Get To Know Son Of The Sun [BUFFALO BAND OF THE WEEK]

After forming in 2007, local rock band Son of the Sun became a band to watch with the release of their first EP in 2008. The group's fan base continued to grow both locally and across the East Coast with the release of their first full-length album, The Happy Loss, in 2010.

Joseph Stocker (guitar, keyboards), Zak Ward (vocals, guitar), Jeremy Franklin (guitar, Steve Matthews (bass) and Brandon Delmont (drums) followed up with another EP, Almost Not There, in 2011 and continue to attract new fans with their distinct style.

I spoke to Ward about Son of the Sun's next album, inspiration and future plans.

What are you guys working on right now?

We are working on a new full-length album, Some People Some Times. We’re still in the recording process right now. We have all our own equipment, and what we want to do is record the album ourselves and then bring it to either a producer or a mixing engineer that can beef it up for us and give it that final polish. That’s what we did for the first album. We’re trying to release it in the fall. If not, hopefully it will be ready to be released in November or December.

What are you doing differently with this album?

First of all, most of the music will be written by the majority of the band. Usually, in the past, one or two of us would come up with an idea, but in this case, from playing, touring around and rehearsing a lot, we've been able to write the songs while we've been rehearsing and fooling around. So it’s more of an organic songwriting experience than it has been in the past.

Where do you have your best shows in Buffalo?

It was very sad to see the Mohawk Place close because that was always one of the best venues in town. For all intents and purposes, I have to say Nietzsche's is my favorite room to place in. We've played in the big rooms and the little rooms, and for the people, the staff, the sound, the location in the city – just everything is great there. Outside of Nietzsche’s, there’s very few places to play. Places that are known for live, original music that have a decent size stage with a decent sound system and a cool staff...it’s kind of unfortunate. I’m hoping more places will open up in the next few years. The music scene is actually thriving in Buffalo right now, so I’m happy about that.

What draws you to making music?

When I was younger, I just did it. It just kind of came out. I would make music whether people were listening or not. Then once people started listening, it started feeding into itself. Then I started trying different things to make music, and after a while, not a lot of people, but some people, wanted to hear more music. So I started off hopefully the way anyone starts, with just pure expression, and then after a few years, it just kind of snowballed. Now I love it. I love learning more about it every day, trying new things, experimenting and all that good stuff.

Oh wait, I’m sorry. Just write down “chicks.”

Besides the new record, what other future plans do you guys have?

The record is enough for us. Everyone is kind of working on their own artistic endeavors. Joey from the band is working with a local artist, and they have a big multimedia project that they’re working on. I’m going to do an EP of Misfits songs. I recorded a few songs, and I’m going to do a couple more and hopefully get some of friends to play on it . It’s going to be a little album of covers of Misfits songs, but done in different ways. One is going to be like a Motown song, one is more like a folk song. So that’s what I've been working on. That music and trying to get an album out. It’s very easy to say, but it takes a lot of work.

Son of the Sun will play at Honey's with Whiskey Reverb on August 31 (6560 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls) and at the Larkin Square with The Tins on September 4 (745 Seneca Street, Buffalo).

For more information, visit Son of the Sun's Facebook and Twitter pages.

Hey, local bands: Want to be featured as our Buffalo Band of the Week? Local music aficionados, got a band you want to nominate? Email angela.stefano@townsquaremedia.com with their name!