Smallpools: A Glorious Pitch

By Jocelyn Cervantes

Picture this: You are surrounded in a room with about 500 strangers. It’s dark and the only lights shine onto the stage. Front and center stands a microphone, a keyboard and Sean with his brown hair and cute boyish smile. On his side are two guys, Mike on  guitar and Joe on bass.  Beau (French for beautiful) drums in the back. He not only lives up to his name, but makes magic on the drums. Some people are singing, some are dancing, some both, but all are captivated by the music. You turn to your friend and smile, a genuine smile; because you find yourself drowned in a sensational feeling of exhilaration and amazement. You’re singing and dancing and possibly looking like a fool, but you don’t care. Everything seems to pause for one moment and in that moment you are infinite.

This is what it feels like to see Smallpools in concert.

Smallpools is a Los Angeles based indie pop band formed by Sean Scanlon, Mike Kamerman, Joe Intile, and Beau Kuther in 2013. Their first single was “Dreaming” which charted #1 on The Hype Machine and #23 on  Billboard’s Alternative Songs. “Dreaming” was featured on the FIFA 2014 soundtrack as well as The Vampire Diaries season 5 premiere. The band and their song “Over and Over” was also featured in a promotional video for Snapchat Stories in October of last year. Since the release of their EP(July 16, 2013), they have opened for Walk the Moon, Twenty One Pilots, Two Door Cinema Club, and Neon Trees. Aside from touring, they have played at Lollapalooza.

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Recently, they went on their first headlining tour with Magic Man. Magic Man is a sythrock band formed by frontman Alex Caplow and guitar player Sam Vanderhoop Lee. Soon afterward they added Justine Bowe (keyboards), Joey Sulkowski (drums), and Gabe Goodman (bass) and thus became Magic Man. Their dazzling music takes you on a journey from “Paris” to “Texas” with a triumphant energy that is infectious and glimmers into the crowd. Their debut album, “Before the Waves,” was released this summer.

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Two weeks ago I got the chance to see Smallpools and Magic Man, along with opening act Pamena Wedding at the House of Blues in Anaheim. From the moment each band stepped on stage everything seemed to change. Their music radiated into the crowd and the next thing I knew I was dancing around, bumping into people. It was true magic,  and I witnessed it. The concert seemed to last all night even though it ended by 11 pm, and I was poisoned with energy and exhilaration. At one point Smallpools threw three inflatable killer whales to accompany their single “Killer Whale,” which dancers passed  around the floor. Afterward, I took photos with Alex, Sam, Sean, Mike, Beau, and Panema Wedding, and even spoke to some of the members of Panama Wedding, Sean, Beau, and Mike. They were all genuine guys who cherish their fans. If you ever get the chance to seem them concert, I suggest you do; you won’t regret it!

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