OurStage

SON of the SUN Nominated for "Best Original Band Award" by 29th ANNUAL 2009 BUFFALO MUSIC AWARDS Click the link to Vote for Son of the Sun Below!

 - 75 Awards - 6 Bands - Thursday November 19th, 2009 - Doors 7:30PM | Showtime 8:00PM Club Paradise - 3950 McKinley Parkway Blasdell, NY - Sponsored by Night-Life Magazine Mighty Taco and Miller Lite http://www.bestofwny.com/entertainment

A flood of adjectives immediately comes to mind upon exposure to Son of the Sun's music - lush, affecting, shimmering, languid, dreamy, and ethereal, to name a few - via five guys who surely have albums by Gram Parsons and the Velvet Underground scattered amid their Buffalo practice space. Truth in advertising: if the son of the sun actually formed a band, this impressive sonic sigh would probably be what it would sound like. Dig: Mazzy Star fronted by a dude, The Beatles in slow motion, lazy Sunday mornings. - Cincinnati City Beat / MPMF 2009

7th Music Is Art Festival offers unparalleled sonic stimulation By Joe Sweeney NEWS CONTRIBUTING REVIEWER “If there’s anything you haven’t tried, today’s the day to try it,” Robby Takac exclaimed Saturday afternoon on the front steps of the Albright-Knox—referring, of course, to art forms. The statement encapsulates the appeal of the Music Is Art Festival, a yearly smorgasbord of locally produced creativity that practically forces people to open their minds. Saturday marked the seventh edition of the festival, and it was a testament to the success of Takac’s not-for-profit brainchild. The Goo Goo Dolls bassist founded Music Is Art in 2004 with the goal of stressing the importance of music in our community, building awareness in local schools and shining a spotlight on deserving local musicians, leaving no genre unturned. Music Is Art has not only done that, it’s also given us the most sonically stimulating local event of the year — if you’ve ever used the Buffalo music scene as the butt of a joke, this year’s festival would make you lower your head in shame. We’re talking 12 straight hours of live performances, bouncing across three stages, organized by people who don’t give a rat’s patoot about pleasing demographics. And our pool of local talent was more than large enough to fill every second. Son of the Sun delivered a set of shimmering melodies that did justice to its name. The opening song, “How Can It Be,” is so rich, dramatic and true, it could be a Roy Orbison ballad. Family FUNKtion & the Sitar Jams immediately followed, a trio of brothers (sitar player, drummer and bassist) that mixes raga, funk and jazz to create some uniquely intoxicating grooves. This Medeski, Martin & Shankar style simultaneously spans continents and moves rears; the group’s entertaining genre mash-ups are a microcosm of the festival itself. Things just got more eclectic from here — at one point, the hip-hop duo Crooked Letta was on the main stage, singing and spitting rhymes about poverty’s stranglehold on the lower class, while a children’s Irish dance troupe waited in the wings. The precocious singer/songwriter Erin Sydney Welsh shared her brand of Tracy Chapman-ish folk, which featured some impressive lyrical twists for a 13-year-old. She was followed by Soul Bodega, whose utterly infectious, Spanish-language hip-hop jams were the highlight of the day for me. The trio’s energy was palpable, their joy plain on their faces, and their verses generous portions of syncopated bliss. Local legend Dave Schulz gave a midday performance, backed by his crack L. A. backing band. The former Goo Goo Dolls keyboardist and leader of Buffalo funk stalwarts C. O. Jones shared material from his debut album, “Connect,” braving some technical difficulties and busting out a handful of big, soulful pop songs that aren’t so far removed from his most famous affiliation. If Music Is Art was purely a live music experience, it would be impressive enough. But on top of all the beats, chords and harmonies, practically anything else that could be called art was represented. A walk from one end of the event to the other could have included glimpses of the following— metal sculptors, groups of hula hoopers, painters, photographers, Darth Vader, ballroom dancers, film screenings, a marching band, live DJs, Clifford the Big Red Dog, potters, a Rock Band video game setup, graffiti artists, a food court and beer garden. Lord Vader was there as a part of The North Ridge, a Star Wars re-enactment group that performed at different points throughout the day. Concert Review Music Is Art Festival An all-day festival featuring music, dance and other entertainment, Saturday outside Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

