It isn’t exactly easy for Comfort Twin to rehearse. Yet, while members of the Santa Cruz-based indie-Americana octet are spread far and wide—some live as far away as Berkeley and Sacramento—the group makes it work. And even though guitarists/vocalists Scott Ferreter and Zane Griffin—the Santa Cruz portion of the band—could probably find any number of talented musicians in town to back them up when they play The Crepe Place this Friday and Saturday, it just wouldn’t be right if they did.
And not just because the band, formed in 2010, is “like a family.” “Every member of the band is really an important and different piece of the puzzle,” Ferreter says, explaining that in a band with eight members, each contributor is constantly pushing and pulling the music in interesting and novel directions, resulting in a finished product that no single songwriter within the band could have produced. “We often hear ourselves playing in a certain way and we’re all kind of surprised by it,” says Ferreter. “We go places none of us would have gone on our own.” The familial component to Comfort Twin has to be important, as well. Just listen to the ease with which the horns, strings, piano, guitars and harmonizing voices come together on the band’s latest record, Ghost Waltz, and there is no doubt that this group has a great and genuine dynamism and chemistry. It’s an aspect of the band that Griffin says you can see even better when the band plays live. Or, at least, “I would hope so,” Griffin says. “An important part of any show is watching the band and the way they interact.” And with Comfort Twin, Ferreter says, “Our shows are really fun. It’s like a big house party with all your best friends.”
INFO: 9 p.m. Friday, June 15 and 9 p.m. Saturday, June 16. The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $8. 429-6994.
