Sun K Official is a band to be reckoned with. At once rock with alt country tendencies they defy what it means to be a typical Canadian rock band - because they are anything but typical onstage and off. I sit down with Scott Tiller and Stuart Retallack of Sun K for stories on boots lost and found, confessions of a candy-aholic and basically everything in between.
Describing their sound is easy - its damned good. Explaining why is harder. They are tight performers but come off as breezy in person; they are talented on next-level scales but each time I see them they speak to the audience like its their first humble show (its incredibly endearing and disarming in a way that almost shocks the audience when they have their sh*t together so well on stage). Sitting down with them for the first time they are polite, too polite to take a beer (thanks again Elora Brewing Company!) but manage to grab one a few jokes in. They settle into the interview and quickly begin to show their humour, friendship and honestly - who they really are. They are in it for the long haul and they intend to have a good time along the way. They take their music very seriously and so they should - they are sitting on a goldmine as evidenced by there, at the time of writing this, 107% overage of the PledgeMusic campaign they embarked on this year. People know this band is going places and want to be able to say to their music loving friends they helped get them there.
They are travelling across Canada right now, sleeping in a van, eating from gas stations, writing as they go. It sounds a hard road to travel but that's what it is to be an Indie band in Canada right now - only with the addition of PledgeMusic and the ability for bands with real personality and creativity to FUND themselves into their dream jobs - we ebb ever closer to a day where every small town can host shows with bands as good as this, with sets this tights, with kids this talented. They are almost always from small towns themselves and getting to make money in this career, in this country used to be out of reach save a few major bands but its coming closer now. We are getting much closer now to something we can be proud of in a country with the least arts funding on the planet. In bands like Sun K I see a promise of this.
In the meantime I'll be dancing my ever loving ass off at their shows big and small, knowing in some small way my being there is getting them closer to that goal, that world, that place where talent can be showcased without having to go stateside, where kids from small towns who sleep with their guitars under their beds can make a life of it - where we are all better off for getting to hear it.
Thank you Sun K for a wonderful interview, for settling in and letting your hair down without taking your hats off. You guys were dolls.
Sun K can be found at www.sunkofficial.com and you can download their album direct or find them on BandCamp, SoundCloud, ITunes and now on my show over at CFRU 93.3 FM because I can!
Sun K: Kristian Montano, Stuart Retallack, Kevin Micheal Butler, Scott Tiller and Gil Paul
:)
