If you were to describe Goodnight Sunrise is a word, in all likelihood that word would be “fun.”
While the pop punk genre as a whole is clearly not as strong as it was in it’s early 2000s heyday, this four-piece from Helena, Montana are doing their darnedest to make everyone who sees them forget that. Unlike so many of their current crop of peers, which mostly range from the downright dreadful to the fairly bland, Goodnight Sunrise understand hook and melody while avoiding being image driven and stupidly juvenile (which really only Blink-182 ever mastered). The band also puts on a wonderfully energetic live show that is worth checking out.
Goodnight Sunrise recently self-released a new EP entitled Stop, Drop, & Roll which is available iTunes or at the band’s official online store. I was able to get a hold of the guys and threw a few questions their way.
While there are lots of bands that have tough times really getting to a point where they’re not just a local band, not very many are from a place like Helena, Montana. What were some of the struggles you guys had that you think were unique to such a remote locale (like maybe people in Wyoming would have the same problem, but people in Chicago would not)?
Dan (Lead singer/guitarist): Coming from Montana is definitely a set-back. Montana is probably the last place you want to start a national touring band from, but it’s worked out for us. I remember booking our first tour and playing out of state for the first time. It took 3 months of sending messages, and the tour was horrible. We went to California for the first time with another band in our high-school who we were friends with. The first few tours we did were pretty terrible, but it really does get better with every tour. We’ve made it a point to stay out of state as much as possible over the past 2 years. We’ve played about 300 shows since June 2007, and it’s been awesome to watch our fan base grow on the West Coast. We definitely know what it’s like to be a “local band” and play shows to empty rooms. I believe we’ve paid our dues over the years.
What were the “breaks” that allowed you to branch out beyond local band status?
Sam (Bassist): After playing in-state shows wherever we could get them booked nearly every weekend while we were in high school, we decided that the next step would be to start booking our own tours. We were chosen to play the Ernie Ball Stage at Warped Tour in Boise, and I think that was sort of a boost towards continuing to tour. We honestly didn’t score any really remarkable breaks; we just kept on booking and playing shows wherever and as often as possible because we loved to play.
Dan: I don’t know if we ever got a big break. We’ve always booked our own tours and have done everything on our own. I guess playing with bands like Anberlin, MAE, and Plain White T’s is kinda a “break,” but we’re still an opening act. It just takes a lot of patience and hard work to start developing a fan base from touring.
What are your influences as a band?
Sam: The experiences we’ve had on the road and the bands we’ve toured with have probably been our strongest influences. Ideas for writing have spawned pretty naturally from the way we live our lives.
Dan: We all have a pretty broad music taste. I think instrumentally we were influenced by more ambient bands like Days Away and This Day & Age. Justin, our guitarist, played around with more spacious sounding guitars and layering on our new EP. In-N-Out Burger in California is definitely a big influence…It keeps us coming back to Cali!
With your Hot Topic in-store shows in addition to your regular shows, you’re averaging over show a day (or if not, damn near) on the current tour. What are your keys to staying energetic on stage and protecting your voices?
Dan: Sometimes these Hot Topic shows get a little stressful because we have realy long nights and it’s always hard to sing early in the day, especially when you’re sick. Between long drives, partying, and 2 (sometimes even 3) shows in a day, this tour has been a little hectic at times. These Hot Topic shows have been a ton of fun though. This is our 2nd tour where we’ve tried to do as many acoustic in-stores as possible.
Sam: It’s been pretty intensive! Combined with the 4+ hour drives we’ve been making, the 1-3 shows a day definitely keep us busy. We try to get sleep whenever we can, and Dan’s all about hot tea to help warm up and keep his throat refreshed. Vocal warm-ups are entirely necessary with this many shows. Crunk energy drink actually hooked us up with a bunch of product that has been helping us get through some of these long nights and long drives.
You guys are signed to a label in Japan, but not in the U.S. How did you get connected to Japan?
Sam: Twilight Records found us on the internet, and communication just went from there. The label has been really good to us, and they’re able to do things that would be incredibly difficult for us to do on our own. It’s been great to have help tapping into a market that would be almost entirely inaccessible on our on.
Dan: It actually turned out to be a pretty awesome deal. The band we’re touring with (The Real You) was just in Japan and they saw our record all over the stores, so apparently they’re doing a pretty good job promoting it. I finally had the chance to see the hard copy of our Japanese full-length and it was pretty cool to see all of our lyrics translated to Japanese.
What are your goals for the near future (say the next year and a half)? Record more? Tour non-stop (and if so would you ideally rather headline smaller tours or find a slot opening for a bigger national act)?
Dan: We plan on touring as much as possible to promote our new “Stop, Drop, & Roll EP.” I’m sure we’ll be demoing new material between tours too. I’d love to get on a national tour as an opening act. I think it’s time for that step. We’ve done headlining tours on the West Coast, but I’d like to hit some markets we’re not as familiar with on a bigger tour.
Sam: After we get home from this national tour, we plan on spending some time writing and recording some new demos before heading back on the road in late September. Ideally, we’d like to find an opening slot where we could offer regional support to a bigger act, but it’s all just talk as of right now. We’ll tour as much and as often as we can to help spread the word about our new EP.
Finally, what are your favorite albums?
Dan: The Starting Line’s Based on a True Story
Justin (Lead guitarist): As Tall as Lions’ self-titled album.
Make sure to check out Goodnight Sunrise’s latest tour dates and all other info at myspace.com/goodnightsunrise.
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