thepaintedman had a chance to chat with Jamal aka Seraphim of No Surrender…

So, let’s dive right into it… you guys are the band that “Crabman” is in, which means built in street cred. Can you give us a proper introduction to the artist formerly know as Crabman, as well as the other members of the group?

Haha. Well you know, My Name Is Earl blew up and grabbed this huge cult following, and Crabman became an icon. I think people have a tendency to equate the actor with their character. Its like this contagious brain fart people catch. The Steeples we know is the one who was slumming it in Harlem just trying to make it to the next week, and playing with us in dive bars on the Lower East Side and W’burg. We’d be lucky to split forty bucks at the end of the night. We were all really struggling then. I was out on 3rd avenue in Brooklyn passing the shabby hookers on my way home. Gnomad shared an equally depressing apartment with Steeples in Harlem. Today, we pretty much make up the crew. There was one other member, but he literally disappeared. We have no clue what happened to him. He was from Camden and lived in one of the more notorious parts of Harlem… with those credentials, anything’s possible, but if you’re out there Dabar, know we miss you.

For those who haven’t heard you yet, what would compare your sound to?

I’d say we were like Public Enemy produced by Massive Attack…

departing from revolution anthems every now and again so we can sing tortured love songs.

Where does that sound come from? What you’re the biggest musical influences on No Surrender?

Really the sound comes from a bunch of guys who are of the hip-hop generation. When hip-hop turned into this murder/bimbo/cocaine festival, we were no longer defined by hip-hop culture. I never wanted a pimp cup. As much as we loved hip-hop we were those odd black guys in your high school that liked Jane’s Addiction and The Cure. I was into the downtown club scene, when I was younger, so that’s an influence. My personal musical background is also peppered with a brief obsession with The Monkee’s Head soundtrack, and popping Portishead or Future Sounds of London in the discman (remember those?) and walking through Central Park in the rain. That’s not strange is it? On Medicine Babies, as far as production, I think me and Costanza were locked in a cave for a couple years and had to feed off of each other’s energy. Trying to make sense out of each other while driving each other crazy. It worked!

Here’s a selfish question… when are you coming to Philly? Do I get to party with the Crabman and Co. afterwards? Please?

Definitely! We’re working on it. I’ll be honest, we’ve been making music a long time. We weren’t prepared for how well the album would be received. Steeples had film projects lined up. I wanted to spend some time with my parents who I rarely see, Gnomad’s got a little girl. We all foolishly planned to tend to those things right when we released our record (well being a parent of course should never be ignored). Then the record is gaining a lot of steam in press, our promo tour was bonkers and we were all like…shit we should have planned better or something. So we’re working it out. We’re coordinating schedules (conveniently for us, our backing band lives in Europe), finding promoters all that stuff, and definitely you’ll be at the after party…bring the dixie cups! I think we’re gathering our wits and ready to do it right this time.

Ok, so let’s divert from the music for a few questions… what are the members of No Surrender into when they aren’t doing music?

For me when I’m not making music, I’m obsessing about it. Gnomad is a dad, and wisely holds down a job (because being a musician ain’t no picnic) and Steeples is busy doing the Hollywood thing. He’s really grinding trying to get his own productions off the ground. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but I think part of the process for him is shaking the image of Crabman. It’s flattering and brought him to where he is… but still, it’s gotta suck to be walking through the streets of Barcelona or some small town in France with your band and some little kid runs up screaming “Crabman!!” If anything (and you’ll understand this when you finally meet him) Crabman is a testament to just how good an actor he is, so he needs to move on and prove that some more. I honestly think the wealth of our circle is in the abundance of talent, and I have faith that in time people will “get it” and in turn it will all work out beautifully.

I’m a bit of a beer snob… do you folks enjoy a good brew? Got any faves?

