Nick “Sick Boy” Anchorheart has been in a lot of bands. But until recently, he’s never been in that one that’s fully embraced his true punk rock influences—bands like the Misfits, the Ramones and Social Distortion. With the Sea Wolves, he takes those influences and creates exactly the raw, powerful, vibrant, mid-tempo garage-punk sound he’s always wanted.
Anchorheart started the band as a solo acoustic project in 2009, wrote ten tunes, and then started recruiting other guys to make it a full-fledged punk rock quartet. Over the course of the past five years, he’s cycled through a bunch of members. Bassist Kevin St. Clair had been with him since the beginning, but quit this year. Lead guitarist Dylan Johnson has been with him the past year. Jay “Homicide” Morris started playing bass with him a couple months ago. New drummer Reid Carpenter doesn’t even start until November, while drummer Macker Melchor will finish up their October shows before quitting.
Despite these lineup changes, the group’s sound has actually solidified. “I was going through so many member changes that really I was teaching the other members songs that I had written when the band started. We’re still playing six of those same songs,” Anchorheart says.
One current member who’s brought in a different flavor is lead guitarist Johnson. He brings with him love for big, ’70s arena rock guitar sounds and guitar solos, which balances out the straight forward, driving punk sound.
“I grew up listening to bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, stuff where the lead guitar was like the god on stage,” Johnson says. “I definitely bring that wall of guitar sound. We’ll open up the songs for a second, and let loose and rip it up for a while.”
INFO: 9 p.m. Saturday, October 25. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz. $7. 423-1338.
