It's a Sunny Day in February 2014. 22-year-old Ford Archbold is laying in a park in San Francisco with his good friend Al Knost and there's not a cloud in the sky. The two have been on the road with their band Tomorrow's Tulips playing gigs on the West Coast and having as much fun as humanly possible. No day job to return to, no wife and kids calling wondering when they will be home. They are truly living the life, and Ford is in the thick of it. A nice kid with a good heart, Ford just wants to have fun.
Interviewed by Skip Snead on February 1, 2014
Ghetto Juice: So what's up? What are you doing right now?
Ford Archbold: (Laughs) Laying on the grass in Dolores Park in San Francisco.
GJ: How's your trip going so far?
FA: Yeah it's super cool.
GJ: How long you been on the road?
FA: About seven days, and we have seven more days.
GJ: So a two week tour, rad! What do you prefer more; the two week surf trip or a two week road trip with the band?
FA: Uhm, they're both cool. They both have their ups and their downs.
GJ: Do you usually travel with your boards? Did you on this trip?
FA: Yeah we brought surfboards this trip.
GJ: That's gotta be a good time. You get to cruise around, play music and go surfing with Al Knost… Does everyone in the band surf?
FA: Just me and Alex. Yeah it's a nice west coast tour cause you can surf on the coast!
GJ: How did the band thing start for you?
FA: Alex asked me to play in his band. He didn't have a bass, so I grabbed a bass and started playing. And then Alex kicked me out of the band because he thought I wasn't good enough, then he came crawling back to me. (laughs)
GJ: After he kicked you out, did you have to step it up?
FA: Uh, no. It was only like for two days. He tried a few other guys and then realized that I was shredding too hard (laughs).
GJ: Maybe he wanted someone in the band to go surfing with….
FA: Yeah, and he knew I was the best looking dude around, too. (laughs)
GJ: What have the shows been like? Are you playing to a surfer crowd?
FA: It's actually been going really well. People have been enjoying it …. it's not a surfer crowd at all. We try to keep the music thing separate than the surfing thing.
GJ: So you're not on tour for a sponsor or anything?
FA: No. The surfing thing is too commercial.
GJ: So before you ever picked up a bass, where were you at with your surfing? I remember you were doing some contests, and then sort of stopped doing them and just did the free surfing thing….
FA: With my surfing? Well, I kinda got over surfing, the whole commercialism. Just a bunch of self-promoting guys trying to make money. I didn't really like that part of it. Got me kind of bummed out a little bit but now I'm back into it in my own way. Not rushing anything right now.
GJ: Well it's gotta be a good feeling not having to chase the WQS or trying to be "that guy" chasing the tour …
FA: Yeah. Oh yeah, I never wanted to be that guy. I think I realized that's not how life should be.
GJ: So all the years before that, when you were a grom, did you think that was what your life was going to be like? Chasing the tour?
FA: Yeah, for like six months (laughs). Then I saw the light.
GJ: It's pretty classic. I remember photos of you in the mags when you were a baby. You've really been a part of the scene your entire life….
FA: Yeah, that's probably why I'm kind of sick of it. (laughs). I love it still though. I love the act of surfing. Well, I don't love the act of surfing. I like the action of surfing.
GJ: Yeah, well there's nothing like going fast in surfing. Speaking of fast, if your dad was a car, he'd be a racecar, or back in the day he woulda been. But you, if you were a car, you'd be a van, just cruising. You have a real cruisy nature. Where do you think you got that trait of being kinda cruisy? Did you get that from your mom's side?
FA: Um, I don't know … I think it's just how I was created.
GJ: Well, you seem a lot more mellow and laid back than your dad back in the day….
FA: My dad is actually pretty laid back. People think he's like not, but he really is.
GJ: Now days he is I'm sure.
FA: Well, I grew up and he didn't put a lot of restrictions on my life so I think that made me come out a better person, I think.
GJ: Absolutely. What are some of your earliest memories just being at the beach with your dad?
FA: Just like watching him surf on the beach when it was too big for me.
GJ: Did you ever get yourself into trouble surfing when you were a grom? Maybe going out in surf that was too big or something?
FA: I didn't start surfing until I was like 11.
GJ: That's cool. Your pops wasn't like one of those pee wee football coaches.
FA: Yeah, he never pushed me to surf at all.
GJ: Did you spend a lot of time in Hawaii when you were a kid?
FA: I did a little bit, I lived there from the time I was 3 to about six, then I moved back to California.
GJ: How did you hook up with Andrew Doheny when you were a grom?
FA: Actually, Mike Doheny invited me over to eat dinner at their old house at 48th street after an NSSA contest.
GJ: And you ended up living with them for a while as well. Sort of like your second family, right?
FA: Oh yeah. They helped me out so much in my life. They're incredible.
GJ: Was there ever a time when you started getting good and you hooked up with your dad for a surf and he finally saw how good of a surfer you were?
FA: Oh yeah, dude. My dad knows I shred harder than him now. (laughs). Just kidding.
GJ: Do you think you surf better than your dad?
FA: No. I definitely don't surf better than my dad. (laughs)
GJ: Really! That just shows you how hard your dad rips!
FA: Oh yeah, he shows me up, yeah. But he gets jealous when I show him up, I can tell.
