Spruce Pine

About Spruce Pine

Spruce Pine is an indie rock band based in Austin, TX influenced by surf, shoegaze, glitch, and post punk. Rex originally heard the expression Spruce Pine when his best friend’s parents announced they were moving to Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The original Spruce Pine concept was to make electronic music composed of acoustic and wood-derived samples. That interest never really panned out but his next obsession proved more artistically fruitful: the quest for authentic “Drip,” that 60’s style of spring reverb heard on old surf and spaghetti western records that can make a guitar sound a bit like a leaky faucet. The songwriting that came from that side-quest was familiar yet fresh. When a serendipitous work opportunity aligned with his musical ambitions, he relocated from his hometown in coastal Virginia to Austin, TX where the 5 piece band formed.

Drummer Sean Haezebrouck is a Michigander with punk and industrial roots. Travis Rathburn from San Antonio is a production school graduate who played punk and spaghetti western. He now plays guitar and sings harmonies. Clayton Frazier, also a Texan, plays bass and used to play in a goth metal band. Alexander Edwards plays guitar and has a background in prog rock and emo.

Rex’s influences include the Ventures, Jimi Hendrix, Ennio Morricone, The Strokes, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Enon, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Animal Collective, Deerhoof, Eno, Outkast, WuTang, Nirvana, the Carpenters, Aphex Twin, Tricky, Sigur Ros, Deftones, the Dirty Projectors, Bjork, the Cure, Joy Division/New Order, Frank Zappa/Capt Beefheart, MBV, DKs, QOTSA, YYYs and Interpol as well as Jodorowski and Lynch. The other band members like a bunch of bands too, but Rex has specifically asked to remain unaware of that.