Dirty Hippie Radio: Listen Up, This Is Sand Section’s Time
Sand Section
If you’ve never heard of Sand Section, you might throw on their album and say, “Whoa, where’d these guys come from?” Well, they came from your backyard.
Manhattan Beach-based Sand Section has released their debut album, “Truth Over Harmony,” and it sounds like they’ve been recording in the studio for years. I give their virgin effort a tall, pointy A; withholding a + for future flights. Their Southwest Coast style generates a sound which maintains clear reggae undertones while overlaying beefy classic rock overtones. Vividly illustrated by tracks like “Lighten Up”, “Undertow”, “Ode To Youth”, and “Whiskey Blues”, their vibe is fun, obviously surfy, and young – exuding a carefree, party, and slightly rebellious vibe (though safely within the borders of good ol’ fun rather than bad ol’ attitude). These boys will likely attract throngs of fans purchasing tickets for the likes of Tomorrows Bad Seeds and The Expendables – two bands we could logically foresee Sand Section touring with. (Incidentally, Moi Sess, vocalist of TBS, does make a couple of appearances on Sand Section’s debut.)
The Manhattan Beach three-piece takes their name directly from the town and area in which they all grew up. Jeff Nisen (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Tony Gonella (bass, percussion, vocals), and Sam Mandelbaum (drums, percussion) were all born and raised in the “Sand Section” of Manhattan Beach. For the band, the term denotes the borderline where the crawling suburban sprawl of Los Angeles meets its match at the pounding shores of the deep blue Pacific Ocean; but apparently the term “sand section” has recently come to be lent by real estate agents to the property lots which butt up to the town’s pristine sandy beaches.
“We were all born and raised here being beach bums in the beach and surf scene, and we all actually lived in the sand section of Manhattan Beach. We’ve been playing together since we were like 12 years old, in and out of different bands throughout the area,” says Nisen. “We were playing a lot of local punk stuff in High School… really into bands like Pennywise and Bad Religion.”
They officially formed Sand Section in 2008 and exhausted a year commuting and performing between UC Santa Cruz (Gonella’s alma mater) and UC Santa Barbara (Nisen’s alma mater). Post graduation they focused on their music full-time and have been completely submerged in the South Bay scene, playing any venue they could beg, borrow, or steal their way into.
“It’s a really fun scene,” says Gonella of the South Bay music scene. “It’s real laid back – most of the bands playing in flip flops, just like us.”
With sights set big on getting their music out to any and every audience that will have them, they chanced upon an opportunity to record their first full-length album with an LMU student: Billy Klein. The final product turned out infallibly clear and very professional. Klein took “Truth Over Harmony” on as his final project as a Recording Arts major.
“Most [majors] usually just submit a multi-track song [for the final project],” says Gonella. “He did the full album. He was excited about the project and really went the extra mile, wanting to take on the full album.”
And that’s where we get “Truth Over Harmony” – an album that takes its name from a saying which suggests that letting the truth slide for the sake of stability and quietude undermines integrity.
“It’s a saying we thought goes really well with our music. Vocal harmonies are a big part of our sound, and it goes along with our lyrics about truth. Even though, sometimes when you stand by the truth you may no longer have harmony,” says Gonella.
One thing setting Sand Section’s sound apart is Nisen’s blazing, sizzling, soaring guitar work. His adroit fingers have been studying the secret language of his strings for about 10 years.
“In High School I was a total 80s/90s metal-head… Randy Rhodes, Eddie Van Halen… Slash was huge for me,” says Nisen. “In college I started to get way more into the blues… Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton. It slowed me down a lot and I began playing with feeling, making the individual notes mean more instead of trying to play a million notes a minute.”
Although Truth Over Harmony is loaded with suffusions of Nisen’s tearing guitar leads, the album’s well rounded diversity offers acoustic pieces as well; and yes, lots of harmonies.
Eager to take on the world with their “truth”, the boys are forsaking the harmony of their hometown and hitting the road to tour with their new album. But not before a big local bash!
Sand Section is throwing an album release party at Saint Rocke this Saturday, June 26. Opening for them is local band Stinky Pinky, and San Diego reggae rockers Up Root. For tickets visit SaintRocke.com. “Truth Over Harmony” is available for fee download (donations welcome) on Sand Section’s website SandSectionMusic.com.
Perfect lefts and closeout backwash to dirtyhippie@dirtyhippieradio.com. ER