Welcome to the Weirdness!
I heard Sunflower Dead’s song “Dance with Death” for the first time a few weeks before their 2nd album “It’s Time to get Weird” was due to be released. I played the song three times in a row that first day and the next day I woke up with the tune running through my head. So I listened again and then I wanted more but it would be weeks before the CD would be available so I went on a you tube hunt.
I found some songs from their debut album entitled Sunflower Dead from 2012. These songs would have to hold me over until I could get the new stuff. Luckily, the material off the first recording is very good.
I realized that I had heard their version of the Police song “Every Breath You Take” a while back when I was shopping with my daughter in the store Hot Topic but never knew who it was, mystery finally solved. The SFD version of EBYT is very intense and probably the best remake I’ve ever heard. They mastered it truly making it their own and into a version that I prefer over the original. Check it out! https://youtu.be/v8Hq7S1klTk
A few weeks later, I saw them live at their CD release party and then again at The Duke Collins Memorial Benefit Concert for Bridging the Gap and that’s when I became fully hooked.
They just finished a series of shows with Avatar and now are on The Hellpop tour with Hell Yeah, In this Moment and Shaman’s Harvest. See tour dates at www.sunflowerdead.com
I caught up with them in between these two tours, while they were back home for 10 days. During this time they had two shows, June 3rd and 4th. The shows were at House of Blues in San Diego show and Riverside Auditorum. Both shows were full houses and fully entertaining. Some of the band’s followers have nick named themselves Evil Seeds and new seeds are being sowed with every show. There is even a song dedicated to them called “Anthem of the Seeds”. Seems I’m not the only one Infected with the SFD Virus. This is a growing movement, a spreading disease! This band can appeal to all ages and all styles of rock nobody is immune expect maybe some extremely normal people. I took my teenage daughter to the all age show in Riverside and she dug it.
Their music is catchy and polished rock but has an edge. It’s smooth but rad at the same time. It is an original concept that draws from a lot of different influences. It’s one big contradiction, serious fun that makes light of the heavy. Welcome to the Weirdness!
The show started with Michael playing the first track off the album which is a minute long instrumental called “Inhuman Lung”. Inhuman lung is what Mike calls his accordion. He wears it upon his chest and brings his instrument to life by squeezing air in and out of it. The accordion with its eerie funeral organ sound turns out to be the perfect instrument for this death obsessed piano player. Additional song titles include the title track “Time to Get Weird ”, “You’re Dead to Me”, Mother Mortis, Just a Kiss and Wasted.
The vocals are loud and clear with tons of intense emotion and emphasis on expression. Any unit is only as strong as its weakest link and SFD’s answer to that was to form a band with 5 powerful members. Every member of this rock group brings their all and they are excellent musicians. Members are Leighton “Lats’ Kearns (bass), Jimmy Schultz (drums), Michael Del Pizzo, (vocals, accordion) Jamie Teissere (guitars) and Jaboo (guitars). These guys put on an incredible superstar performance and transform themselves into characters inspired by a short story written by their vocalist Michael. A story made up about 5 boys who were killed and left for dead in a field with their eyes cut out and sunflowers placed over their eyes. These boys rose from the dead and are now undead with a mission to fight evil with evil. To read more about the story go to www.sunflowerdead.com
Creepy fun awaits you at a Sunflower Dead show. They will capture your full attention and take you on a journey to into their bizzare world of painted faces, blackened eyes and great interaction with the audience. Don’t be surprised if you find a band member instrument and all next to you in the audience in the middle of the song looking you right in the eyes as they perform in the pit. Yep, they go all out and that includes into the audience. SFD has a dark, but fun sense of humor that makes one wonder if one or more of them might be the illegitimate sons of the Joker from Batman.
It’s clear that they’ve put a lot of thought into what they are doing and are out to show you a good time combining the worlds of comedy, horror, rock music, art and acting. This is a band that doesn’t do things half way. I give them my highest recommendation and urge you to check them out. I’m pretty sure you couldn’t possibly be bored at their show and you too just might catch the SFD Fever.
Brenda Starr / BackStage360
Images: Brian Tierney / BackStage360
