Sun King WarriorsWe See Through ItJPG: The new album is surprisingly loud and aggressive and not as laidback Americana sounding as the Sun King Warriors debut. I’m thinking of songs such as “The Last Dance” and “You Are My Everything.” It’s a big loud record, and I don’t mean that in a bad way.JPG: Were you a bit surprised how it ended up during the final mix?neverJPG: And you played all of the songs live before you recorded them?JPG: I imagine you had that momentum and live feeling going into the studio.
JPG: Since approximately six months into promoting the Sun King Warriors debut you were thinking about the next album, did it become something more than getting something out your system to recognizing that this is a band, this is something serious?IreallyJPG: Because the musicians in Sun King Warriors have other jobs, are adults with a maturity level that should be higher than it would as a 22 year-old, there isn’t the pressure of making music then promoting and selling it as the only thing in your lives.hasJPG: That brings me to the idea that the first album was for you while this album is for others? It’s message music but not hitting you over the head with it.JPG: What did you learn about the process from the last album to this one, even though you’ve been a musician for decades?JPG: Could you elaborate on this quote, “For me, it didn't make a lot of sense to make something that didn't make you feel.”
JPG: As far as songs that have echoes of Rusted Root, there are “You in My Arms” “We Have Arrived” “Love Is Right.”JPG: Obviously, Rusted Root is in your musical DNA, but the press release for the new album mentions Led Zeppelin and the Black Keys. Are you listening to things that now seep into what Sun King Warriors create?lovedJPG: You got your wish now. On the last album the guitar and voice were mixed a little higher. Now, I think the drums just about are equal to the voice…JPG: The album announces itself with big sounding drums on the opening number, “The Last Dance.” It’s a fun and funny song because if you’re in a bad mood and you hear the line, “This is the last dance before the end of the world” you can see it as fatalistic – “Oh well, let’s dance as the world’s about to end” – (JD laughs) but it does have a positive twist with a line later in the song “Every end begins a new time.”JPG: It corresponds with what you talk about in the album’s press release about finding things in common during these divisive times. Now, the album was recorded in 2017 so I’m thinking, as far as a timeline, it was written in 2016 .JPG: What I’m getting at, was the effect of culture and politics on the album’s themes and outlook consciously seeping in?
JPG: It reminds me of how Michael Franti uses music to spread positivity.JPG: That reminds me of the Mission Statement of the Sun King Warriors that’s on the band’s website.JPG: You normally direct two retreats each year -- the Great Rhythm Revival and the Summer Rhythm Renewal – but you will only have the Revival starting next year. Is it a matter that the band is growing and needs more of your attention?JPG: Tell me a little more about the Premium Song Experience.JPG: Doing that is a comment on the current music industry as well as how the band members have other careers so it’s able to provide an experience to fans for free.reallygo to our website
