Forget the beach (for now) and stay at home to support local surf shops
Costa Mesa-based company Seager hosts a virtual show on April 30 to support California businesses and musicians during pandemic
With this week’s news of San Diego oceans reopening, many surfers are running toward the shore to catch some waves. But on Thursday evening, some may want to stay at home instead.
Seager, a lifestyle brand based in Costa Mesa, will host an online concert to raise money for surf shops, as well as participating musicians. Dubbed Band Together, this virtual event will stream on April 30 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The concert is organized by Seager’s co-founders: Case Anderson, Elliott Shaw and Mattson Smith. Smith grew up in San Diego and attended La Jolla High School, while Anderson and Shaw hail from Orange County.
Seager co-founder Anderson said that the brand is rooted in surf and the outdoors, so the lifestyle company decided to host a fundraiser benefiting California surf shops negatively affected by coronavirus. The event will support 10 businesses, including three in San Diego: Bird Rock Surf Shop, Mitch’s Surf Shop and Sun Diego Boardshops.
“They’re just shops that support us as a brand and (that) we grew up with, so we want to give it back because we know they’re hurting right now,” Anderson said, adding that Smith and Shaw previously worked at Mitch’s Surf Shop and Bird Rock Surf.
Though not in the music business, the lifestyle company does have a Spotify playlist titled “Seager Company’s Ramblin Variety Show” with the tagline: “The music that brings us all together.” The multi-genre playlist is maintained by Shaw, who also came up with the idea for Band Together.
A dozen music acts from Seager’s playlist stack the Band Together lineup. All of them are from California, including The Mattson 2, a jazz duo from San Diego. (Before local music venues were shut down due to the pandemic, The Mattson 2 was scheduled to perform at the Casbah on March 19.)
And in a surprise twist, there’s been a late -- and local -- add-on: Rob Machado. The Cardiff-by-the-Sea surfer, who also plays guitar, will drop in (on screen) to perform.
Technically, Band Together will not be live; each performer will record a few songs and send them in prior to Thursday’s event. But Anderson said the event will boast a “live aesthetic and some live aspects.”
For each recording, all musicians will perform six feet apart, with most sets happening at homes or studios. However, as long as bands play by social distancing rules, Anderson said the participants have total control over how they choose to present their music.
“One of (the bands) already sent in a video of them performing in their van, at the beach, which is really cool. So everyone’s doing a little creative take on it.”
Tune in on Thursday evening to see these creative takes and a few other surprises. The concert will be available via Twitch stream on Seager’s website at seagerco.com/pages/band-together at 6 p.m. Currently, there are no plans to release the show after the initial stream.
Anderson said viewers can contribute money to the donation-based event via PayPal or Venmo.
“One hundred percent of the donations are split equally between all the shops and artists, so everyone gets the same cut, no matter how big you are -- or small.”
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