Sunny Side up and what appears to be an extra random dude?
Sunny Side Up are fucking delightful. I woke up to their new album Paradise in the sky woke over coffee this morning, along with pleasant conversation with Garland, their bassist. The album has left a permanent smile plastered on my face with their ferocious horns, twinkly guitar riffs and upbeat ska sound that is way reminiscent of my early youth, when I listened to lots of Less Than Jake, Voodoo glow skulls, and Ska hooplah I haven't thought about in years. (Not to mention their Orange amp. I was sold at Orange amp!) Songs like Hollywood Horror and Corporate control have me wiggling at my desk. You can catch these guys at Bad Granny's and pick up a copy of Paradise in the sky, or The Conservatory quite often, two awesome local gems I also adore.
You can also check out their latest album here, but It'd be more awesome if you bought it. Here's what Garland and I chattered about not long ago:
J: So, let's start by telling me a little more about your band. Who are you guys as individuals? What makes you tick?
G: We've got six band members who come from very different backgrounds. Individually we all have a common love for ska music but having six very different types of people and musicians makes things interesting. We've got a classically trained guitarist, theater actor front man, chiptune writing bassist, and of course, radical horn players.
J: Awesome. How'd you get your band name, and how long have you guys been together? Any previous projects?
G: The story behind our band name is kind of lame. Way back in 2010 we were at an ihop trying to come up with a name to replace our original band name, The Skalocaust. Lance thought it was weird that I was the only one in the band who preferred my eggs cooked sunny side up. I proposed the name and it was kept sort of as a placeholder. We never came up with anything better.
J: What's been your most personal project so far?
G: Definitely this most recent album, Paradise in the Sky. It was 3 years in the making and really shows off the best of our early music. It has a little bit of everything. You've got your awesome party ska music but also influences from indie, 80s rock, operatic ballads, and more. In addition to the music, the album art is all tailor made to the music on the album. Each copy of the CD comes with an 8 page comic book about the band and the universe we try to paint in listeners minds.
J: Who's helped you the most on your musical adventures, support wise?
G: That's a great question. Honestly, we have been fortunate to have a ton of awesome people help us out. Names that stand out though are Eric from The Spy FM. He's always been there for us and we appreciate every show and radio play he has given us. Also Mrs. Harris from Bad Granny's Bazaar lets us put on shows that are way too big for her back room venue. The fact she lets us still do it is very awesome.
J: Ska is a huge part of my youth, How'd you get involved in the type of music you play/sing now? What bands were your biggest influence? I'm guessing something along the lines of Mad Caddies, Voodoo Glow Skulls and some of the more old school stuff, no?
G: Absolutely all of those bands. Ska was a huge part of my life in high school, and I know the rest of the band went through a similar music phase of it around then. I'm gonna be honest with you, I was kind of a loser in high school. I used to sit around alone listening to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Aquabats, Reel Big Fish, Ore Ska Band, and such all the time dreaming of being in a band like that. A few years later, and its a reality. Still, the way the band feels about ska is that its evolution has basically been halted due to bands conforming to cliches and rules. We're doing our best to flesh out our brand of ska with different influences.
J: What do you feel distinguishes an artist from a musician?
Personally I guess I'd say a musician is anyone who plays music, but an artist is someone who creates it.
J: What are you listening to currently?
I know the guys in the band are digging the new Daft Punk album. We did a cover of Get Lucky at our album release show that seemed to go over well. Tanner, Austin and I are all listening to the new Anamanaguchi album too.
J: If you were a sweater, what kind would you be?
The Sweater Song by Weezer
J: Your release party went over pretty rad, from my understanding. Again, I'm sorry for missing it. What can someone expect when seeing you guys live?
We're trying to change up the formula of our live shows now that we have a full album out. We're now aiming for less of a traditional ska-punk experience and more of a show. We've got lazer lights, balloon drops, all kinds of fun visual effects to keep people interested. Our goal with that is from the moment our set starts until it ends we want to keep them entertained and into it. We want to let them leave their normal lives for a half hour or so and just be happy among a crowd of friends.
J: Anything in particular you're super stoked for now that your new album is up for grabs? Where can we tell our readers to pick this up at?
We're super stoked to have a distribution and PR company working with it. There's going to be a few cable ads over the next couple months promoting the new album. Also from what I'm aware you'll be able to pick it up soon at places like FYE, Hastings, Best Buy, ect.
Right now though in OKC you can get it at Guestroom Records and Bad Granny's Bazaar. Or of course, our shows.
J: As artists, we're all pretty familiar with the term "starving artist" How do you cope with your major obstacles?
Our major obstacles, in the local scene at least, is being written off quickly because we identify with ska music. The best way we handle that is a kill em' with kindness type technique. We ask bands from radically different genres to play shows with us, we play at unconventional venues. Basically, we show the people who may be hesitant about us that we're all about having a good time.
J: If you had an opportunity to change something about the music industry, what would it be?
I'd really like big time promoters to realize the potential of local artists and what they can do. Last summer after we learned of Sublime With Rome's show at the Zoo Amphitheater we ran a facebook campaign to show the promotion company that people would come see us at a huge arena type venue. Just 48 hours into the campaign we already had over 1,500 people pledge support. In the end, we did get that opening spot and I think that shows proof of what a local scene can do. I wish promoters would take advantage of this.
J: Do you have any stalker-esque fans? If so, how did this impact you?
We've had a few. Last fall we met this girl at an anime convention who really needed to chill out. She came to one of our shows in bridal wear looking to marry a member of the band. Spooky stuff. Also she ate dog biscuits.
J: What would you consider your largest fan base, and why?
Obviously the bulk of our fans are here in Oklahoma City, but also I hear about people from all over who like SSU music. We recently collaborated with Jun Senoue, guitarist of Crush 40. They're a band out of Tokyo, so I'd love to get a Japanese fan base.
**Special thanks to Garland for being so awesome, and Steven Pamplin.
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