Eyes Like Sunday really took their interview opportunity and ran with it. They were (so far) the only band to do an email interview with multiple band members. (Although, on the other hand, I have a suspicion that the drummer/band spokesman just made up answers for all the members.)
Their answers kind of swerve all over the place. This is a pretty entertaining interview to read, even if you really don't have any interest in the band.
Note from the Band:
Words: 1, 841 (including questions)
Mark was the overall spokesperson for the band in general and those who were not present for the interview.
1) Who are you? What do you do? (take the latter question as broadly as you'd like.)
o I am Mark (19). I drum for Eyes Like Sunday and do some PR for the band. Basically, I myself want to create an original style of drumming; I take the song "Come Original" by 311 to heart. I feel that good bands set themselves aside from other bands, not only in their genre, but in any style of music. I once asked my good friend Seth why he played a genre of music that he didn’t listen to; he replied with, "Because it allows me to bring in the style of music that I listen to, to the style of music that I play." This truly has inspired me. I have played in several rock bands before Eyes Like Sunday, which have molded me into the drummer I am today. I try to keep an open mind to all kinds of music so they can fill my mind and be spat out in some type of way in my style of drumming.
o I am Daniel Cunningham or Fatty (20) and I do what I want basically. I scream and sing some. I also try to look hard on stage but I’m really a softy that loves talking to and meeting new people. So if you see us play, come talk to me.
o My name is Charlie (23). My friends all call me "Mustache" for obvious reasons. I live and breathe graphic design, and I'm the lead singer of Eyes like Sunday.
o I am Brandon Pennington (23) a.k.a "B." I play the Guitar and Cowbell.
o Jonny (23), guitar; Dave (20) bass, background vocals. (Jonny and Dave were not available for interviewing.
2) Where did you grow up? Tell me something about that area. Where do you live now? Tell me something about that area too. If it's the same place, why are you still there?
Mark-"Well, most of half of the band is from Southwestern Virginia and the other half is located in more of the northern Virginia area. Me, Brandon and Jonny are from Abingdon, VA, a small town located outside of Bristol, VA. Fatty is from Manassas, VA, Dave from Richmond, VA and Charlie from McLean, VA. Abingdon was an interesting town to grow up in: until the end of middle school there had been no movie theater, skate park, good CD stores, and other teenage hangouts. As Brandon put it Abingdon is "a desolate wasteland of tobacco and trucks for farm use only." There wasn’t much to do for me and my friends so most of the time we played music or sports. This is what we did most of our time just to overcome the boredom and stay away from the rising use of drugs in school. We all live in Harrisonburg, VA now. All of us but Jonny attends James Madison University. Jonny currently is living in Stafford, VA. Harrisonburg, in my opinion, is great, especially for rising local bands. The music scene here is great for all types of genres. We all feel blessed for ending up in an area where we all meet and where music is appreciated."
Fatty- "‘Manassas Murder Militia Represent’. Manassas is not a great place, but I
made great friends there. I now live in Harrisonburg to expand my brain or something."
Charlie- "I grew up in a suburb of Washington DC so our holidays always meant mom dragging us downtown to museums or to visit dad at work. I'm thankful for that. I feel somewhat cultured as a result. Also, growing up, I had 2 older brothers and a younger brother and sister. With such a big family came a variety of musical tastes. I'd say my greatest musical influences come from my older brothers, Will and James, they got me into bands like the Beatles, Weezer, R.E.M., The Cure, Green Day, Erasure, Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen, Pearl Jam, Pet Shop Boys, Belle & Sebastian, lots of alternative stuff. My dad was responsible for my classic rock/classical/country background, my mom was into Chicago and Carole king, and my younger sibs were always good for some punk/pop. No one ever really borrowed off each other but me; so now I've kind of gleaned and formed this eclectic style of my own that's really not my own. Big families are awesome."
3) Tell me about Eyes Like Sunday. How did you get into it? What type of music do you play? Describe it without using other band names or the phrase "adrenaline-fueled." Who plays what?
