Athens Music: We Versus the Shark

Being thorough music enthusiasts, we at The Pasty Quail have a vested interest in the music scene here in Athens. As such, we're going to try and talk to various bands that have connections to our beautiful little community in hopes of providing a solid snapshot of life as an Athens musician.

Famous for at least one influential band, Athens is widely known as a vibrant music town, and there have been thousands of bands that have graced the stages at myriad venues over the last 30 years.

Overall, though, the Athens music community seems to remain relatively independent; while it is true that not many bands from here have received attention from corporate record labels, at the same time, it would be difficult to discern any semblance of a static or trendy "scene" in the community itself.

This could be the case for many reasons. The fact is that there is not a lot of money to be made here in town, and without significant financial backing it's difficult to get your music heard anywhere outside your local area. Even Atlanta bands have a much more difficult time projecting themselves onto the national stage than a band originating in New York City might.

We Versus The Shark (pictured below), like many local groups, seems content with the way things are. Though fame and money would be nice, that could compromise making music they enjoy. I sat down with Scott Smith, the drummer from We Versus the Shark, to get an idea of how he views life in the band, and to find out a little about their experience here in Athens.



The band members — Smith, Sam Paulsen (guitar, keys, vocals), Luke Fields (guitar, vocals, keys), and Jeff Tobias (bass, keys, vocals) — have to work other jobs to pay the bills at this point, so they make time to write, practice, gig and tour when they can spare it. The question for independent bands persists: 'What are you going to do for money?' In response, a lot of aspiring musicians throw in the towel, not willing to work a day job and play their music, for which time is limited. Yet Smith can't rationalize away his desire to play music like others have. "I believe in music, and so far that's worked," says Smith. "I've committed to doing this, and I'm going to just keep plowing away."

We Versus The Shark is made up of individual musicians with some similar and some different influences, but unlike many groups who have a chief songwriter and several space-filling sidekicks, "we want to respect each other's talents, and everyone needs to be able to breathe," Smith explains. In effect, the music is a fully collaborative effort.

In addition to keeping up with their own music, We Versus The Shark finds themselves in a unique situation here in Athens, involved in a sort of collective effort with friends and other bands, effectively creating a local network to support each other. Reminiscent of the Athens-based Elephant 6 collaborative, and Canada's Broken Social Scene, We Versus The Shark and a few others are heavily involved in an underground DIY venue to support local and touring bands.

"The good thing about these shows is that we're really just a bunch of people attracted to having a good time; there's a populist element to them where the bands and the fans just feed off and support each other," says Smith. "There's no definable scene, and that reflects Athens music in general. There's no carrot on the end of a stick for Athens bands, so we're all just kind of following our own muses."

These shows have been beneficial for We Versus The Shark specifically. One night, only six weeks after arriving in the U.S. from Brazil, a band called Debate played with the Sharks while both were out on tour. Needless to say, the bands hit it off, and the Sharks tried to book a gig for both bands back here in Athens. Nothing was available, so Debate played for a ready-made crowd at the DIY show, which led to an offer to help We Versus The Shark book a tour through South America.

It's in this way that independent bands have to support each other, and maybe this kind of stuff goes on elsewhere. Personally, I'm happy to see it going on in my town, especially when there's a lot of good music to be heard. We Versus the Shark is on Hello Sir Records, which is an Athens-based label intent on finding new projects that they can get behind. They don't focus on a certain type of music; they're just looking for bands that are enthusiastic and good at what they do.

Referring to his own band, Smith says, "Really, we're all a bunch of music dorks, and what comes out reflects the amount of stuff we listen to; playing around with it is a great way to exercise our musical interest so it doesn't become something we lose touch with."

So, whether or not they take that big step into "rock 'n' roll stardom," whatever that may mean, We Versus The Shark plans to keep doing what they're doing without any expectations. But "no expectations" doesn't amount to apathy or slackerdom: in fact, it's quite the opposite. Right now, 16-hour days aren't uncommon with work and play.

Regardless, Smith's going to do whatever he has to do. "I like to see older rockers doing well," he says. "I have a lot of life ahead of me, and this is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of it."

We Versus the Shark (official site here) will be playing in Athens at the 40 Watt this Saturday night, September 29, at midnight. Adam Newman & Heather Fink, and Coulier will be opening beforehand. Here's a video from The Sharks' performance this summer at AthFest 2007: