WEHM All Access - Great South Bay Music Festival - Soundswell

In this episode of WEHM All Access, Harry catches up with Keenan Boyle from Soundswell as the band returns for its twelfth straight year at the Great South Bay Music Festival. Keenan talks about how the group first came together during the “Linsanity” summer, surfing around Patchogue and deciding they wanted to make original music instead of becoming another cover band. He walks through how their sound has grown into a mix of bluegrass, reggae, rock, jazz, and jam‑band energy, shaped by a seven‑piece lineup where everyone writes and everyone sings. Keenan also shares stories about the Patchogue scene, their memorable main‑stage sets, the surf‑inspired lifestyle behind the band, and how they keep things collaborative with so many members. With more than a decade at the festival and a huge catalog of songs waiting to be recorded, Soundswell arrives at Great South Bay as one of its longest‑running and most beloved acts.

@Soundswell

@GreatSouthBayMusicFestival

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It is EHM All Access as we get ready for the Great South Bay Music Festival. And coming up on Saturday afternoon at the uh band sale stage. Uh kicking off, I guess, uh, we've got a whole bunch of different performers. But uh coming up at 5 50, Sounds Well will be performing. And these guys have been uh around Long Island for a bit, incredibly talented. And how many years uh we're chatting with Keenan Boyle? Keenan, how how many years have you guys played this festival?

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Uh I believe uh 12. I think we're the longest running band at that festival.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

That's that's pretty uh that's an accomplishment, and it's so great to see you guys uh grow and still be together after all these years. When did you guys how take us back a little bit? When did the band form?

SPEAKER_00 0:40

It was the summer of Lynn Sanity. You remember uh of course.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

That was the best that was the best Knicks thing in a very long time until this year. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Exactly. I remember. That's when we all got together and uh you know, we were surfing and listening to music around Patch Hog and trying to kind of keep the vibe going. We're all artists and musicians and and trying to uh you know keep the vibe alive on Long Island. So figure rather than just be a cover band, like so many others, we want to do original stuff. So all this time, surprisingly, we have not succumbed to the pressures of doing covers, even though occasionally we'll throw one in.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Well, very happy to hear that, and you guys have been doing great for years. Uh, where where were you initially from?

SPEAKER_00 1:20

I'm from Sable, personally, but the band is based out of Patchog generally. Uh, we're once a month at Blue Point Brewery. We do Bradstock. If you ever heard of that music festival, of course.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Yeah. No, you guys are all over, and and it's nice to see uh you're one of the, you know, I you guys are very busy, um, it seems like, doing a whole bunch of things. And like you said, so many years at the Great South Bay Music Festival. How has the uh the festival changed for you guys over the years since you first started and now as you head into your performance coming up this weekend?

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Um I would say we've added a lot more to it. You know, the show has gotten progressively more uh I guess our song has gotten more intricate, you know. We've all of us contribute to the writing process, and uh yeah, it's really become kind of uh a you know a group effort to turn it into something that has all different influences, right? So we've got bluegrass, uh you know, blues, reggae, rock, jazz, everything's infused.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Well, you guys sound great, and I can't wait to to check you out on the Banshell stage coming up this weekend. And uh I guess take us uh I'd imagine just just to convert, what where did the name come from for the band? How'd you guys decide on that?

SPEAKER_00 2:27

That was our drummer, uh Mike, Michael O'Rourke. Uh he just came up with it, I think, because we you know we were all surfing at the time, like you said, and he was thinking about waves and ground swell and a sweat, a swell of sound, right? We're like we're you know, at some point we were up to nine pieces, now we're down to a trim seven, seven-piece band, which uh still a lot, and we have a lot of you know sound. So I guess that's really at the percussion, the drums, uh, you know, two guitars, bass, keys, uh yeah, a guy who plays uh trumpet, and you know, it's it's very fun. We all sing, so it's a swell of sound, basically.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

That makes that makes sense. And I, of course, I do guys you surfed it as well. Uh, how do you guys work on new music together? Uh are you still writing? How's that come coming together?

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Yeah, we have a space that we come together and we you know, we start with a couple open jams, and then we all kind of decide, we'll write down on a board, like, hey, what do you guys want to work on tonight? And we take turns. It's kind of like a round robin, you know, like, hey, we'll work on one of your songs today, one of your songs. And then when I say your songs, they all become a soundswell song over time.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

What's the um the biggest musical influence you think that you all kind of share that kind of bonded you together as a band?

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Uh I shouldn't say all, but I would definitely say Fish, Grateful Dead, uh My Morning Jacket and Government Mule are two big bands coming to Great South Bay that we're we're big fans of. And then uh I think the open-mindedness of everybody in the band that's just kind of like, hey, you know, I'm interested in influencing myself through whatever you're into, so we don't mind delving into different genres.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

I guess an individual ideas with the band's identity. I'd imagine it's you gotta make sure you kind of keep that going.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah, exactly. You know, like we don't want it to turn into just uh you know if one person just starts contributing too much, maybe it naturally takes a uh a push in the other direction, you know, before people kind of gravitate toward differentiation in this band. So you you play one song and you have no idea what you're gonna hear in the next song because it's not gonna line up, you know, it's not gonna just be a pigeon holder, you know, pegged into one category. So I think we intentionally do that. You know, if it becomes a little too singer songwriter, we'll throw in a deep, you know, crazy, funky jam to mix it up, you know?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

What's your uh going into uh the festival, it's a different type of performance versus you know, uh performing at a bar or say you're at the Blue Point Brewery. What's your mindset going into the festival versus that? What's what's different about this?

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Music festivals are a big moment of the year, right? So it's well promoted. Uh there's a lot of people there, a lot of potential new fans, and the energy is super high. You know, we're playing right before Ernie Band, which is our friends of ours, and by that point, we've already seen a few other bands that day, so we're all inspired. And uh I gotta say, it's like it's one of the coolest things we've ever done, and now here we are, all these years later, still doing it. So it's pretty great. Thanks to Jim Faith.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah, definitely. And you guys are I can't believe you've done it for this long. Uh, is there a certain year that sticks out to you that's more memorable than other years?

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Or um there was the one I was a couple of years we were on the main stage, and as much of it it was a hassle to do that, plus it was earlier in the day. So it was like right when it was opening, we had all these yogis come up on stage with us, and Jim Faith still uses these pictures because we had like performers doing acro yoga up on the front, and it became this visual thing, and we're throwing frisbees out. We had a nice crowd at the main stage, but it was only like 2 30. So a lot of people were like, hey, we missed you. You we couldn't even get in soon enough. So we like playing later on the on the band shell stage, it's actually better for us.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

What a creative way to do it though. Where did that idea come from? It was it all are you guys all in kind of in that mindset?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Yeah, I was doing a lot of uh stand-up paddle yoga at the time. I'm a you know, a surfer myself and I had a stand-up paddle business. So we got to know these people, and yeah, it kind of became this thing. Like we always talk about should we coordinate outfits, should we have like some kind of a team just to make it more of a visual? And then I was like, hey, I could call up these guys that are friends of mine and we can uh we can get them into the festival. And and they loved it, man. It was it was a really it brought a lot of people to the front, you know, put it that way. No to get closer to these people.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

That's that's really creative. Wait, is there any because I'm I'm curious, uh, and that seems like one of the non-musical influences that kind of shape your sound, because it seems like there's there's kind of a lifestyle, and and that the sound and the energy you guys put together kind of fits that.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Yeah, 100%. Uh, you know, we're trying to I guess you know, having uh brands like Bunger, if you're ever to Bunger Surf Shop or like places like that where they they're selling a lifestyle. Yeah, you can buy a surfboard anywhere. And same with music, you can listen to any music you want, but with like Jack Johnson or G Love or like these other people that invoke or Donovan Frank and Ritter, you feel like you're at the beach when you listen to it, or you feel like you're you're part of the the surf culture, and that's kind of what we're going for here, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

You're uh you're based out of Patchog. How have you seen that scene grow over the past couple decades? Because it certainly has uh evolved and changed, and it's it's really cool to see so many different bands come out of there now.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Yeah, so Patchog is pretty amazing right now. They had a renaissance when we first started, but it's still going strong. There's still a lot of artists and a lot of support for arts. So uh we're riding that wave, you know, like literally almost because it's like it is a wave of people, you know, moving through that place. But we've I feel like we've we picked off a percentage of the really cool people and we stick with it. And you know, just because there's these huge party bar scenes and fist pumping DJs doesn't mean that there isn't equally a push toward live music and you know chill vibes and good beer.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

How old were I I'm curious, and just your your journey a little bit. How old were you when you first started to get into music and what did you kind of grow up around listening to in your your family? And kind of what piqued your ears to to kind of be the I guess the the foundation of of where you are as a band today.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Uh so I'd say we all kind of get together on Genesis, was like an influence back then. It's kind of funny, but uh yeah, not that we play music that's like Genesis, but that has like a common thread.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yeah, that's at the same time you get up, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Yeah, exactly. So I I grew up on Michael Jackson, to be honest. They're like, you know, my favorite bands became REM and uh yeah, we were all kind of counterculture type people, I guess you could say.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

And uh that kind of led to us wanting to be a counterculture band. We never wanted to fit in the molds, we never wanted to just be a grateful to the cover band, you know. And that's what we've avoided all this time, and I think it it's paying off in a way. We're never gonna leave uh quit our day jobs and go on tour because we all have you know, we have teachers, and I'm an oyster farmer, as you can see behind me. I'm at the oyster farmer.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Well, yes, I wanted to mention you're on a boat right now, which uh seems kind of cool. Uh beautiful day for it, my goodness. But you're you're working.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Yeah, I'm out here. Uh it's a pretty sweet job on a nice day like today, kind of in the shade and windblocked right here. But uh yeah, I'll be shucking oysters at different events, and that kind of goes along with the theme too. Like I'm an oyster farmer, shucker, but I also play music. I'm a shucking and plucking, I like to say. So it all ties in when I'm at you know a place that does oysters and music.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

How did you get involved with with with oysters?

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Uh was it a family thing, or how did you Yeah, my dad was a clamber, his dad was a clamber. I never thought I'd make a living on the bay because there are not enough clams out here really to make it happen. But uh yeah, I was able to get my own lease out here and uh I've been kind of grinding ever since, and it's it's starting to work out, you know. It's actually a pretty sweet gig to be on a boat and uh or be at a party.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Certainly not not bad, not bad at all. Uh coming up Saturday at the Great South Bay Music Festival, we're chatting with Keenan from the band Soundswell. Uh, how have you uh I guess there's so many different uh well, I I think you mentioned nine and now down to seven. What's it like uh to kind of collaborate with such a large group and also in a way give people a chance to work on their own projects too?

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Exactly. So uh we do have a decent amount of people that are in other bands or have solo, you know, Steve Maul does his solo stuff, he's our he's our kind of frontman singer. Um, I guess the collaborative part is just the fact that we all are equal partners, you know. We each have an even amount. There's no leader in our band specifically. We pass the mic around to whoever really wants it. So it's a lot of that. Like if somebody says, hey, I want to play this song and we're on stage, we don't deliberate, we just say, All right, we're gonna play that song because that one person wants to play it. So uh I think that's really what it is, just kind of giving it up to each other and having trusting each other to be making good decisions, you know? We don't really question each other. We're like brothers, all brothers.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

That makes that makes a lot of sense. Sound swell on the stage at the Great South Bay Music Festival coming up this weekend. Do you have uh kind of goals for the band where you want to take it in the in the future? Because you've been doing this for a while. Uh what kind of keeps keeps you going and uh where do you where do you want to go with it? And are there music? I guess new music and songs coming soon.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, we need to make another recording. Uh we talked to our friend Andy Falco from Infamous String Dusters, our friend and neighbor who's a great guy, and uh eventually we're gonna pull the trigger on that and get more you know available so you can search on Spotify and and find more of our stuff because we have I think like over a hundred songs that are really good and and ready to go and well well you know curated. We just have to get them down and then at that point maybe go on a little mini tour, you know, especially a summer tour where we could leave the island and it's on Connecticut and New Jersey, a couple different close spots, but I think it'd be cool to get a gig in Hawaii or California or something like that, you know, make a destination thing.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Well, certainly grow the band, and uh they're such a part of the fabric of the music scene in Patch and right here on Long Island and really the fabric of the Great South Bay Music Festival. Uh you've done it for for over a decade. So this is this is great. Coming up Saturday, Great South Bay, Keenan Boyle from Soundswell, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it. And look forward to seeing you perform this weekend. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Thank you.