The band Certain Seas (Katharine Whalen, Austin Riopel, and Danny Grewen) stopped by Live and Local last week, following the release of their new album “Ordinary Hopes.”
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Certain Seas has been a prolific band in recent years – this is their third album since 2022 – but “Ordinary Hopes” represents a musical jump forward for the band, which had already established itself as a major player in the Triangle music scene. For this one, the band drove up to Richmond, Virginia, to lay down the final tracks with producer Lance Kohler at Minimum Wage Studio.
“Some buddies of mine from Virginia had been going there for a long time, I think since (Kohler) started up,” says Riopel. “He moved up from New Orleans, sometime (in the early) early aughts, I believe – and (he’s) now relocated to Stanton, (so) this record was recorded in one of the last weekends at the Richmond location. It was cool to send it off in that way.”
Listen to the album and purchase it on Bandcamp.
Now that the album is out, Certain Seas is marking the occasion with a busy lineup of shows – beginning Friday, October 24, when they officially celebrate the album’s release with an 8 p.m. show at Volume Records in Hillsborough. Other upcoming shows include Sunday, October 26, at Raleigh’s Berkeley Cafe; Friday, October 31, at the Thomas Stevens Gallery during Hillsborough’s Last Fridays Art Walk; and Sunday, November 2, at Yonder in downtown Hillsborough.
Katharine Whalen, Austin Riopel, and Danny Grewen stopped by Live & Local to discuss “Ordinary Hopes” and their upcoming shows. They also performed three of the album’s songs: “Wished It,” “Ordinary Hopes,” and “Horsefly.” Listen:
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