Mark-"Eyes Like Sunday is a post-hardcore band that was completely formed in early December of 2004. The way the band fell together is a rather crazy and long process. It started one night when I met Brandon for the first time (being that he graduated high school before I got to know him). He said he was starting up a band with Jonny (who I did know from high school) and he heard that I was a drummer and so from that point on I became the drummer for the early form of Eyes Like Sunday. Us three collaborated during the winter of 2003, writing and working on their first songs. In March of 2004, over spring break, we engineered our first recordings in the basement of Brandon’s home. When they returned to Harrisonburg after break, we decided we needed a vocalist, and so began their search. However, after trying out several singers, we still hadn’t heard one that quite fit the band. Furthermore, a fundamental element was missing in the form of a bassist. So, during the summer of 2004, we worked on perfecting our songs and coming up with new material, but stayed on the lookout for potential talent to fill their empty spots. Finally, at the end of September 2004, the trio came upon a screamer, Fatty (Daniel), and a bassist, Dave, to round out the lineup. We continued to work on and record our songs, and had our first show on October 17, 2004, with that lineup. But something was missing. The band wanted more in their vocals; that is when we picked up Charlie for vocals."
Fatty- "I scream and sing some. Wow the type of music….Well first and foremost all the members in the band are extremely passionate about what we are doing and that shows in when we play live and in our recordings. It is heavy at times, soft at times, mixture of singing and screaming, with lyrics that are not only about some stupid girl that broke our hearts but other things that are very important in a person’s life like friends for example."
Charlie- "I sing. I've been playing (or at least trying to play) guitar for about six years, give or take. I'm not good. I've been singing since before I can remember. According to my mom I used to sing "tomorrow" from Annie as a kid. Some years later I played Danny Zuko in a production of grease at my high school. that was my first real experience singing in front of anyone, I really enjoyed it. Since then I've always taken every opportunity to sing in front of friends, family, in the car, when I'm alone, whenever. I don't care if I'm any good. I just sing what I feel. That’s kind of how Brandon came to find me, he heard me singing "Say it Ain't So" by Weezer during a study session last December."
Brandon-"I play guitar in a heavy melodic and harmonistic style that has derived from
many genres. When I was little I use to steal my brother’s Aerosmith and ZZTop records to make mix tapes. Then one day in middle school I saw this really crappy band play a Smashing Pumpkins song and I knew I had to get a guitar."
4) Look back at questions 2 & 3. What challenges has your location presented to your project? What are its advantages?
Mark-"One major challenge we have is having the practice space to work on our material. The cops seem to love coming and breaking up our "shindig" and have Brandon go to court for noise violations. So now we have to call to "register a party" before we jam. We also have trouble during breaks because everyone lives all over Virginia. It is hard to get work done. Our advantages seem to be the music scene, the good looking girls and other fans that come to our shows."
5) What do you hope for 2005? Where do you see yourself in 2010? 2061?
Mark-"Mainly our goals in 2005 are to get a strong fan base and have our EP "Discovery of Magnetic North" out in late winter. Hopefully in the next five years we will be signed and touring all over the world. We will never stop playing music and being friends, no matter where we are in the future."
6) What was the first concert you ever remember attending?
Mark- "Trik Turner concert when I was 15."
Brandon-"I guess the first major show I ever attended was Stone Temple Pilots and Cheap Trick in Johnson City, TN."
Charlie- "The first real, buy-a-ticket, go-to-an-arena stage concert I ever attended was Billy Joel. It was a Christmas present back when I was about 8 years old. Billy Joel was my hero for some years, and still is today. I mean come on, he used to be married to Christie Brinkley. Seriously, though, some of my earliest musical memories are tied to Billy Joel--the man is a genius. at one of the shows I saw him at, he did an incredible Marlon Brando; talented."
Fatty- "First Concert was Ozzfest 2000 at Nissan pavilion when I was 15. It was a great time aside from the onslaught of rain and hail which fell from the sky from about 5pm until the end of the show at 11. That night I remember going and just thinking how that was the high point of my life."
7) What does the Confederate flag mean to you? What does the American flag mean to you?
Mark-"Confederate flag….We are one country; put that crap in the chest under your bed. American Flag is freedom, the American dream (whatever the might be to anyone), and power."
Fatty-"The confederate flag… I guess really to me it is not something that stands for slavery or racism, more of where we came from. The American flag means freedom. Many countries would not let 6 guys get together and play music, do shows, and do the stuff we do. Ours does, and that’s great."
Brandon-"The Confederate flag reminds me of the Dukes of Hazzard’s General Lee. The American flag means free thought, free will and honor."
8) How do people [buy/contact/get involved]?
One can contact us by going to www.eyeslikesunday.tk, visiting our Purevolume site at >www.purevolume.com/EyesLikeSundayhttp://profile.myspace.com/users/9266007.
We will have new shirts, stickers, and our EP "Discovery of Magnetic North" in late January and mid February.