Man, I’m a broke ass musician. I’m happy with a working man’s can. Me and Gnomad also like that cheap $4 six pack you get from Trader Joe’s. It’s not so great… but it works well when you’re watching Robocop for the 75th time. I will admit though that during this time of year I will go out of my way to find a good pumpkin ale. Smuttynose will do. Heartland Brewery makes a nice one… but you have to go to their restaurant to get it, which wouldn’t be so bad if their food wasn’t so crappy.

If you will indulge me a bit, here’s a deep question… one I try to ask everyone if I can. What is your take on God, faith, spirituality, and religion?

Spirituality is what binds us. It’s funny… me and Steeples talk on the phone (he lives in LA) and every now and then, he’ll remind me of that. Honestly, you’ll never meet three more different people who have been as close for as long as we all have. We’re night, day and dusk. There’s really no reason we should be friends at all. (In fact, when me and Gnomad first met, we were quite the opposite of friends).

But there’s a deeper connection we’re smart enough not to ignore, and we have near identical values. So, we’re family in spirit and that’s that. We pick each other up when one is down, and give each other a smack in the ego when we deserve it. We have faith in the reward that comes from believing in something greater than ourselves. We’re a celebrity, a recluse and an overeducated philosopher who happen to be best friends. We’re pretty much a one-season sitcom waiting to happen. Or a lost Kerouac novel, at least.

Personally, I am a Believer in Jesus Christ. What do you think about Jesus?

I think Jesus is undeniably one of the most important teachers to walk the Earth. Personally, I think organized religion is often a divisive force that overrides the purity of the message. I have an annotated Oxford Bible and Oxford Apocryphal Old Testament on my shelf (my sometimes used stage name is from obsessing over The Book of Enoch). But they sit next to a Quran, a Dhammapada and other texts I find equally influential. I think it’s important to acknowledge anyone who teaches us that we can be greater beings. To acknowledge anyone who teaches us that to love is easy and it actually works.

Modern culture is all about glorifying the self and hedonism not for the sake of enjoying life but for some quick nickel and dime pleasure to help you forget the reality of the world around you. People today tend to prefer science to spirituality. Not because they know anything about science, but because it’s a convenient excuse for ignoring the spirit. But, Science is simply the new word for magic, and there is nothing more magical than the spirit. Some scientists deny its existence…but scientists are always figuring out they were wrong about some “truth” they were self-righteously forcing down our throats. They used to tell us the atom was the smallest particle. They got that wrong too. Five hundred years ago alchemists were scientists trying to spin gold from straw. It didn’t work…but it gave us chemistry.

Thanks for that. Let’s get head back to music for a bit before we wrap up… beside No Surrender, what music is out there right now that my readers should check out?

Oh man, I’m a book lover, closet comic book geek and I have a seriously troubling penchant for B movies of the 70s and 80s. In that regard, I try to enforce upon people the “holy” works of Moebius, Jodorowsky…and Jack Hill. I’ve also been reading a lot of Surrealist poetry lately. Mostly Andre Breton. And I’m obsessing over Brazilian Psych music. The world should know Os Brazoes. Too bad they only made one album.

Awesome. What’s on the horizon for the band? Tours? More new tunes? Music Videos? World Domination?

Well we’re really trying to transform No Surrender into a multimedia circus. Music isn’t enough to set you apart anymore. We’re definitely working on new music. I’m sitting in the studio right now, where I’m working on some remixes for some artists and on our next EP. We’re definitely planning a tour. We’ve got two new music videos being edited right now. Steeples has a self-produced film in the works that I’m doing music for. We want No Surrender to be like nothing that ever existed. And I think we’re on track. Even if we don’t go mainstream I think the work will endure.

Ok, so before I wrap up, I always ask the band to sell their music in 20 words or less… so GO!

I think we like to let the music speak for itself.

Check us out and you be the judge!

Thanks again, can’t wait to get out and see you do your thing… any last words?

Yes. Buy more No Surrender music. There’s a new Moebius book coming out and I need $70 for it.

Thanks Justin!