Sean and Chad Bierman are on their way to the big stages of the music world — and they are just 15 years old! The local musicians, who are twin brothers, perform under the band name “Spitting Image.” They will be sophomores next year at Huntington Beach High School and have already rocked out to, and have entertained at, countless venues across the California coast. In addition, Sean and Chad are apart of two other bands — The Flannels, with their friend Bryce, and Kor 4 with their friends Mark and Chris.
908 Magazine had the privilege of sitting down with the talented Bierman twins at On Stage Music Academy, where they regularly practice and rehearse, to talk about how they got their start in music, some of their favorite performances, their dreams and pursuits, and what’s coming up for them next.
JM: When did you start getting into music?
Chad: We’ve been into music since we were eight. Our older brother was playing guitar when he was in eighth grade; we were in third grade at the time, we just wanted to play guitar too.
Sean: And we started to really get into music in sixth grade. Our first performance was at St. Hedwig [Catholic School] in the talent show where we played Stairway to Heaven. We now play lots of Led Zeppelin songs!
JM: Nice! Who are some of your other favorite artists and inspirations?
S: I’m a big fan of Wes Montgomery, he’s a jazz guitarist. Of course, Led Zeppelin is another huge inspiration of ours.
C: Yes, and one of my favorite artists is James Clay Garrison, he has taught us at On Stage Music Academy and I just really like his style.
JM: Speaking of On Stage, you practice and rehearse here, how important has this place been in the development of your career?
C: We joined On Stage Music Academy in 7th grade where we created our first band, The Corgi’s, with our friends Dean and Alex. We were together for two years. We take lessons here once a week where we learn a variety of things — guitar, jazz theory, and currently we’re learning copyright and recording. We also take vocal lessons here. The owner, Bill McCrae, and his staff and teachers are incredible!
JM: You guys sing together in a lot in harmony, what is your vocal range?
S: Our voices are in that high baritone range. We also write songs too. We are really going deeper into music theory and use this to write originals and even teach. We use our music for the betterment of others and the world, for the glory of God and His will — like Bono and U2!
C: Amen! I’ll also add that we love all music, including gospel and orchestral music. We draw our inspiration from many music genres. We have an original music video of a song Sean wrote called “Can You Feel It” and currently we’re in the process of writing a couple of additional songs. That’s why we’re learning recording and copywriting at On Stage.
JM: You’ve performed at a lot of venues, including at your school, Huntington Beach High School. What have been some of your favorite gigs thus far?
C: We auditioned and were accepted into the APA MMET Program at Huntington Beach High School. This is an unbelievably talented group of high school musicians and we all perform incredible shows. They have such a great stage at Huntington Beach High, with professional lighting and everything! In this program, we met great friends and formed two new bands, Kor 4 and The Flannels. I think my favorite gig to date was Totally Radtrofest with MMET where I performed ‘Jessie’s Girl.’ I enjoyed the whole production!
S: One of my favorite gigs to date was playing a couple of songs at ‘The Cliff’ in Laguna Beach with James Clay Garrison and a musician named Matt Roede and their band. It was epic! We love performing with other musicians, or as our own personal band, ‘Spitting Image,’ as an acoustic set for private parties and events, big or small. We are performing for many non-profit organizations like Miraculous Love Kids, Las Damas, Precious Life, Nancy Yeary Cancer Foundation, and Heartful Hands.
C: We also attend and perform at the 9 a.m. mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church pretty much every Sunday under the direction of Vivian Doughty. This is one of our most special places to perform and be. We also love Long Beach and enjoy going around town at open mic nights like at Bogart’s and Malainey’s.
JM: What are some of your dream performance venues/stages?
C: We definitely would like to perform even more in Long Beach and at the Long Beach Grand Prix. We would love to open up for a big band there! I would also like to play at Madison Square Garden — it’s just a really cool place, a lot of really cool bands have performed there. What about you, Sean?
S: I would also like to play at The Cave in Big Bear — a bunch of huge bands play there also.
JM: You are sure on your way to those venues! Clearly, you’ve performed all over, but you also acted in a film recently I hear?
S: Yes! We were part of a concept video for a new independent film called Ghosts of Anbar about children in crisis in the Middle East. It’s a really profound piece and we had the privilege of being in pretty much every scene. People should go and watch it!
JM: What do you like to do for fun outside of music?
C: We enjoy dirt bike riding, wakeboarding, snow skiing and going on vacation with our family!
JM: Finally, what are some of your future goals and hopes for the future?
C: We have a website currently in progress for Spitting Image where we hope to put all our music on; we just want to continue writing great songs, producing awesome music videos and doing our best to glorify God.
S: Yes! We just want to release and record many legendary originals and perform unforgettable gigs!
Here are some of the key upcoming opportunities where you can watch the Bierman twins perform this summer:
A Taste of Precious Life at Precious Life Shelter on June 3
Le Musique Festival on June 16 in Laguna Beach
Huntington Beach Pier on July 3
Follow the Bierman twins on Instagram: @sean_bierman & @chadbierman or visit their YouTube page to watch and listen to their music.
