Feature: The Sun Harmonic Decodes “Glory Days”
How did you come up with the music video idea?
Ian McLennan (Bass): The idea for the video was driven by necessity more than anything else. We shot it in a very small rehearsal space with a budget of $0 so we had to get creative with lighting and camera angles to come up with a striking look. By blasting white lights right in our faces we were able to make the background disappear almost entirely and we thought the results looked pretty cool!
Kaleb Hikele (Lead Vox/Guitar): I told the guys years ago I wanted to make a real "Rock Band" music video of us just playing our instruments for “Glory Days.” I always had The Strokes "Reptilia" music video in mind. Oops. Spoiled it... We actually exceeded my expectations of how it was going to turn out. It looks more Punk than Rock and I really like it (do you?)
What impact do you hope "Glory Days" will have on your audience?
Ian: “Glory Days” is a song about some tough feelings that a lot of people go through when times are hard. A lot of people turn away from that sort of thing. Maybe they're looking for escapism when they listen to music. I just want to reach the people who listen and can relate. Sometimes just saying "Yeah things are really tough right now." Can be really empowering because it makes you feel less alone.
Kaleb: I hope it's a song that people sing along to for the rest of time and that they'll remember forever. No big deal.
What was your favorite moment in making the music video?
Ian: To get all the angles we wanted we each had to play through the song many times on our own. That means the other two bandmates are behind the camera goofing off. The best moments are those silly moments between friends behind the camera that never make it into the video.
Kaleb: I had to shut the f*&K up and trust Ian that the dance party vibe Red/Green/Blue light fixtures that were shining brightly on my face were going to appear "White" on the camera. I'm glad I trusted him. It looks awesome!
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
Dave Skrtich (Drums): Honestly, we are just three dorky dudes who happen to share a ton of musical chemistry. We’ve each had our own paths of musical training and experience, but when we come together in the rehearsal space, the ideas flow almost without needing words. That’s the result of years of friendship and playing together—there’s a kind of trust and unspoken understanding that makes arranging songs feel natural. At the core, we’re friends first and a band second, and we hope that bond really comes through in our recordings and in the energy we bring to the stage.
Kaleb: Dave is right. We're dorks. Find your people and keep them on your team.
Are there any upcoming projects or releases that you're particularly excited about?
Ian: Our next full-length album is going to be totally different from what our fans have heard before. It's a wild mix of genres and sounds so I think there's something for everyone in there. I'm really excited to get some feedback on the new sounds.
Kaleb: Our first studio album as a band is on the way, called Self-titled (because there's already a self-titled Sun Harmonic album from back in the day in 2009). I'm personally the most stoked about this new album of all 6 of the studio albums in the Sun Harmonic catalogue. I've always been collaborative with friends on my recordings, but this is the first cohesive body of work that I've actually written, arranged, recorded and released with bandmates in quite a long time. I'm really proud of it. Punk, metal, folk, it's a big soup of sweet sounds. Stay tuned.
Dave: Hey Punk Heads! Check out my other punk band Sixteen Scandals (actually Kaleb is writing this on his behalf, but they are awesome!)
