[Locals Only is a weekly feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.]

If you have recently relocated from Wisconsin to San Francisco, and have also become the new local “band to watch” practically overnight, then you have something directly in common with A B and the Sea. In a brief interview via email, Koley O’Brien of A B and the Sea elaborated warmly and passionately about the up-and-coming band.

“When the band was becoming a serious thing, the three of us flew out to San Diego to record our first EP at a friend’s apartment. We started becoming friends with the Morning Benders, we were starting to see label interest out of the west coast, and we as a band started pondering thoughts of relocating,” O’Brien said, when asked about the band’s choice to move out to the Bay. “I think the next step to take as an artist is to start all over again somewhere else. It was a tough decision for us to make, but with our contacts growing along with the buzz of our band, we packed up our van and headed for San Francisco, a city where hopefully we would have ongoing opportunities to get our music out to more and more people.”

Thus far, this seems to be the case, as the band managed to nab a coveted spot at this year’s Noise Pop festival (opening for Dear and the Headlights, along with Kinch and Big Light, at Bottom of the Hill). “I think it was a mixture of knowing the right people, and being a new band with just enough buzz. It was really great exposure for us, and we couldn’t have asked for a more responsive crowd or venue to play at.”

Fans of sunny, quirky, retro surf-pop with contemporary edge (i.e., Death Cab for Cutie and the Shins) will likely find something worthy in A B and the Sea’s debut album: Simple as Seagulls, which the band just finished recording at Different Fur Studios with Chris Chu of the aforementioned Morning Benders. “It’s a journey through life as a relationship. The initial care-freeness, the trials we face that build up our walls, and the common thought that in the end everything’s gonna be all right. Lyrically, musically, and stylistically, we hope our listeners will feel a sense of relation and connection with this record.”

A B and the Sea’s upcoming shows:

• Saturday, May 9th at the Uptown (with Mister Loveless, the Soft White Sixties, Luke Franks). 9:00 p.m., $8, 21+
• Wednesday, May 13th at the Rickshaw Stop (with Army Navy and 20 Minute Loop). 8:00 p.m., $8, all ages
• Friday, June 5th at the Independent (with the Submarines, presented by Mr. Roboto). 9:00 p.m., $13/advance, $15/door, 21+

Full interview:

Stranger Dance: Could you elaborate a bit on A B and the Sea’s decision to move to the Bay Area? Your location on MySpace says “Winneconne, WI/San Francisco, CA” – is the band splitting time between the two locations?

Koley O’Brien, A B and the Sea: Our decision to move to the bay . . . always a fun question. Well, Zac and myself both grew up in a small town called Winneconne, and Joe grew up in Milwaukee. I met Joe in college. And months later, when the band was becoming a serious thing, the three of us flew out to San Diego to record our first EP at a friend’s apartment. We had been in contact with Tim Or (the Morning Benders’ bassist) through a friend of a friend, and they just happened to be in San Diego the same week we were, so they got us in to their show where they opened for the Kooks. That was the first time we met those guys, and then weeks later, they were coming to our neck of the woods on that same tour with the Kooks. We hung with them again that night, and they needed a place to crash, so we all crashed at Joe’s parents’ house that night. Such great times. The next day we came with them to their Chicago show just a couple hours away and had a riot again that night. Around the same time we started becoming friends with the Benders, we were starting to see label interest out of the West Coast, and we as a band started pondering thoughts of relocating. We have great fans, friends, and family’s in the Midwest that have done and continue to do so much for us. I think the next step to take as an artist is to start all over again somewhere else. It was a tough decision for us to make, but with our contacts growing along with the buzz of our band, we packed up our van and headed for San Francisco, a city where hopefully we would have ongoing opportunities to get our music out to more and more people. We’ve been living in the City since October. Up until a few weeks ago, we’ve been fitting all 3 of us along with another friend of ours (who does our design work) into one room. So we’re definitely a close-knit group of guys. So just to clear it up, we’re from Wisconsin, but we currently reside in San Francisco.

SD: How did you manage to nab the Noise Pop 2009 show, and how did it go? Did the whole experience provide any sort of welcome or starting off point for the band’s new career in SF?

KOB: No idea how we got the show. We have a great manager and a great team, and we all work really hard on the business end of things, so that we can continue to make steps forward with our band. I think it was a mixture of knowing the right people, and being a new band with just enough buzz. That show was so much fun! Playing to a sold out crowd of people who most of which had never heard our music before. It was really great exposure for us, and we couldn’t have asked for a more responsive crowd or venue to play at.

SD: Could you elaborate on A B and the Sea’s debut album? How did the collaboration with Chris Chu as producer come about?

KOB: The debut album titled Simple As Seagulls is targeted at the general audience as well as the specific individual. It’s a journey through life as a relationship. the initial care-freeness, the trials we face that build up our walls, and the common thought that in the end everything’s gonna be all right. Lyrically, musically, and stylistically, we hope our listeners will feel a sense of relation and connection with this record. As far as the connection to Chris, I think I filled you on enough on how we met in question one with my rant. But we knew the Benders recorded their album Talking Through Tin Cans at Different Fur Studios, and we loved it, so we started talking to him about that studio back when we were still living in Wisconsin. As months passed, I think the pieces just fell into place.

SD: Besides the band’s two local shows in May, is anything else exciting on the horizon?

KOB: We just got done recording our debut album! There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon for sure. We want to get this record out to as many people as we can and tour tour tour! We have another really exciting show coming up on June 5th as well, we will be sharing the stage with The Submarines at The Independent. I’m way stoked for that show. We are big fans of their music.

SD: There are a lot of videos on your MySpace blog – is this something you plan to make as an official trademark of the band, or is it just for fun?

KOB: Haha, I’m not sure. We just all have a very odd sense of humor, and I think most everyone watching our videos thinks we are a bunch of morons, but I kinda dig it. It’s definitely just for fun right now, if we ever plan to make it our trademark, we’ll step up our game, I swear.