INTERVIEW: Danny Clinch Talks Sea.Hear.Now And His Love For Asbury Park
Danny Clinch Gives Glimpse Into Inaugural Sea.Hear.Now Festival
The first ever Sea.Hear.Now Festival is just weeks away from hitting the beach in New Jersey’s Asbury Park. Long known as a hub for the art community in Jersey, Asbury has seen its share of ups and downs; however in 2018, things are in the up swing and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. The beach community is home to popular music venues like The Stone Pony, The Wonder Bar, Asbury Lanes, and The Paramount Theatre.
“Well, you know it all starts with the music for me,” recalled the festival’s co-founder Danny Clinch. “I started going to Asbury Park, you know to go to the Stone Pony to see shows. I’ve seen The Stray Cats there, The Gregg Allman Band, you know waiting around to see if Bruce Springsteen is gonna jump up on the stage. As a young photographer it’s like come on when’s Bruce gonna jump up. So it started with music for me.”
Its art-filled culture is all over the streets as well as the sand on the beach. Asbury Park is no stranger to legends passing through. Come September 29th and 30th, Sea.Hear.Now will continue that tradition, bringing music from the likes of Incubus, Jack Johnson, Brandi Carlile, Blondie, Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals, Highly Suspect, Social Distortion, Tangiers Blues band, Kaleo, Parlor Mob, Deal Casino, and Nicole Atkins just to name a few.
Aside from music, the festival will also include surf expression sessions and board shaping demos, along with morning Wanderlust Yoga Sessions featuring Eoin Finn. Also on hand will be Danny Clinch’s Transparent Gallery featuring work from artists both playing the festival and even some who are not.
“I was envisioning a place where people can hang out, not like a white glove type scenario, but, like, we’ll have a backline setup there,” stated Clinch. “We’ll have a drum kit, we’ll have amplifiers there, people can play music there, and we’ll be able to just hang out and have a good time.”
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Danny. We talked about his love for Asbury Park, why he thought it was the perfect place and time for Sea.Hear.Now, how the collaboration with C3 came about, and even where he’s hoping to see the festival in the future. I also tried to get the scoop on who the special guests might be at the late night shows.
Sea.Hear.Now is a collaborative effort between renowned music photographer and filmmaker Danny Clinch and promotions company C3 Presents, who are responsible for massively successful music festivals like Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Shaky Knees Music Fest and Voodoo Music + Arts Experience along with many more. The two have teamed up to bring a one of a kind festival experience to the shores of New Jersey, a place where Danny Clinch grew up, loves, and still calls home.
Danny Clinch is known for his timeless and inspiring photographs of musicians like Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Gary Clark Jr, Stevie Nicks, and more. His photos can be seen in publications such as Vanity Fair, Spin, Rolling Stone, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, and his photographs have appeared on hundreds of album covers and art galleries. As a Filmmaker, Clinch has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for his work on Bruce Springsteen’s Devils and Dust and for John Mayer’s Where The Light Is. His work as a director includes music videos for Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, Pearl Jam, and the Foo Fighters.
You can hear the full interview in its entirety below.
If full day’s of music and surfing aren’t enough for you, Sea.Hear.Now has announced late night shows. 2 shows, 2 different Asbury venues and all great bands. The shows are happening Saturday night September 29th featuring Twin Peaks with Lowlight at The Wonder Bar and AP Press Presents The Ocean Avenue Stomp with Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Tangiers Blues Band w/ Danny Clinch and Special Guests at The Stone Pony.
