The Silver Sun Pickups

Hello and welcome to the new blog dedicated to the SilverSun Pickups and everything Indie Rock. In this blog I will cover everything involving the SilverSun Pickups as well as bands that are in the same genera and style. So without further hesitation here is my first entry about the SilverSun Pickups.

If you have ever been to California you know that it has a reputation for leading the country in trends. If it’s hot in California right now, you know the rest of the country is trying to catch up with it. This theory especially holds true to music. In the early 80’s it was Glam and hair metal, in the late 80’s early 90’s it was West Coast gangster rap, and in the later part of the 90’s and early 2000’s it was Rap and Nu-metal. It seemed that during these times everyone was trying to follow what was coming out of California but was not quite hitting the mark. Allot of critics felt that in order to really capture the California sound you had to be from the Golden state. This statement seemed to echo across the country and many bands starting branching out on there own and representing where they came from.

Bands like The Strokes and The Hives brought a retro feel to there music and were hailed for bringing back rock to the mainstream. All the while, California was turning out pop influenced bands that really didn’t make you feel any one way, and were, by in large, void of much substance. Once the pop rock and punk had started to fade in the later part of 2004, California was due for another wave of music. Within the underground music scene of California there was a flurry of bands that were starting to grab the attention of music goers who were hungry for something new. Up until that point Indie rock had a strong following, but really was more reserved for the underground crowd.

At any given time of the week you can find a club within the L.A. area that is hosting a variety of shows and acts. This is where SilverSun Pickups began to cut their teeth. Obtaining their name from a local Liquor and convenience store in the viciously trendy Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, it should come as no surprise that they were in the right place for there brand of rock. Sharing the neighborhood with such artists as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eels, Rooney, and Beck, who has achieved the status of Indie God in his own right. SilverSun did have big shoes to fill, and from the beginning was walking in the shadows of some of Southern California’s most well recognized and respected artists. Playing the L.A. club scene, it wasn’t until 5 years after there formation “sspu” decided that it was time to cut a proper EP. This revelation came about after Brian Aubert, the lead singer, was given a bootleg of one of their shows. He said that the quality was so bad that he didn’t want anyone to hear it.

In 2005 the Album Pikul was released through Dangerbird Records, a small label featuring Alternative and Indie acts from around the world. It was this EP that would help the band establish themselves further in the Indie rock scene of L.A., but would also push their exposure to the rest of the country. Shortly after there EP release they began to tour the country. The buzz that only extended to East L.A. was now beginning to grow very fast, their song “Comeback Kid” was getting play on College radio and even some larger market radio stations were beginning to play their music. By the close of 2005 the band had been touring and writing for almost 9 months. When they returned to L.A. they headed for the studio, and split their time between going out on the road for a week at a time and recording.

Within a few month the band was done recording and headed back out on the road. By late June the album was mixed and ready to pressed, and on July 25th 2006, the album titled Carnavas was released. In support of the album “sspu” began to tour the United States. The album was slow to sell but a hectic touring schedule ensured that the band would get the exposure they needed to boost the status of the album. In early December of that year the band was asked to co-headline a three week long tour with Australian band Wolfmother. In the first part of the new year that band played a few shows scattered about the country. In March they toured with OK Go and Snow Patrol on their U.S. spring tour, and in April played a slot at the Coachella festival in Indio California.

Almost a year after the release of Carnavas the band has started to see greater success with their first single “Lazy Eye” reaching number 5 on the modern rock charts and their album being released in the UK on May 28th, 2007, it’s safe to say this Indie act is starting to get a taste of the mainstream.

So for everything SilverSun and Indie rock check it out here.