Mike Bonanni, Staff Writer
Mondays are usually predictable and very unappealing days, unless it is someone’s birthday. This past Monday was one of the exciting ones, however, because Dr. Seahorse decided to come to town. It was a very appealing and unpredictable night filled with surprisingly good music and some sweet dance moves.
The waterfront room was filled with a great turn out and everyone there, including the band, seemed to have an awesome time. The best way to describe this experience would be “dynamic” or “kinetic.” There was some impressive drum beating towards the end of the show where both members came off of the stage and pounded out a nice drum solo.
The singer, Trevor Davis, never stopped moving and really added energy to his already-energized vocals. Producer Mark Suhonen also added to the performance with his relentless drumming and impressive management over all of the electronic elements. Along with their originals, Dr.Seahorse also went 80s with covers like Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” and Genesis’ “That’s all.” They even gave a shout out to the Yellow Deli, admitting that they liked their sandwiches a lot.
The Dr. Seahorse sound is made up of electronic beats, keys, on stage drums, vocals with lots of range, and some acoustic guitar, among other sounds, all reworked through a Mac laptop. According to Davis, all of this combines to form what he dubs, “Electro swag.”
Davis and Suhonen didn’t always play “electro swag,” both starting on very different paths. Davis explained, “He[Suhonen] grew up on a drum lining, which has almost a mechanical feel and started getting into electronic programming. I grew up in an all-black gospel church and I played acoustic guitar.” Both of them, however, went to universities in San Diego and that is where they met. “I’ve seen him perform and he’s seen me perform over the years and we thought we’d give it a go…it ended up kind of just being a side thing of mine that I was experimenting with but then it sort of accidentally turned into what it is today,” said Davis. The two fell into place, slowly adding in drum beats to Davis’s acoustic playing until they had the “electro swag” sound. Mark Suhonen brought the “electro” while Trevor Davis brought the “swag.” Suhonen brings the doctor and Davis brings the seahorse.
Even though a majority of their fan base still resides in San Diego, they have some fans here in Oneonta as well. “I knew about them before this show,” said Deirdre Davis. “Seeing them live was even better than I imagined.” The line for photo-ops and CDs after the show was pretty long and filled with some new fans as well. Sarah Cottone thought the show was “really awesome! I wanted to dance, but no one would dance with me.” The only problem with the show was that everyone was seated. Maybe if these guys return, the chairs will be gone and everyone will be dancing.
For now, the wait is on until December 1st when they come to Hartwick. Their albums can be found on Itunes or their website, www.drseahorse.com.
Leave a Reply