This article was written by Beth Bond for my alma mater's newspaper, under the title "Solo Artist Keeps Name Alive."
Seeing The Cocker Spaniels live is not at all what one would expect. The band's layered sound, as well as its plural name, suggests a quartet of musicians at least. But what started nearly 10 years ago as a three-piece band in Brooklyn, N.Y., now channels the talent of just one person, Beaumont senior Sean Padilla.He has kept the same band name 'in tribute to my friends in New York,' said Padilla, who moved to Texas during high school. He's also loyal to the genre of music that emerged at the same time as the band. A love of Pavement-style early '90s indie rock and a flair for home recording are unmistakable in Padilla's freeform lyrics and jagged musical construction.
'I like to say that it's noise-pop,' Padilla said. 'I write to have good music and good melodies that people can sing along to, but I also have weird and dissonant sounds with instruments coming in and out. It's partly because I record on fairly low-tech equipment and there are always accidents happening.'
Padilla lets his lo-fi roots show in 'Finals Season' and 'Third Wheel Syndrome,' both songs in which he recorded each instrument entirely on his own for his album, Withstand The Whatnot. It is tentatively set for release by the start of next semester. The title reflects the album's theme of past 'trials that seemed insurmountable at the time, but in retrospect seem like trifles,' he said.
One of the most memorable songs in the animated singer's live set is 'The Only Black Guy At The Indie-Rock Show,' which he calls 'my personal anthem.' It's a song whose humor lies in its honesty. Its final lyrics are, 'I wonder if I will live to see the day when I see rock bands on BET and black girls dance to GBV./ And I wonder if white folks who like Jay-Z often feel as alienated as me.'
'It's half joke and half political statement since I've been the odd man out everywhere I go,' he said. 'The song piques curiosity on both sides of the divide, but it's a divide that shouldn't exist because all music is for everyone.'
Until he completes the mixing of Withstand The Whatnot, Padilla can be heard on mp3.com or cspaniels.com. He is playing at 9 p.m. today with Reeve Hunter and The Caspian Sea at Cafe Liso. Admission is $3.
---April 16, 2003