photo by Dustin Milner

Members of the band Surfer Blood all grew up and went to high school in the South Florida area near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a gunman opened fire on February 14, 2018, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. Frontman John Paul Pitts had just moved back home to the area shortly before the event happened. Today, they share the single “Parkland (Into The Silence)”, a tribute to the survivors of the Parkland tragedy. Pitts explains what inspired him to write the song in a press release:

On February 14, 2018 I was running on the treadmill at the gym with cable news running in the background. I had just moved back to Florida and was desperately looking for a reason to feel good about it.

That was when I saw the news. There had been a shooting at a high school forty minutes south of my hometown. My heart ached for the victims and their families, but like so many Americans, I've become resigned to this particular kind of tragedy. I'm not proud of my cynicism, but it’s a callousness you develop when you live in a country where this is a weekly event.

In the days and weeks that followed, I watched the events closely. These high school kids were tearing up routine talking points we've heard a thousand times, refusing to be helpless, refusing to succumb to despair. In those moments I was so proud to be from this place. Even though we haven't seen any meaningful legislation, these students were able to move the conversation into new territory. I never thought I'd see people wake up to the epidemic of gun violence in the US, but it feels like its on the tip of everyone's tongue, and so much of that awareness is due to the resilience and optimism of these young Floridians.

This song is a testament to their courage. They are truly inspiring and living proof that anything can be overcome.

“Parkland (Into The Silence)” will appear on the band's fifth full-length Carefree Theatre, out May 1st via Kanine Records. Check out the track via a lyric video below. The band will perform at the Fisherman's Village Music Festival in Everett, WA on May 15th, as well as a May 14th show at Alma Mater in Tacoma, WA.