Local band is singing along Two gigs: Niagara Falls’ Son of the Sun band opens today at Molson Canal Concert and Hard Rock on Saturday. By Michele Deluca When you play in a rock band it’s easy to tell when your music is starting to make an impact on your audience. Your first clue is when you’re up on stage, and you look down and see people are wearing your band’s T-shirts. Your second clue is when they start singing along to your original music. Your third clue is when they buy out all the CD’s you’ve brought to your gig. “People are actually buying the ‘merch’,” said Joseph Stocker, founder of Son of the Sun, using musician’s slang for the word, merchandise. “You usually don’t sell stuff being a local band playing local shows, but we’re selling T-shirts and records. We’re really lucky or we’re just doing the right thing. Probably both.” Maybe the most important indication that people are listening is when a band gets booked to open for major performers at two extremely popular free concerts. Son of the Sun, a relatively young band made up of experienced local performers, will open for Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive at the Lockport Molson Canal Concert Series at 5:30pm on Friday. The band will also open for Rusted Root Saturday at a free outdoor concert that begins at 4pm on the newly designed Falls Street across from the state park. In a part of the world where it sometimes seems there are more bands than there are audiences, members of a relatively new Niagara Falls band Son of the Sun are finding themselves with a surprisingly strong following and some impressive bookings. They were even recently named best original local band by Spree Magazine in Buffalo. The band’s success seems to have taken on a “life of it’s own,” according to Stocker, who started the band with friends during the winter of 2008 after having some success co-writing with singer-songwriter Zak Ward, also of Niagara Falls. The band expanded with the additions of Brandon Delmont, a drummer from Kenmore, Steve Matthews, a bass player from Lewiston and Jeremy Franklin, a guitar player from the City of Tonawanda. They played their first time out at the Hard Rock Cafe that March. A year later, in April of this year, they won a Battle of the Bands at the cafe and were also voted audience favorite. They were one of the bands selected to open for Rusted Root Saturday because of their band battle victory. “We know that they have a nice following”, said Sue Swiatkowski, a spokesperson for the rock n roll – themed restaurant and nightclub. “And we know that they’re superbly talented because they were voted on by four judges who are prominent in the local music industry”, she added, noting one of the judges was Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls. Stocker said he started Son of the Sun because “I just wanted to hear the music that I had in my head.” The flavor of the tunes is rooted in 50s and 60s rock music and all the music is original. People seem to like the songs, he added. “We’re sold out of our record and we printed 200 limited copies of vinyl.” After the band performs this weekend they are looking forward to expanding their audience when they perform at the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati. And while they’re trying not to get too far ahead of themselves, it may be impossible not to hope that this ride is the one most musicians dream of. “Hope, yes, expect, no,” said Ward of this thoughts on the Son of the Sun’s success. Still he added, “There’s no reason why we couldn’t take this as far as we can possibly go.”

"SON OF THE SUN (Buffalo, NY): Like a gift from the sky, Son of the Sun is coming to serve up a plate of their southern tinged New York retro R&B rock. Equal parts Velvet Underground and Kings of Leon, their harmony layered cuts of sonic satisfaction will leave you begging for seconds."Son of the Sun are confirmed to perform at MPMF09.

