"The comments I get for having my last name are amazing," says Timmy Curran. "WOW, I thought you were much older. I watched you surf a heat at the US Open against Occy..." Photo: Michael Lallande
Just as Oxnard’s Timmy Curran decided to reenter the studio to work on his third full-length album, we (politely) stopped him dead in his tracks to find out how he feels about his evolving music career, the plethora of Currans/Currens in professional surfing, and what he learned from his trip to the Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Graciously, he obliged.
It’s been nearly two years since you released your first CD, Word of Mouth, which seemed like somewhat of an experiment where you were testing your viability as a musician. What’s changed for you about your music and your approach to creating an album since?
With Word Of Mouth I just wanted to put it out there and see what happened. Music has been a blessing, and I never would have dreamed that I would have had all the opportunities I have had from it. So I just wanted to share it with people. Most of the songs on VerseS we have been playing live 2 years. I think once we got done with Word Of Mouth we were already working on new songs. Some of them came quick so we threw them into our set. It seems that for us we wanted to adapt a little more to the venues we were playing and wanted to have a few more upbeat songs. The other half of the album I wrote about six months before we recorded it. We toured VerseS, which came out April 2010, and we are already working on the next album, and hoping to release it this April 2011.
Do you have a favorite track on Verses?
Believe would probably be my favorite track, due to the direction of the song and the sound of the instruments on it.
Listen to Timmy Curran’s Believe:
[audio:http://www.theinertia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/03-Believe.mp3,|titles=Believe|artists=Timmy Curran]Do surfers make “surf music?”
That has always been a funny stereotype for surfers who play music. I guess I am guilty also of thinking some music such as Beach Boys and Dick Dale sound to me like surf music. Maybe that is due to growing up listening to them play and associating them with the surf world. I don’t know. Whatever floats your boat.
If you were given an ultimatum: pick music or surfing, which would you choose? Why?
I would go with surfing, there is nothing like surfing perfect waves with your family and friends. The adrenaline that comes with surfing is a different and higher level for me, and I always need to be in the water. There is something very special about surfing, as you know.
You recently made The Union Express, a movie about traveling and surfing California by train. I’m sure there were some highlights, but what was the worst part of that experience?
Hurting my ankle in the very beginning of the film was a bummer. I was out for almost four months, which then pushed back the release of the film about a year and a half. Everything other than that was great!
THE UNION EXPRESS === TEASER from Zach Brown on Vimeo.
You also took a trip down to the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Disaster to show support for the Gulf community and for finding alternative energy sources.
The trip was part of our Union Express/Verses tour. It was hard to see the locals with so much uncertainty looming. The oil had not arrived in Pensacola while we were there and no one knew what to do. I’m glad that it may not have been as bad as it could have been, but it’s a shame it took so long to stop.
Will riding trains to surf spots help?
Walking would be the better, but you may miss the swell or the perfect time to paddle out.
Timmy Curran appears on Larry King Live during the early stages of the BP oil spill.
Does it ever annoy you that there are so many prominent Currans/Currens in the surf world?
No, I think it is great! It’s so confusing to people, and the questions and comments I get for having my last name are amazing. “I had such a blast surfing with your Dad down in Baja.” or “WOW, I thought you were much older. I watched you surf a heat at the US Open against Occ. That was a blast!” I wonder if the Currens get that type of stuff on their end.
You’re also a relatively recent father. How has the addition of a baby girl affected your music and surf life?
She has inspired some songs, and having a daughter makes you want to be at home much more. She’s a blessing, she makes me want to work harder but be at home more.
Paul Simon once said, “Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.” Your thoughts?
Well said…
Time for a little free association. Say the first word that comes to mind in this series of words.
Halloween, Mike & Ike: Pillowcase. That’s how I carried my candy.
Shotput, stenograph: Wolverine.
Karate chop, derelict: Yeti.
Word of Mouth, Verses: “TheAndySmith”
Is it safe to say that your next album will be called “TheAndySmith?”
No, but he’s the man who is producing it. That’s the way he likes it printed.
