Sunny Wars
Interview conducted on November 04, 2021
By Dan Locke
A brilliantly virtuosic guitarist and a brutally honest songwriter, Sunny War’s one of the few artist that can really fuse a hardcore punk background with modern folk. Her 2021 album Simple Syrup brought in raves from FLOOD, AfroPunk, Forbes, Audiofemme, Paste, Jambase, and more!
What is your upbringing?
I was born in Nashville, TN and raised in: TN, MI, CO and CA. I was raised by my mom and my grandmother.
How did you discover music?
I was always surrounded by music growing up and received my first guitar at the age of seven. My mother was very supportive of my interest in the arts. By the time I was ten I had already seen Bo Diddley and B.B King in concert.
How did you start to write music?
I started writing music by singing silly little songs to the few chords I knew at the time. Sometimes I would even write verses with my mom as a child.
How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
My mother bought me my first acoustic guitar and unfortunately, I do not still have it. But later at the age of twelve I got my first electric guitar for Christmas. It was an Epiphone Les Paul and I have managed to hang on to that one!
What is your guitar of choice now? Year, make and model?
My favorite guitar is my 1989 True American Guild (DCE-1)
Describe your music.
My music is folky/bluesy singer songwriter stuff and fingerpicking acoustic stuff.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
I belong to BMI.
What makes a good songwriter?
I’m still trying to figure that one out. So far I’m only sure the best songs involve a lot of honesty and vulnerability.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
I’m not sure what my first original song was exactly but my earliest recordings were an album called “Sheep”. You can find Sheep on Youtube.
How was it to share the stage with Ronnie Hudson, Ike Willie and Johnny Echols?
Great!
What is the process of writing your music?
I write lyrics constantly on my phone. Sometimes it is impossible for me to add music to the lyrics and other times it’s effortless. I don’t have much of a process, but I find making demos at home and working on songs privately before going to a studio feels best. I hope to have at least 30 home demos before approaching a studio for my next album.
How was it to be actually preforming on NRP Tiny Desk?
It was a bit scary. There were no monitors for the mics so I was nervous about how the vocals would turn out. I think we did a good job though.
Tell me about your album Simple Syrup?
Simple Syrup is a collection of songs from 2019 and 2020. Most of the album was recorded live as a trio. Simple Syrup is more relaxed than previous albums.
How was it to have Angelo Moore from Fishbone to add background vocals on “Eyes”?
It was pretty tricky to get him tracked for that song. But once we were finally able to get together and record his parts it was a lot of fun. Theremin is a very strange instrument to record.
How was it to record your album at Hen House Studio under the trusted eye of Harlan Steinberger?
Harlan Steinberger is a very good friend of mine at this point and working with him is very comfortable. I trust him as a friend and as a producer. The recording process at Hen House Studios was a breeze.
What is your favorite track on your album?
My favorite track on Simple Syrup is Lucid Lucy cos I think that song’s very cute.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
I’m not sure how I feel about streaming music to be honest.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
I don’t think musicians will ever forget that the # is a part of music. I’m pretty sure non-musicians were probably never aware that the # is a part of music.
Digital vs. vinyl?
I think it depends. If I am listening to music at home I prefer vinyl. But I am grateful to be able to listen to digital music when I’m on the go. I love listening to music on my headphones at the gym or when I’m taking a walk. There are also a lot of great bands/musicians who have only released music digitally so far. so to hear those acts I’ve got to listen to them digitally.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
I don’t have any particular songs from the past in my mind right now.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus is going to affect the music business in the future?
I think Covid-19 did most of its damage on live music already. I think things will only get better from here. International borders are starting to reopen for travel and lots of clubs and venues are having events again.
Tell me about the creation of Food Not Bombs?
I started the DTLA chapter of Food Not Bombs in 2020 and we’re 2 months short of 2 years of service. We have a large group of volunteers, and we do a lot of creative fundraising for our chapter to keep it going. We serve 100 free vegan meals in Skid Row every week and hopefully will continue to do so in 2022 as well.
How is your banjo playing coming along?
The banjo playing is coming along well. I’ve already written/recorded a demo of a song with a banjo part in it. Hopefully the song will be on my next album.
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
I would probably wait tables or work in a kitchen.
What is your happy place?
Still trying to find my happy place, no luck yet.
Alot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs? Another factor is mortality.
I’m not sure. I probably would not sell my back catalog. It would depend on the offer I suppose.
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