As the Flangipanis told us, Sunsets sets are pretty cool…eh? Well we think the Brisbane pop-punk band of the same name are pretty cool too! Sunsets are hitting up Spoonfest on May 21 so we are continuing our Spoonfest interview series with the band and streaming the track, “Slurpees.”
Sunsets are a young band when you compare them to the likes of Face to Face but they’ve put their own spin on the pop-punk genre and are becoming quite active in the Brisbane music scene. It won’t be long before they hit the road on a quest for Australian pop-punk domination. The band have already released an EP, “We’re In This Together,” which you can download for free here. We discussed the bands history, their EP, stage-dives and the best pop-punkers in 2011. Check out the track stream and interview here.
Don’t forget to grab yourself a Spoonfest ticket here. Word!
[Audio: 01.-Slurpees.mp3|titles= Slurpees |artists= Sunsets]
Can you give our readers a bit more background behind your band?
Well I started searching for members in the beginning of 2010, just starting off in Rave magazine and online. I got interest from Callan our guitarist straight away and the stuff he had written was perfect. I had been asking my friend from uni Matt to play guitar in the band but he wanted to join on bass instead which worked out great. After that I found Josh our vocalist through Rave as well, and I had known him from previous bands of ours that had played together. We began jamming as a full band middle/late 2010 and played our first show in November of 2010 and haven’t stopped playing shows since.
How does the song writing process work for you guys?
Well we are still developing our writing style as we go along. We kind of rushed writing on our first CD, but the new stuff that we are writing at the moment is flowing a lot better and I think we are already turning out better songs.
When did you record your first offering, “We’re In This Together?” What did you enjoy most about recording?
We went into the studio in mid December last year with our friend Zak Brown in his home studio on the north side of Brisbane. I think the best thing about recording was that it was just hanging out with friends, we mucked around a lot, and Zak was really fun to work with. It was just a fun experience as a band, being that we had only just played our first show the month before so it really built the dynamic of the band.
How has the reception been to the EP?
It has been great! Everyone loves the tracks and the artwork. Having it up for free download got an awesome response as well. We’ve had over 500 downloads online and have just got our hard copies back from printing.
What is your favourite track off the EP and why?
My favourite track is Slurpees. This is because we were really experimenting with finding out what sound we wanted on this CD, and I think Slurpees is the closest sound to what we would like to achieve. It has the fast and energetic pop-punk sound we like, mixed with catchy sing-alongs and bouncy mosh parts.
If there is anything you could change on it what would that be?
Like I said earlier, we kind of rushed writing on our first CD to get it out to people as soon as we could, I guess that would be the only thing, other than that I love everything about it.
What are you guys currently working on?
At the moment we are working on new songs for recording later in the year, which will either be a split with another band, or as a 2nd EP. As well as that we are recording a cover song in the next few weeks to put up online. We are also working on tour dates for late July so keep posted for those!
As gents with limited time, funds, real lives and jobs, what is the most difficult part of being in a band?
Money is always a big factor, especially when we fund everything off of the money we make from selling merch, so If you like our shirts/CDs come grab some haha. Jobs and uni would be the 2nd thing. The other guys work rotating rosters, and Matt and I are both at uni, so when we get show bookings with less than two weeks notice it’s really hard to organize work and everything around it, although we’ve been really lucky so far and haven’t had that happen yet.
On the flip side, what is the best part about being in Sunsets?
Everything! Hanging out with some of my best friends, playing shows, stage dives, meeting kids who love our stuff, playing and recording fun music, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be doing!
What are your favourite pop-punk bands in 2011?
Skyway, Milestones, Apart From This, Perfect fit, Headaches, I Am Villain, Traditions, Strickland, First Base, Wake The Giants, Heroes For Hire, Tonight Alive, Call The Shots, Worthwhile, Reset Life, Malibu Stacy. And the obvious overseas guys: The Wonder Years, With The Punches, Title Fight, I Call Fives, Veara, Such Gold, Man Overboard, The Story So Far, Transit…and so many more, it would be impossible to name them all.
If Sunsets could tour to any place in the world, where would that be? Why?
We would love to tour anywhere in general! If we had to pick any place anywhere I guess either Japan or America, both amazing places to tour and both places we would love to travel to someday.
What are three things the world should know about Sunsets?
a. We hope to be touring soon
b. We’ve just released a CD and have big plans for the rest of the year so keep checking back
c. We’re just dudes who like to have fun and play pop-punk, hopefully you dig it!
Who are you most looking forward to watching at Spoonfest…and why?
Both Headaches & Ringpull, they are both amazing bands and sick dudes, have played shows with both bands before and look forward to playing with them again!
Any final words to the readers of Dying Scene?
Thanks for taking the time to read this; our CD is available for free download [here] so check us out and like what you hear! Cheers!
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