The Eastern Sea Tour Starts Monday, Will Arrive in Ames Jan. 23

Ames will soon have the chance to see what happens when you give a kid a musical instrument instead of a Super Nintendo.

The Eastern Sea, MTV buzzworthy blog's newest indie crush, will perform at the M-Shop along with the Kopecky Family Band of Nashville on Jan. 23.

The Eastern Sea Frontman Matthew Hines, 25, Austin, Texas, said his father offered him musical instruments instead of the video games he wanted and Hines took him up on the offer.

The trumpet, trombone and guitar playing Hines said he began writing his first songs at the age of 12, but launched his newest venture, the Eastern Sea in 2005. Eastern Sea began as a solo project and became a band in 2007 with different people rotating in and out, Hines said.

“We're a rotating mass of characters,” He said.

The seven piece band includes John Rawls, on keyboards, Kevin Thomas, a trumpet player, and Charlie Siess, a drummer, who Hines has played music with since the age of 16.

The Austin City Limits Festival described Eastern Sea's sound as a mix of the hypnotic rhythm of post rock, the playful melodies of traditional American folk and the dynamics of contemporary progressive indie-rock.

The band begins a multi-state tour Monday, Jan. 14, to support their second release “Plague.”

The record is named for a novel of the same name about how a group of people's priorities changed after being confronted with the bubonic plague.

The stop at Iowa State will be Hines' first Iowa performance though Hines said he has visited many times. Eastern Sea plans to play a majority of songs from their new record including “The Match” which Hines said is the heart of the album.

The song is about what it's like to be home, Hines said, and also references an ex-girlfriend, according to a review on Americansongwriter.com.

“It's an important song for me personally … A lot of the music I write is about being elsewhere,” Hines said, adding that he tried to paint a picture of what it's like to live in Austin. The whole record is a bit of a reflection of his time as a university student at St. Edwards. There Hines studied English and religious studies hoping his education would enrich his ability to tell stories in multiple modes.

Another standard of the Plague tour also about a girlfriend will be “Wasn't for Love” based on nightmares Hines had about riding on trains and becoming separated from his love.

The dreams began after he visited his girlfriend in Berlin after a long separation, Hines said.

“I was getting on and off trains and never got to where I was going,” Hines said of the dream.

Most of the Eastern Seas songs are autobiographical and Hines said he writes about himself because he is still trying to figure things out. He hopes his self exploration is helpful to others or at least entertaining.

“As we travel around we find people feel the same way,” Hines said.

The Eastern Sea on the Web:

http://www.facebook.com/theeasternsea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PexFK9BZX9w

http://www.youtube.com/user/theeasternsea?feature=watch