#Bret Constantino

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Sleepy Sun - Marina

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Sleepy Sun - Open Eyes

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Sleepy Sun - 'Spine Hits'

CD - 2012 The End Records

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: The Contemplative Visuals for Sleepy Sun's "Seaquest"

New Video: The Contemplative Visuals for Sleepy Sun’s “Seaquest”

Over the course of their decade together, the Bay Area-based psych rock band Sleepy Sun— comprised of Bret Constantino (vocals), Evan Reiss (guitar), Matt Holliman (guitar) and Brian Tice (drums) — have released five full-length albums that have established the band’s reputation for crafting material that sounds as though it owes an…

[otherbandsstuff]

Sleepy Sun 2/25/14

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Sleepy Sun at The Pageant, 10.27.2013

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Sleepy Sun - Marina

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Sleepy Sun - Sandstorm Woman

[encor-es]

Sleepy Sun – An Encor.es Interview

Photo by Chloe Aftel

San Francisco's psych-rockers Sleepy Sun bring blown-out riffage, prickly vocals, and a tight-as-hell rhythm section into pure rock music, standing tall and trampling those under foot. Lead vocalist Bret Constantino spoke with Encor.es about the band's approach to self-expression, transcendence, and cohesive album aesthetics.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat. Let’s start with a pretty broad question — to what extent has your musical style influenced your band’s image, or vice versa?

Everyone in the band has their own way of expressing himself through their own image. There is no conscious effort as a band to appear in the style of the music. This is a band of individuals who each express themselves differently, which is what I believe makes the music original.

Do you feel like your music and image are codependent or independent?

Image is a not a product of music. Disappointedly, many people are unable to see past the image of the performers, which often means rejection, only to be recognized posthumously.

How much thought and preparation do you guys, as a band, put into how your live performances are experienced by your audience?

I often think about this. Ultimately, I want the audience to experience some sort of transcendence. That could be forgetting about a terrible job or a personal grievance -- if for any moment during a performance an audience member can escape from his/her normal state of consciousness and fall into some sort of mental tranquility, then we've done our work.

In order to achieve this kind of connection, the audience receptiveness is key. The crowd becomes a participant of the performance.

As a psych-rock band, I imagine you could get away with some weird presentation if you wanted to.

Taking weirdness to its extremity doesn't necessarily encourage a psychic connection between performer and spectator. It seems to me to be more ego driven and self-gratifying, which is sometimes a good way go when you're on tour playing 40 consecutive shows.

Have you ever worked with a lighting designer for your live shows?

Yes, we have worked with many lighting designers over the years. At the start of our career, we worked with friend and visual magician Travis Threlkel and his company Obscura Digital. These guys were, and still are, pushing the boundaries of light/projection installation with their own patented technologies.

We also recently had an oil projectionist, Lance Gordon, at our release show in SF. I think this visual style has become a bit cliché as psychedelic visual accompaniment, but this guy had some crazy methods, using multiple projectors and plastic wrap to create different underlying textures.

Lately, we've started bringing our own lights and props, sometimes controlling them ourselves on stage.

I love the way your album art seems to go in cycles, especially with singles (Desert God, Wild Machines, Marina and Open Eyes share a look, as do Sleepy Son, New Age and Embrace). What led you to go that route?

I've always appreciated a cohesive art atheistic across supplementary products. In the cases of Embrace and Fever, we had the artists Steve Quenell and David D'andrea, respectively, design several vignettes (in addition to the cover) that we would use for all media associated with each record.

Last one: What’s the most surprising/funny/strange thing in your touring suitcases?

A neti-pot.

Sleepy Sun are performing with City and Color at The Pageant on Sunday, September 27 -- get there early so you don't miss their set, and buy tickets here if you haven't already.

[druidstone]

SLeepy SUn