Sometime ago in rural California, five male bodies were discovered in an open field, murdered, disemboweled and laid out, waiting to be found. Rotting sunflowers were placed inside four of the five male’s eye sockets, whose eyeballs had been torn out. A letter was left in one of the victim’s hands that read, “These murders represent the true evil you all refuse to see…”
Since then, there have been numerous acts of vigilantism. This violence has grown into a legend that the five victims return and take their revenge on all those that commit acts of evil and depravity. Some have said to have seen freshly cut making the sites of these righted wrongs. To those that have heard the stories, the five vengeful spirits are known as the “sunflower dead”.
That sounds more like a description of a new horror movie coming to a theater near you than it does of a new metal band on the rise. Sunflower Dead hails from southern California and brings together former members of Droid and 2 Hit Creeper as well as touring members of Buckethead and In This Moment. The band is comprised of lead singer Michael Del Pizzo, lead guitarist Jaboo, guitarist Jamie Teissiere, bassist Luis Gascon and drummer Jimmy Schultz. They combine elements of horror, mythology and kick-ass rock to form a unique vision that truly makes them stand out.
Their self-titled debut album was released last August. It’s an eleven song package of metal and melodic rock that catches the ear and rocks the soul. It’s an album of many layers. The riffs are heavy and in abundance, the grooves are catchy and the songs are infectious. If you throw in the addition of piano as well as the unconventional accordion, then you begin to see the layers take shape. Lead singer Michael Del Pizzo sat down with us to discuss the concept of Sunflower Dead, both musically and visually.
Johnny/Rock Revolt: Hey Michael, it’s Johnny with RockRevolt Magazine. I watched your electronic press kit and the whole concept around Sunflower Dead is really cool. Can you tell me a little more about where it came from?
Michael Del Pizzo/Sunflower Dead: Well, the storyline is mine. It’s something that I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s actually going to be a graphic novel. We were looking for a name for the band and we had a couple of names that we were tossing around. Jamie (Teissiere) mentioned that we needed a name that captured beauty as well as the heaviness of the band and it needed flower in the name. The name popped into my head and it just fit. Then, we decided to work the storyline into the band. The funny thing is that I live on Sunflower Avenue (laughs).
Johnny/RR: I love the storyline and it definitely adds a layer to the band that you don’t see too much of in music today. Sunflower Dead is more than just five guys going out there in jeans and t-shirts and playing music.
Michael/SD: I think it’s definitely entertaining. I mean, we’re not pretending to be all dark and evil with it. We’re having fun with the look. We’re not trying to be Marilyn Manson. I saw KISS in concert about three or four years ago. I was familiar with some of their music, but I was never really a big fan. Seeing them live had a big impact on me and on what we’re trying to do. When I saw it live, then I got it.
Johnny/RR: It’s funny how a KISS reference gets worked into some of my interviews, which is purely coincidental. They are my all-time favorite band. Speaking of which, they were interviewed in Revolver a couple of months back and you guys were in there as well in the “Bands to Watch” segment. That must have been pretty awesome to see that.
Michael/SD: Yeah, it was pretty awesome! A guy that we were working with actually called us and told us about it. We had no clue! You know, we were also named Album of the Week in Revolver last year when our debut album came out.
Johnny/RR: Wow, two big Revolver mentions in six months are pretty major. Let’s talk a little more about your debut album. I think it’s a great album and very solid as well, with a lot of versatility. You guys had Christian Olde Wolbers, of Fear Factory fame, as your producer on it. How did that happen?
Michael/SD: Well, we had all of our songs ready to go and we started narrowing down our list of who we wanted to produce us. Christian is a friend Jaime’s, our guitar player and we approached him. He saw that we were doing a cover of “Every Breath You take” by The Police and, coincidentally, they are his favorite band. The stuff he did with Fear Factory was a bit more metallic, so we were kind of a stretch for him. I think he did an awesome job and he definitely brought out some very cool elements in us.
Johnny/RR: Your cover of “Every Breath You Take” really does put an interesting spin on that song. I know you’ve probably told this story hundreds of times, but can you tell our readers how you decided to do that one?
