Songs About the Ocean by The High Water Marks is built on a love story that feels almost too cinematic to be real. Per Ole Bratset and Hilarie Bratset met at a music festival in Norway and sparked an instant friendship that felt like it had already had years under its belt.
When they decided to collaborate, distance was the only thing that stood in the way, oceans of distance.. so they mailed four-track cassette tapes across the ocean to each other. Sometimes it took over a month, no return address on the envelope, the post office going full detective mode to find its new home… a musical miracle.
Out of that long-distance magic came not just a band, but a lifelong partnership between Per Ole Bratset & Hilarie Bratset. They’re still together today. Parents. Grandparents. Bandmates still making music.
When this record came out I was in a strange head space. A wandering soul in every sense. Just having moved to Indianapolis, I had to deal with geography between myself and my band back home in Iowa. Depressed, Dyed jet black hair, sleeping odd hours, living in a mouse infested shit hole.. I did everything in my power to make a lot of fuzzy indie rock at the time influenced by records like this. For the first time in my life, I was living in a huge city where bands I actually loved came through on tour. So when The High Water Marks were playing a small club called The Patio, Of Course I was there..
The show was incredible, yet not well attended. Even in a big city, Indie rock has it rough. I remember wanting to ask them so many questions about Songs About the Ocean, but the venue was so loud and Per Ole Bratset accent and Hilarie Bratset soft voice made every attempt at conversation dissolve into white washed noise.
For some reason what I remember most about that night, was after I left the show.. In a huge parking lot across the street there was some big commotion. Holy Shit! It's LL COOL J tour bus!! He had just played a show at the Vogue Theatre nearby. He was standing on the steps of his bus with his crew holding court with a huge crowd gathered around him, waving, arm swinging, larger than life. Momma Said Knock Me Out!
It might have been the beers, but it felt super surreal. Dreamlike. Two completely different musical worlds colliding on the same block on the same night.. This was a big city.
I'm so glad Rudy Fischmann, Mathew Bell , and I finally got to ask all those questions about this record and it's sequel More Songs About The Ocean on this episode of Don’t Bother Wearing Seatbelts
One of the most amazing stories Hilarie Bratset shared on the podcast actually brought me to a teary eyed state.. her story about when Per Ole Bratset went into cardiac arrest in a hotel room on the way to a festival. No warning. Just cardiac collapse. Hilarie performed CPR for over ten minutes until the ambulance arrived... SHE SAVED HIS LIFE. The paramedics told her how great she had done with the CPR, breaking so many of his ribs!
If you’re ever going to go into cardiac arrest, be near a drummer. Someone who knows how to keep the beat when everything else stops.
In its own way, Songs About the Ocean feels pretty life saving too. You can hear the love forming inside it. You can hear the distance closing. Two people mailing their hearts across the world and finishing them for each other.
Love and music can travel any distance. The ocean wasn’t separating them. It was carrying them to each other.