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Sherwood quartet coming home to Saratoga, and Koch's a 'Wrec'
By Cyrus Hedayati
The alternative rock quartet Sherwood has toured across America, signed with MySpace's off-shoot record label and sold more than 100,000 copies of its second album, A Different Light. Still, guitarist/backup singer Dan Koch is more nervous than usual about the group's June 16 show at the Saratoga Wrec.
"Usually the more home-related shows are the more high-pressure shows," said the Los Gatan. "There's more personal pressure because everyone you know is there, and you feel more like you're under the spotlight."
Although Sherwood once played his church, Saratoga Presbyterian, this is the first time Koch's band has taken a tour-stop near his hometown. If the band is on tour, he said, local fans usually have to make the trip to San Francisco.
Though Koch played in several bands while attending local private schools, it wasn't until he went to Cal Poly-San Louis Obispo that he found a band that truly clicked. Founding Sherwood in 2002 and taking the name from the forest of Robin Hood fame, Koch remembers feeling like they had stumbled onto a special formula, he said.
"I just remember feeling very driven," said Koch. "We had this very strong sense of intentionality, like, 'We are going to do this.' And we probably had an inflated idea of our abilities at the time, too. But somehow, it all worked out."
Now featuring Koch, singer/bassist Nate Henry, drummer Joe Greenetz and keyboardist Mike Leibovich, Sherwood play melodic, driving rock and roll that, lately, includes some flourishes of dance music.
"I'd call it Jimmy Eat World meets the Beach Boys," said Koch. "There's a lot--a lot--of harmonies."
Koch, who sings many of those harmonies with Henry, feels an artistic connection to the kings of '60s surf pop, going back to his formative years, he said.
"I think [a Beach Boys album] was the first tape that I ever heard as a kid. It's just in my blood," said Koch.
The Beach Boys are such a huge influence on the band that they made sure they were on the coast in Mexico when they wrote the material that became A Different Light. The band wanted the album to have a unified, artistic vision in the tradition of the classic songwriters of the 1960s and '70s, who Koch said he favors over current groups.
"Honestly, I really don't pay attention to other guitar players that much. I'm much more interested in songwriting," he said.
However, one of the latest modern additions to the Sherwood sound is an affinity for deep grooves and hip-shaking rhythms, which came from a recent interest in such underground electronica groups as LCD Soundsystem and the Knife.
The combination was enough to attract the interest of MySpace founder Tom Anderson, who discovered the band while record shopping and signed the group to the social-networking site's record label.
"We have always been pretty rabid MySpace promoters on our own, so it's kind of fitting that we would team up with them for a release," said Koch.
The popular website was one of the band members' favorite tools when they first got together, allowing them to go on tour outside of their local rock scene.
"It's the best way to get things moving at an early point. If you can get enough people interested in your band on the road, you can get 25 kids to come see your band a night, you can actually sustain a tour," said Koch.
Now that he no longer has to plan his own tours, he said, Koch has a greater appreciation for the place where he grew up.
"I love this town. I still do," he said. "For the most part, I had a happy childhood and I have really happy memories from this area."
In addition to Sherwood, the event will feature supporting acts Sound the Alarm, the Fold and Brea.
The Saratoga Wrec is at 19655 Allendale Ave. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for the 7 p.m. event. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. For more information, visit www.saratoga.ca.us/recreation.htm.
