Unsigned Spotlight: Sunflower Dead
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Sunflower Dead are:
Michael Del Pizzo (Vocals, Accordion, Piano)
Jaboo (Lead Guitar)
Jamie Teissere (Guitar)
Lats - (Bass)
Jimmy Schultz (Drums)
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Sunflower Dead? How long has the band been around?
SFD has been around since 2012. Our self titled debut came out August 21, 2012 and was named Revolver's Album of the a Week. Jamie was from Droid who were signed to Munky from Korn's label, Lats was from Memento who was signed to Columbia, Jaboo and I (Michael) were from a band called Two Hit Creeper and James has toured with different acts such as In This Moment.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Sunflower Dead is the one and only name of the band. It all started from a horror short story I wrote years ago which we are actually turning into a graphic novel cowritten by me and a very famous horror author. We hope to debut the Sunflower Dead Graphic Novel at Comic Con next year.
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?
Everyone in the band contributes to the songwriting. We are very old school in the sense that we all sit in a rehearsal spot, face each other and very democratically work out each song. Thematically the songs are about my journey through life to find myself and reach peace and all the ups and downs that have occurred metaphorically. I can't say that I can write anything but what I feel so I don't foresee songs about lines of coke and strippers ha.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
The band is so spread out with why inspires us, from metal to pop to country to hip hop and edm, we listen to music.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
For me it was seeing Dee Snider in the Twisted Sister video "We're Not Gonna Take it".
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
I have an entire ritual I go through that starts with steaming my voice for 30 minutes. Then I do a set of vocal warm ups before I go through an hour long makeup routine. Then one more set of quick warmup, send a text to a special person that it's time to go, strap on my accordion and get WEIRD!
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Lately it was crushing it in front of two sold out shows with Korn in the UK and having them stand around our stage and rock out while we played.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Slipknot because we just make sense together. Evanescence because it would be great to do a piano duet. Disturbed because everyone thinks they are a big influence. It would be nice to show how different we actually are. Finally, Kiss because Kiss rules!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Get ready to get Weird when we release our new album this Fall "It's Time To Get Weird" featuring Jonanthan Davis of Korn on be title track. Boom!
Check us out at ....
https://www.facebook.com/sunflowerdead
https://twitter.com/sunflowerdead