Hard rock thrives on juxtaposition. It's those sharp transitions between clean and dirty sound, heaviness and lightness, comfort and menace that makes the best rock songs sting as hard as they do. Sometimes the breaks are unexpected, and sometimes they're a release of tension at the climax of a long and ominous build. The punches might come in a flurry – or a series of slow, powerful blows. Sun & Flesh know how to do all of that. 

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Christoph Manuel – Vocals/Guitar

Stefan Reinberger – Guitar

Matt Brewster – Bass

Jon Serwinowski - Drums

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Sun & Flesh? How long has the band been around?

Sun & Flesh has been around longer than we’ve had the name. Christoph and Stefan who are cousins, started writing their own songs in their early teenage years, and then made their eardrums bleed practicing those songs in basements & garages. They linked up with Matt & Jon and released the first Sun & Flesh songs in 2014.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

Christoph was flipping through books of one of his favorite authors Arthur Rimbaud and came upon an early poem of his entitled “Soleil et chair” – Sun & Flesh. He speaks about the abyss separating Man from Nature, there’s sexual overtones in the images he paints and his language is way ahead of it’s time. All of those things encapsulated in the title. We had been searching for a band name for a while at that point and out of nowhere the perfect name just fell in our laps! 

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

All of our songs are written by Christoph and Stefan – a collaboration that has been going on since both were kids. We like to call our songs anthems for the disenchanted -  not being okay with the state of the world, effecting change and not taking no for an answer.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

We’re always inspired by so many different artists – not just bands, but writers, painters, directors, …

Musically there’s bands like Loathe, Teenage Wrist, Fever 333 & Bon Iver that we’re really into right now and of course there’s the bands we always refer back to like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains & Nine Inch Nails. 

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Seeing old concert footage of Nirvana shows was absolutely an early kick start to get out on stage – pure passion for the music while being lost in the moment. We cram in our van, sleep in Walmart parking lots & stay awake on gas station coffee to get our music to as many people as possible, not for fame or fortune, but because we truly love what we do.

What do you do to prepare for a show?

Usually we try and take our minds off of freaking out about going on stage. Christoph is looking for an authentic Espresso spot for the drive next morning,  Jon is probably looking for wet wipes somewhere, Matt just took a nap in the most uncomfortable spot, Stefan is making sure that Christoph & Matt’s guitars are in tune and before we know it,  show time is in 5 minutes …

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Working with producer Dan Korneff, who is personally responsible for the sound of so many of our favorite records has been an absolute highlight of our career so far. We were able to collaborate with him over the last two years, carefully crafting our sound and refining our songs. The result, which is a total labor of love, is so much more than we ever expected that it could be and we’re very excited to share these songs with the world now.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

That’s an easy one  – Deftones, Breaking Benjamin, Incubus – let’s make it happen!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We like it loud ;)