Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask

Sea Lions formed in 2007 with just Adrian Pillado singing and playing guitar backed by his best friend on drums. Something new was starting to happen in Oxnard's DIY punk scene: a group of young kids had been listening to a lot of K, Postcard, Sarah, Creation and (naturally) Slumberland records. The early days of Sea Lions were a learning curve, the duo crashing and bashing their way through songs, often stumbling upon beauty in the process. Still, something was missing. They were always just teetering on the edge of something great, but then came that greatness came one night at cooler-than-cool LA indie club Part Time Punks. They had recently added a second guitarist and a bass player... and they killed. Pillado had really grown as a songwriter; the songs were still shambolic, but they were also assertive and direct. They thrilled the full-time punks in the crowd with a cover of Black Flag's “Nervous Breakdown,” and wowed the Northern Soul junkies with a downright saucy take on the Freda Payne classic “Band of Gold.” It was the exact point at which one could say, “Ladies and gentlemen, Sea Lions!”