The Sea The Sea: Exactly Where We Are

The Sea The Sea, Chuck E. Costa and Mira Costa, is an indie folk-pop duo hailing from Upstate New York. Bob Boilen of NPR’s All Songs Considered says the duo’s got “excellent harmonies,” and the Huffington Post describes ‘em as “Two of the loveliest male-female voices you might ever hear this or any other year.” Rolling Stone used the word “otherworldly” to describe their sound, and as such we’re quite pleased The Sea The Sea is making a stop right here at atac on Thursday March 30th. Grab tickets here.

atac: Who are you? Who are you?

The Sea The Sea: We are Chuck & Mira Costa, singers, songwriters, guitarists and two halves of the duo The Sea The Sea.

atac: Where from? How’d you get going?

TSTS: I (Chuck) am from Staten Island, NY and Mira is from Charleston, WV. Both of our dads are musicians who opened the door for us when we were kids. My dad played the saxophone in a jazz band, so I played that too in grade school. Then the tuba (baritone, to be precise), piano, and finally landed on the guitar in high school, when it was realized the guitar makes you cooler (laughs).

atac: Mira how about you?

TSTS (Mira): Growing up, I was rigorously into dance and musical theatre. I studied both at Boston Conservatory—not too far from Framingham! Sitting in practice rooms at the piano, writing songs…there was a point when I became very intentional in asking “Why is art important?” 

This led to my facilitating different kinds of theatre and writing workshops in spaces where art had been removed—primarily in underfunded public schools and in prisons., Bearing witness to others finding their own voices in those spaces really helped me find my own. It was a really important part of the answer to the question I was asking.

atac: You familiar with the scene out here? Any acts you love? 

TSTS: Yes, Heather Maloney, and Kamaya Diggs.

atac: Excellent picks. You know Massachusetts. Let’s talk favorite LPs. Would you each pick a pair of must-owns?

Chuck:
REM.’s Automatic For The People 
Blonde by Frank Ocean

Mira: 
Patty Griffin, Living With Ghosts 
Van Morisson, Astral Weeks

atac: Blonde is an amazing record. Nice bonus Massachusetts pick there with Patty, too =) What about live shows—all time best?

TSTS: (Chuck): Radiohead at Red Rocks, CO. I was in college. Everything about the show was magic— the band sounded amazing, the stars were out, the sold out crowd's energy was electric. That night definitely changed my life.

atac: What's the roughest gig you've ever played?

TSTS: We played an outdoor show on New Years' Eve, beside an ice skating rink. Mira's hands got so numb she literally couldn't play guitar after a while. And it turns out playing guitar with gloves on doesn't work...

atac: You got any advice for first-time touring artists?

TSTS: Sleep. Everything on tour is better with ample sleep. We put on a better show. We sing better. We drive better. We are more pleasant to be around :) It's the only way to have any longevity touring.

atac: Besides a good night’s sleep, what gives you energy on the road?

TSTS: We're both avid swimmers. We love finding a YMCA somewhere near the venue when we're on tour. Getting a swim in before soundcheck is the best! We’re also suckers for stopping at national parks on the road. A couple of our favorites so far include Yellowstone, the Badlands and Acadia.

atac: How about a dream-gig? What’s on the bucket going forward?

TSTS: (Mira) We just finally saw our first show at The Ryman—so that’s of course on our list now—along with a whole list of other historic venues. Gosh…Red Rocks, The Gorge…stages that are in direct conversation with natural spaces like that. Shows can surprise you—every night has that kind of dream-gig possibility. We’ve seen our friend Steve Poltz say, on more than one occasion, “This is the best show I’ve ever played!” Have you seen him? He’s a force of nature and I believe him every time, because he means it. That seems like a good way to be in the world.

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The Sea The Sea performs live at atac on Thursday March 30th. The show’s $20 and all ages; you can grab tickets right over here.