GJ: Well you might be able to do bigger airs than Arch now, though, right?
FA: Yeah, I can do bigger airs than him now for sure.
GJ: I remember when your dad broke his leg doing a straight air in Brazil fifteen years ago. You've had a couple injuries as well.
FA: Yeah. I've broken my ankles a few times. Once two years ago, then last year too.
GJ: Do you think that helped you get into more of a music mindset, being sidelined with an injury?
FA: Yeah, we'd just guzzle beer and play music…
GJ: You don't mind a beer now and again right?
FA: I definitely don't mind.
GJ: What kind of beer are you into these days? Pacifico?
FA: I'm drinking House Beer right now.
GJ: You mean, whatever's on tap?
FA: No, House Beer … it's my friends company they just started in Santa Barbara. I'm promoting them right now. Shamelessly.
GJ: Well it should be shameless. Mark Foo had Michelob logos all over his surfboards back in the day.
FA: Yeah, that's cool. Next thing I need is a cigarette sponsor (laughs).
GJ: So what's the last surf trip you went on?
FA: We went to Panama. I was with Andrew and Alex and Matt Tromberg and Tom Carey.
GJ: Is there anything better than traveling with your friends?
FA: No, it makes such a big difference. It's awesome.
GJ: When you grow old one day, you'll be thinking back to these days as truly being the good old days.
FA: Yeah, I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
GJ: You're 22 now, right?
FA: Yeah, I'll be 23 on April 3. Getting old.
GJ: Not even. You just probably feel older because you've done so much in your life for so long. Most people don't even get started traveling until they're your age now….
FA: Yeah it's pretty crazy.
GJ: So you just gotta work on not ever getting sick of it.
FA: No, I'm not getting sick of it. I love it.
GJ: You're in the position of being a pro surfer who gets to pick and choose your trips…. Where do you want to go to next?
FA: Next? I don't know. I think we're pretty busy with the music thing for the next couple months….
GJ: So as far as music goes, maybe you'll win a Grammy or something one day….
FA: I don't think that's happening (laughs).
GJ: But you never know!
FA: Yeah, I guess so. But I don't think it works like that anymore, you know?
GJ: You just never know, Ford. You never know.
FA: (laughs). Yeah, I guess.
GJ: So what have you learned about Al Knost traveling around with him so much lately?
FA: Al is a maniac. He's a party animal. He just rages. (laughs).
GJ: You guys been getting weird on the road? Do you guys do some weird shopping? What do you guys do on the road between gigs?
FA: Right now we're laying in the park … eating avocados.
GJ: How's the weather up there today?
FA: Not a cloud in the sky.
GJ: So you got a gig tonight?
FA: No not tonight. We're mixing a record at a friend's house. In house mixing and recording. The new breed. (laughs)
GJ: What plans do you have for the new record?
FA: We don't really know yet for this one. Our last one was through Burger records. But you know, Itunes and all that, and it's on BurgerRecords.com … you can order cassettes and vinyls and all that shit. Or digital.
GJ: What do you prefer?
FA: I prefer vinyl and cassettes. It sounds better. Alex prefers cassettes. Cassettes are cool because they're dirt cheap. Every kid can afford five bucks (laughs).
GJ: You guys selling some merch too at the shows? A little merch booth?
FA: Yeah, we have all that. We're pretty professional.
GJ: Well you've got to be these days, right?
FA: I'm just kidding. (laughs). We're not professional at all (more laughs).
GJ: You're living your own dream right now!
FA: Oh yeah, love it!
GJ: So do you like living in Newport?
FA: Uhm yeah, I love Newport. I'm getting kind of sick of Orange County though … I might have to grow the beard out and move up to San Francisco.
GJ: Is that where you'd like to see yourself living?
FA: I like Santa Cruz a lot. That's a place I could see myself living.
GJ: I could see you living there for sure.
FA: Everyone's really really giving and caring and special. I love it.
GJ: Yeah, well, it's a little fake in Orange County ….
FA: Yeah, it's pretty fake. Just a bunch of spoiled rich people.
GJ: If you could go back in time, what era do you wish you could've grown up in? The 60s, 70s …?
FA: I wish I lived in the 80s. I should've been born in the 80s. Or I wish I was born in the 70s so I could've been a teenager partying in the 80s, then I could've been a grunge guy in the 90s and I could've been New Wave in 2000 (laughs)…. Maybe I'll start DJ'ing soon (laughs).
GJ: So what's the next trend in surfing?
FA: Whatever Al Knost does.
GJ: Are you guys aware that you and your crew are the ones creating the trends?
FA: I don't know ….
GJ: Well it's better to be a trend setter than a trend follower, right?
FA: Yeah. Totally.
GJ: So who's surfing do you like watching these days?
FA: Ozzie Wright's my favorite surfer. And Alex just told me Russ Short. He's like Japaneze Bonzer weird. Like 70s weird. Sporadic. One of the coolest things I've ever seen.
GJ: So you're laying in Dolores Park right now … what's next for today?
FA: We're gonna go finish some music stuff. We've gotta work. We're working.
Ford photo by Tom Hawkins / @tbhphoto
Posted by: Ghetto Juice at: 26 Feb 2014 16:49
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