Hello, I’m Sorry: an indie pop rock band local to Western Washington, born in frontrunner Seth Little’s bedroom. Comprised of Seth Little (guitar, vocals), Nate Kahn (guitar, backing vocals), Thomas Hudson (bass), and Zach Sullivan (drums), this band has toured with artist such as Juan Wauters, Ezra Furman, Peach Pit, and many others, as well as performed at the EMP (now known as MoPOP) in Seattle. Their music has always been a favorite of mine, and it’s super inspiring seeing someone from my hometown making kickass tunes! I got to chat with Seth about the band, which was such an awesome experience. Make sure to check out their Spotify, Bandcamp, Instagram, or Facebook, and send them some love!

Ryan White: Growing up in such a small town as Enumclaw, was it difficult to break into the music scene? Looking back, did it help contribute to the inspiration or was it more of a draw-back?

Seth Little: When I was growing up in Enumclaw, I wasn’t making too much music aside from a high school band that was mostly just for fun. Those dudes definitely helped inspire me to make music rather than just listen, and two of them are in a band right now called Blood Capsules – they just put out their debut LP and it’s a favorite of mine.

It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I really started to focus on home recording music, and even then it was just something to do for fun and a good creative outlet. 

Luckily, with the internet, it’s so much easier to find cool bands and music that you’re into, so growing up in a small town didn’t really hinder my ability to discover stuff that I was (and still am) into. I also think it inspired me to an extent! Without everything you could want right in front of you, you gotta kinda push yourself to find and do more cool stuff.

RW: Where do you guys pull inspiration from?

SL: I’m hugely inspired by musicians that home record and also lately a ton of 60s and 70s stuff. I love it when songs are almost slapstick sounding in the sense that they don’t take themselves too seriously, like Jack Stauber and Jonathan Richman. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Hailu Mergia and Vashti Bunyan. 

I’m also really inspired by comic books and illustrators! I think if I could be any kind of artist I would be a cartoonist. How fun! One illustrator, Molly Fairhurst, is probably my favorite right now. Her illustrations are so unique and inspiring!

RW: KZUU is a non-commercial radio station, so we stray from any commercial artists/music. What would you say is your favorite non-commercial artist?

SL: That’s awesome! I’ve discovered so much music I like from non-commercial stations. Right now, some of my favorites are Sundae Crush (a Seattle local that we actually got to play with in Reno when our tours lined up!), Love Fiend, Mary Claire (another Seattle local), and Bathrobe from Portland. 

RW: What advice would you give to an artist or band trying to get into music?

SL: It’s tough to say! I feel like everybody (myself included) needs to hear unique advice but one piece of advice that I think really is universal – as corny as it sounds – is just KEEP MAKING STUFF!! Keep going, no one ever got worse from not giving up. Making art can be discouraging and frustrating at times, and it’s so easy to feel like you’re not doing what you want / where you want to be, but the more you do it and the more you make, not only the better you are but the more rewarding the process becomes!

RW: Craziest thing that’s happened during a show or tour?

SL: Ooh man. We’ve met some pretty wild characters / had some pretty funny moments out there. I’d say funniest/craziest was when we were last in Fresno and the show we were supposed to be playing fell through last minute. I’m talking like 4 hours before the show was supposed to start.

So we called up all our friends down there and got a house show booked in like an hour and a half with two other rad bands and just went for it; the house ended up being in a gated community and we were cracking up to ourselves pulling up, “first and only house show we’ll ever need an entry code to get into”.

The show ended up being really really fun, a lot of people came out, and it was such a good energy there! Zach, the drummer, jumped in their pool.

RW: Who’s the coolest band/artist you’ve ever performed with?

SL: Ooooh tough call. I’m a big fan of Ezra Furman, so performing with them was an honor. More recently though, we got to open for Juan Wauters- and he is honestly one of the coolest, most friendly, and genuine people I’ve ever met. He’s just so kind and so funny, we all immediately felt like friends with him. That night, he mentioned his guitar needed a minor repair. I told him I work at a guitar shop that could do that, we exchanged numbers, and he actually came by the shop the next day! We got to hang out for a bit while my buddy Nick fixed his guitar and it was a lot of fun.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hello-Im-Sorry-628043017330985/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hello.imsorry/