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Imagine accelerating down Riverside Drive at some speed, a cache of music you need to review spinning out the speakers, when one song, a nostalgic late aughts tune merges into your lane, and a uniform speed hits, that cinematic effect that makes music feels neurolinked to your adventures. We’ve dabbled in this indie alt band before but something about this song just had us begging to reach out to the band to dig into their new songs. Comprised of principals Nathan, as lead singer, guitarist Jacob, and bassist Sam, we had two of the three band members walk us through their latest release, as well as tennis and portable hot plates:

OnesToWatch: Why are you an artist? I’d love to hear from each of you individually. 

Jacob: I'm Jacob Johnson. I play guitar and write in Oceanic. I'm an artist because I have to be. As a kid, before I knew anything about music, I was writing songs. And then in college, before I also knew anything about music, Nate and I were writing songs. And now, currently, we still don’t really know anything about music, but we're writing. So, with more and more knowledge, that hasn't really changed the fact that we just want to write some music. 

Nate: I'm Nate. I'm the singer and I'm in it for the money mostly. It's not been good. We're not rich yet, unfortunately. But no, honestly, I have a very similar answer. It feels like if we weren't doing this, we would be doing something that looks almost exactly the same as this. Music is just who we are as people and what we want to be doing with our lives, so it just feels that we have to. Not in the way of the world needing it, but more that we need it, you know…

Love that. And I love that question because it always kicks off tons of other questions… First, since you are a band doing this interview, why are there no bands anymore? We live in a world of solo artists. 

Nate: That's a great question. Maybe it's easier to market a single person and it's easier to show one person's personality and something about algorithm, blah, blah, blah. But I don't know. It's time for a revival. 


Jacob: I agree with what he said. There is an attention span thing, where it's easy to latch onto one artist. It's also harder to be in a band in some ways. In some ways, it's way harder to be on your own. But, you know, it is a world where we're all getting older and schedules get crazy, and to still all be on the exact same page of commitment to the band is rare. We've seen a lot of bands come and go at our level that don't last that long. It's just hard to break through the noise as multiple people. 

Is there something uniquely amazing about being in a band that can’t be achieved as an independent artist?

Nate: Oh, totally. I mean, I love bands because I love the sound of relationships in the music. That’s my favorite thing about music. It’s a safety net, too, your bandmates are people who are equally invested – and not making money from this – so their advice and opinions don’t have an ulterior motive. We’re all just wanting to make cool songs together, and that creates a safe space, you know? 

Jacob: There’s a brotherly, family aspect to being in a band. Like, we play the same set every night on tour, so by night five we’re looking for ways to surprise each other, musically or performance-wise, and we’re comfortable enough to do so. Playing as an artist with a backing band, you might not get the chance to build the same camaraderie that we have over 8 years of playing together. That’s one of the most fun things about it. 

So, codependent poverty with a splash of spontaneity. It’s a good reason to be in a band. 

Jacob: Put that on a shirt. 

Was it always music for you guys, or were any other creative endeavors in the running to be your outlet? 

Nate: It was definitely fated to be music, but I was going to film school to begin with. All through high school, I wanted to be a film guy, but I was doing music, and then in college, I was going to school to be a film guy, but I was still just doing music. 
So I was like, what am I even doing at this point? I was just blowing off film classes to play with my band. I did a bit of physical art here and there too, my parents were good at encouraging me to do random stuff and enjoy all that. But, at the end of the day, music is what stuck. There was a choir teacher that taught me chords and how to form songs, as opposed to just reading the notes on the page – because I was classically trained. After that, it was kind of game over for me, that's what I wanted to do... 


Jacob: For me, creatively, it was always music. I've never gotten serious about anything else in that world. The next closest thing would be photography, and that's just because my dad gave me a film camera in college and I have very short phases of being interested in that once every two years. But I was a big sports guy, actually, in middle school, high school. That was the thing I cared about the most. My parents put me in piano lessons at 6, though, and then I picked up guitar at 12, and was naturally okay at it. When it was time to go to college, I asked myself what I was going to do, and it didn’t feel right to get some random business degree, that sounded crazy. 

Which sports would you have done in college? 

Tennis. I would never have gone pro, but I could have done a college career with it. My tennis coach was actually pretty pissed, and I was upset too, given how many hours I dumped into that sport and then didn’t pick up a racket for 2 years after deciding to do music. 

You guys mentioned you've been writing for, did you say eight years? Is that together? How long have you been writing together? 

Nate: In the fall it’ll be 9. It was 2016 when Jacob and I met and started playing. 

Inevitably, over that amount of time, a lot of things change. 
My question is, what hasn't changed? What has stayed true over time with your songwriting process? 

Jacob: That’s a heavy hitter. 

Nate: I think probably what hasn't changed is how much fun we have. Maybe it's fluctuated over time and different periods and times where I hate myself or shit like that. But, I feel like when we all, as unadulterated as possible, are in a room playing music together, it's just so fucking fun. That's what it comes back to. Even the type of reward that we get from a show has changed, but when we're creating something and having fun and bouncing ideas around the room, that's what feels the most similar to when we started. 

Jacob: It's the natural need and desire to do it together. If I come up with a riff, my thought is to record it later and introduce it to the boys. We still want to collaborate. 

