and Ocean Rivals can been seen live August 6th at Lemmons with another St. Louis (and Eleven) favorite Troubadour Dali. Be there, and see if anything sounds familiar to you.

Quick Tracks:
“Submarine Plot Thickens”
An anthem with swing and swagger. A straight rock intro that gives way to something more complicated. Excellent vocal delivery of several tongue-twisting lines with a melody that twists and turns as well, but remains in your head. Think Modest Mouse and Oasis filtered through a Fender Twin Reverb washed in sea foam.

“The Cruise Ship Song”
A banjo and piano driven, folky pop tune about taking a boat ride off the edge of the world. Could be a Beatles B-side sung by Being There-era Jeff Tweedy. Cute and delightful. Check them out yourself as both tracks can be downloaded at http://www.oceanrivals.com/freetracks.zip

Check out Ocean Rivals at their Myspace page here
Eleven Magazine