Though described in their Spotify biography as just “another indie surf band from Southern California,” SunShower illuminated downtown San Luis Obispo on Oct. 12. The North County San Diego band has been taking over California with their “Up the Coast Tour” throughout October. In between all the long car rides and late-night performances, the band sat down with KCPR for an interview.
Lead singer Brandon Chun, guitarist Luke McLaughlin, drummer Luke Whitehead and bassist David Devora sat cozily on a brown couch in the break room before their set at The Aviary.
The Aviary started hosting community shows in February of this year but became an official venue in May.
“We hope it becomes and continues to be a space for all ages while offering a platform for artists of all genres — a place to get a DIY and professional experience,” Aviary Artist Relations and Marketing Director Adrian Rosas said.
As first-time performers at the venue, SunShower took in the atmosphere as they discussed their formation and what was next to come.
Despite being established as a “San Diego band,” the group hailed from different parts of the county like Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista.
After Chun’s former band, Doberman Mosh, disbanded due to harsh grounding punishment, Chun met his soon-to-be bandmates and SunShower came to be.
However, the band truly took off in 2023 when the infamous Hoover House materialized. The pale blue home in Oceanside provided a backyard space for the band to play freely and connect with headbangers county-wide.
While looking back on hometown house shows, the band recalled the turnout to their Halloween concert this past year, with a crowd of roughly 500 people.
“It was cool to see all of North County there,” Chun said as the band weighed in on the lessons they learned from the SoCal scene.
“We’ve learned a lot from some of the bigger bands like Dolphins on Acid. It’s really cool to see how the more seasoned bands did it,” Chun said.
SunShower has recently stopped at SOMA, a concert venue in San Diego, Isla Vista, San Diego State University and even Utah for the Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy (KGMPA) Festival. McLaughlin said that the group is looking to play in as many different places as possible in hopes of gaining exposure and more opportunities for exploration.
The energy of the “Up the Coast Tour” has kept SunShower busy. With this being their first stop-to-stop tour, the band is happy to be surrounded by the constant buzz and excitement that has surrounded their shows.
“Every night is a party, we’re playing shows with our buddies and having a good time,” Chun said.
The band came together through a melting pot of music born out of the San Diego scene. They spoke on how their collection of different tastes has offered fresh perspectives to the music they make, including their latest EP “Hoover Street,” the title being a tribute to the roots of the band.
With the help of Dolphins on Acid drummer Danny Cosmos, SunShower was able to release professionally produced tracks for the first time. The beachy, twangy melodies on their first EP come together to create a surf wax-induced daze, perfectly encapsulating teenage nights and youthful summer days.
“These are the songs that I wanted out from the start and now we get to put them out,” Chun said.
“He helped us actually make a record,” McLaughlin said regarding their collaboration with Cosmos.
Their next EP is planned to come out in December and a new single “Out of The Way” is set to be released on November 15th.