I love that. Do you guys have a set process for writing together? 
Is it sharing riffs and ideas, playing off of each other? Or do you come in with ideas and melodies and then structure it out? Do you top line first? 


Nate: I feel like it's wherever the spark comes from, because sometimes that's just me digging around on Logic in my house, and sometimes that's us in a rehearsal and Jacob’s made a cool riff, so Sam makes the chord structure off of it. Wherever the spark comes from, we try to latch onto that, and from there make a demo and write a song over it in a collaborative way. Or sometimes it’s just me smoking a cigarette on the porch being moody and brooding and shit. But always music first, then mumble a topline after that. 

Well, let’s dig into the song you released, “I’m Your Boy.” What’s it’s origin story and why’s it so good? 

Nate: If I told you, you would steal our secrets and you would make as much money as we do.
It started as an instrumental that was just me dicking around on Logic, coming up with synth and drums. Then, I sent it to Jake and Sam with the intention of keeping it instrumental. Sam was like, "All right, yes, we could do that, but also let me come over and let's actually write a song and just see what happens.” 

Jacob: Quick interjection, I was on a cruise and not paying for Wi-Fi, so I had no idea about any of this in real time. I got off a cruise a week later and found a very good song that was in my text messages. 

Nate: Right! So Jacob knew nothing until later, but in the moment, Sam came over and we wrote a song and he was basically like, "Hear me out. 
It could be actually good as a real song that, you know, one day, David O'Connor is going to love and interview us about.” 

He had the right idea! What was inspiring you while you were making this instrumental, before the lyric writing began? 

Nate: This is a theme with me, where the songs I love the most, I don’t know what I wrote them about. That’s also true about the song “Care More,” the first song on our debut album. I was really just writing gibberish without understanding it, and then a year later it became very clear to me what the song meant. And that's kind of the same thing with “I'm Your Boy,” where thematically, it's like a push and pull with authority, even good or decent authority and kind people who are in positions of authority. I've always struggled to find my own place in the world and have my own corner of the universe that I feel safe in. So it’s a sort of push against someone that has a hold over you, but even because they love you, if that makes sense. 

That makes sense. Now, I’m a few decades older than you guys, but to me this song sounds very nostalgic. Are those influences intentional? 

Nate: Well, I am 53 years old. 

Well, then I’m your younger and you look great!

Jacob: It’s probably both. We love the music we grew up on and were introduced to at young ages, and I’d assume that influences us more than we ever know. 

Nate: I enjoy the spirit and attitude of old music, but the sounds of new music. I’m a big Coldplay fan, and I think there’s lots of throwbacks to that sort of sound, but then also rock music, which maybe is a throwback in 2025. 

Jacob: The melding of rock and pop of the 2010s is definitely influential. 

Nate: Yes, I was 19 in 2017, so that era is stuck in my head. 

Makes total sense. Pivoting a little bit to some fun questions… if you could perform at any time in history with anyone, do you have a dream venue you'd love to perform?

Jacob: The first thing that came to mind was Live Aid, that would just be the crazy thing to be a part of. I also just watched an interview about the Goo Goo Dolls and their big festival, with the rain and the viral video that pops up every year. Crazy shit happened that night, as far as methane buildups and the sewers and pipes, manholes flying in the air. It’d be fun to play that night! 

I’ve talked to artists about Woodstock, and whether you’d actually want to be there, given it was such a shit show. But the legacy, it’s undeniable! 

Nate: Right, we roll up to Woodstock with 3 laptops as our set-up, just completely stressing. Trent Reznor is going to put mud on it. But, honestly, dream lineup to me is just something with Coldplay on it. 

Jacob: Actually, how about this? A night at The Sphere, it's the Killers, us, then Coldplay. 


Wow. That's kind of a mic drop. You can't really compete with that one. Another fun question, for you guys as a band, what kind of meal are you whipping up after a gig? 

Nate: Well, we all live in separate houses now, so that’s tough. 

Jacob: To be scrappy and healthy on the road, we got a hot plate. So, Sam and I will make an assortment of chili, or wild rice sweet potato soup, or anything that can be heated up in a pot in the green room. 

That’s a great answer and great touring advice. 

Jacob: Oh yeah, people are walking around the green room and smell soup, like “What is going on in here?” Don’t mind us, just making soup. 

Nate: We’re just, at all times, trying to be chaotic good. Sam makes a great lentil curry soup. That one’s great because before the show you think you won’t be hungry, and then after you play you’re really hungry. And then it’s awesome because Sam brought soup and it’s in the green room right now. 

Amazing. Last question, at OnesToWatch, we love when artists celebrate other artists. So who are your OnesToWatch? Who should we be listening to? 

Nate: A band called Lady Die, I helped produce their EP and they just put out a single today that is really great. I’m just really happy to be there. Also, a band called Willington, they’re here in Charlotte and I’m producing for them as well. Then, I also just really like the Samia album. 

Jacob: Lady Die was also my first thought. Also, Veau from Nashville are awesome guys that make great music. I’m really excited for them. 

Any closing thoughts? 

Jacob: Bring bands back.

Nate: Yes, everyone, collectively and individually, start liking bands again so I can be rich. 

Beautiful. Thank you guys so much!

Oceanic: Thank you!