"It's getting hot in here": and so is Son of the Sun "If there is a direct correlation between hard work and success, Son of the Sun should be hitting substantial notoriety shortly". - S.O.T.S MySpace "The climate is right for this sort of lush, reflective and melodically detailed rock". - Jeff Miers, the Buffalo News "What do you say about a band that does everything and does it well? Bring on the full length album". - Wildy's World Music Blog And the accolades just keep on rolling in for Son of the Sun, an indie rock band from Buffalo, New York that consists of members Zak Ward, vocals and guitar, Joseph Stocker, guitar, keyboard and organ, Jeremy Franklin, electric guitar, Steve Matthews, bass guitar and Brandon Delmont, drums. As a band who's musical style is heavily driven by 1960's indie rock, Son of the Sun list a diverse and impressive set of musical influences that stretch from Sam Cooke and Roy Orbison to Phil Spector and The Beatles. As a Buffalo News referenced "2009 Band to Watch" Son of the Suns' music blends a variety of styles that include rock and roll, country and soul into songs such as "Listen Darkly", "Tell Me" and "Stay the Same". Son of the Sun recently won Spree Magazine's "Best Band in New York" Award and will be featured in the magazine's 2009 summer issue. S.O.T.S's ultimate goal in music is to perform all over the world - which they hope will include stops at Madison Square Garden, as well as a posthumous gig in Heaven with Michael Jackson. Son of the Sun has released an EP titled Before the After and are preparing to release a full length album this fall titled The Happy Loss. Son of the Sun perform regularly at Buffalo based establishments such as Mohawk Place and the Town Ballroom. For more information on Son of the Sun, including tour dates and booking information, please contact the links below.

SON of the SUN wins "Best Band in Western NY" at the Buffalo Spree Magazine Awards!!! SOTS will also be featured in the June 2009 Summer Issue of Buffalo Spree Magazine! You can purchase the magazine at any local store that carries magazines and books!! "A little bit psychedelic, a little bit alt-country, a little bit garage-rock, a little bit dreamy early-sixties pop, and god knows what else, all delivered with the kind of confidence that suggests these guys could (and should!) make a splash nationwide."

SON of the SUN featured in the June 2009 CMJ New Music Report as well as on the CMJ Player CD Sampler that comes with the report. For More Information Visit: http://cmj.com

Rochester City Newspaper By Saby Reyes-Kulkarni on June 3, 2009 By now, the marriage of country and rock is hardly a novel idea, but Niagara Falls five-piece Son Of The Sun proves that there are still new and exciting things you can do with it. With so many misguided rock boys chasing glory in cowboy hats, SOTS' taste for soul, and its affinity for Phil Spector's "wall of sound" production style, shows a vision that separates the band from its peers. The Sons do a commendable job of recreating the depth of Spector's touch without flat-out ripping him off, and their songs sound lively and convincing because of it. Aside from all that, these songs would stand tall anyway. Apparently, SOTS knows that atmosphere works best with strong writing to back it up.Son Of The Sun plays Monday, June 8, 9 p.m. at the Bug Jar, 319 Monroe Ave. $5. 454-2966.

Originally conceived as a project of multi instrumentalist Joseph Strocker and guitarist Zak Ward, Son of the Sun released their new EP as a four song record (on delicious yellow vinyl) and a bonus CD of the EP as well. The darkly beautiful songs achieved a dreamy moody feel. Swirling organ and plucked banjo by guest Joe Lapaglia give "How Can It Be?" that feel and "Listen Darkly" recalls Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak. The other two tracks on the EP are the instrumental "Spanning Time" and "Big Record Breaker". A buzz for the disc meant forming a band behind Strocker and Ward to play the hauntingly beautiful songs live. Brought on board were Jeremy Franklin/guitar, Steve Matthews/bass and Brandon Delmont/drums. The group then re-cut and re-released Before The After with two additional new tracks and gave the songs a fleshed out fuller arrangement with a lush lavish production that has the Phil Spector Wall of Sound influence. That Spector sound is best evident on the bonus track "Tell Me". Some nice Kinks harmonies make the other bonus cut "Stay The Same" worthy of inclusion also. The future looks bright for these boys, check them out at www.myspace.com/sonofthesunmusic