Michael/SD: We don’t jam covers like a lot of bands do. This one came to us when Jaboo and I were in a bar one night. The movie Top Gun was playing on the TV and I remember mentioning that I would like to do a cover and he said something about that song “Every Breath You Take” from Top Gun. Well, first off, I had to tell him that wasn’t the song (laughs), but I did think that would be a great one to cover. We changed some stuff around in it and we really brought out that stalker vibe in it.
Johnny/RR: That was one of the first things about it that caught my attention. So many people think that it’s a love song, but your version is more how I have always thought it should sound. I think it’s so funny when I hear that someone used it for their first dance at their wedding (laughs).
Michael/SD: I know, right? It’s definitely not a love song. Well, maybe in a twisted kind of way (laughs).
Johnny/RR: The album’s been out for a few months now. What about touring? Are you guys just keeping it somewhat local or will you be taking it out nationally?
Michael/SD: We’ve done some dates already, which helped us to work some of the kinks out. It was good though because it gave us all the confidence that we could take this circus out on the road on a bigger level. Right now we’re booking a U.S. tour for February, but we can’t really say anything just yet. We’re definitely going to be doing a lot more touring this year. The dates we did right after the CD’s release were interesting. There were a lot of shows where we weren’t even advertised on the bill. We would come out to play and people stared at us like who the hell are these guys? Still, it went over really well and by the third chorus some of them were singing along.
Johnny/RR: Did you happen to wear that kick-ass jacket on stage that you wear on the cover to your CD?
Michael/SD: I actually made that jacket myself. I wanted to be like a porcupine and hard to touch, so I ordered these spikes online. They’re actually real, metal spikes. They made the jacket about 20 pounds heavier. People don’t realize they are real until they come up to me after our set to say hi and touch them. I have to be careful though because I’ve gone to raise my arms above my head on-stage and I’ve scraped my head and started bleeding.
Johnny/RR: I’m sure that made the fans scream even more. They probably thought it was part of the show.
Michael/SD: (laughs) No doubt! More blood, more blood!!
Johnny/RR: Do you use your accordion in your live show as well? I’m sure that probably catches a lot of people off guard. Most people don’t think of an accordion as being very metal.
Michael/SD: (laughs) You’re right! It definitely shocks a lot of people. I remember first picking it up when I was about 20 years old. I was playing piano and kind of bored and I told Jaboo that I was going to go buy an accordion and learn how to play it. When we were recording our album, I threw it in on three songs. I don’t think it really sounds like what most people would think of when they think of an accordion. The way I play it sounds like an eerie keyboard type of sound. It does work two-fold because when I walk out people are like, “what’s this idiot doing?”
Johnny/RR: Your voice is also something that adds a lot of flavor to this band. You have a dynamic range with your screams and your clean vocals. Did anyone inspire you to want to sing?
Michael/SD: My first influence was Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. I remember seeing him on MTV and he spun around in that video (“We’re Not Gonna Take It”) and transformed himself. I saw that and knew that’s what I wanted to do. My vocal idol has always been Steve Perry from Journey. That guy is simply amazing. I also started getting into death metal in my teens. I think I add a lot of tones and colors to my voice when I sing, but still manage to add different colors and tones to it when I scream. I’d like to say that my voice is a combination of Steve Perry and Chuck Shuldiner of Death.
Johnny/RR: I think all of you guys really fit together really well and have come up with something really special. We’re now at the end of our interview and it’s time to go for the big close. What would you like to tell everyone?
Michael/SD: Well, first off, we definitely want to thank all of our fans. We want everyone to know that our self-titled debut album is available on iTunes as well as Amazon and we hope everyone checks it out. We’re definitely more than a one dimensional or even a two dimensional band. Our music is quite dynamic and there are a lot of themes going on that you may not necessarily catch on the first listen. It comes from a real, emotional place. I’ve never been a part of something that comes together so naturally. Stay tuned because tour dates are coming soon and we hope to see everyone out on the road.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JNU0wBSGiA]
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