Composed of Rocky Mountain music veterans, Coral Thief is an original, Denver based, reggae/rock/hip-hop act bringing a fresh new sound to the dub rock music scene. Driving rhythms and melodious guitar lines combined with smooth vocal flows gives Coral Thief a unique sonic style that, although influenced by Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, and Dirty Heads, creates a genre all its own. With songs that range from reggae to pop to full on hip-hop, there’s definitely something for everyone in their music. Look for their live show in a city near you this summer as they will be touring to support their upcoming EP. The Pier caught up with Coral Thief to get some insight into their unique style and what to expect in the near future. Enjoy!
The Pier: Coral Thief is in the infant stage as a band and has already made a splash in the dub rock/hip-hop scene in Colorado. Aside from the fact that you guys have been musicians for many years now, how did the five of you guys come together to bring forth Coral Thief?
David: Well to start things off, Randy and Chris were the original members behind starting up this project! I believe they had another band put together for a couple months, but that fell apart and the concept for Coral Thief was formed. I was the third member to come on board from a Craigslist (Casual Encounters ad), just kidding, in March of 2010. Now that I think of it, Owen, Jon and I are all craigslist whores! After I joined the band, Owen was the next guy in line for the Job! We picked him up in April and then Jon came shortly after in June, I believe! Long story short, we should have called ourselves The Craigslist Dub All-Stars.
The Pier: Sounds Catchy! In the short time you guys have been together, you guys have been playing relentlessly throughout Colorado, supporting local and international acts such as John Wayne and The Pain, T.U.G.G., and Mike Pinto. Do you guys plan on touring the coast or Midwest anytime soon?
David: We’re touring in March and will be taking part in ATX Wildfire during SXSW. After our March tour, we will be hitting the road for a larger national tour in May where we’ll be hitting up the coasts.
The Pier: You guys have a self titled 4 track E.P that was released in the fall of 2010 that can be heard on reverbnation.com/coralthief. Are there any plans for a full length album in 2011?
David: Most definitely! We are always in the writing process and hope to release our full length album by the end of 2011. But in the meantime, we will be releasing random tracks that we recorded at our studio to keep the kids up to date.
The Pier: We will be looking forward to that! You guys are obviously influenced by a lot of different genres of music. Most notably, you guys covered T.I.’s song Whatever You Like and turned it into a reggae/hip-hop sound that turned a lot of heads. Can we expect to hear you guys cover more fun party club songs, mixed in with your original material in the future?
David: Whatever You Like is just the tip of the iceberg! We got to keep things interesting and have a lot more tricks in the bag for the near future.
The Pier: What can you tell your fans and potentially new fans to expect when coming to a Coral Thief show?
David: Good ass music is what you’re in for! We try real hard to set ourselves apart from everyone else, so we hope you see that at our shows!
The Pier: Let’s say we are chillin’ on the beach somewhere and I picked up your iPod and pressed play. What are we going to hear?
David: Dirty Heads baby….I’ve been rocking the same damn songs on this piece since Feb 2009. Other than that, you’ll find some Iration, Expendables, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, Groundation, Slightly Stoopid and Dispatch generally get played the most!
Interview by: Chad Hillje
Edited by: Kyle Hillje
Click HERE to view Chad’s Artist Radar on Coral Thief!
