Interview-Splintered Sunlight, who play SSMF Sat!
For the past 18 years, Splintered Sunlight has celebrated the aura of the Grateful Dead throughout the Philadelphia area. Forming in 1992, Splintered Sunlight derived their name from the famous Dead tune, “Box of Rain”:
“Walk into Splintered Sunlight, Inch your way through dead dreams, To another land. Maybe you’re tired and broken; your tongue is twisted with words half-spoken and thoughts unclear. What do you want me to do? To do for you to see you through? A box of rain will ease the pain. And love will see you through”
This past week I got a chance to chat with Splintered Sunlight’s guitar & lead vocalist Butchy Sochorow about Splintered Sunlight, their endeavors in the world of the Grateful Dead tribute bands and the upcoming show at the Southern Shore Music Festival.
Splintered Sunlight began their growth in popularity in the mid-90s playing regular gigs at a popular club in Philadelphia, Middle East. During their tenure at Middle East, Splintered Sunlight shared the house with the popular bands of the mid-90s like No Doubt and Gov’t Mule. “It was pretty cool to think that upstairs No Doubt was playing. This was when they were still playing clubs, I don’t think they had even put out their first video yet” recalls Butchy.
During the Middle East gigs the owner of another local club, Brownies, became attracted to Splintered Sunlight’s sound. He invited them to begin playing Brownies on Thursday nights back in 1996. 13 years later and Splintered Sunlight has continued to play Brownies on a weekly basis.
Needless to say, Splintered Sunlight gets to play a lot of gigs and do a ton of jamming. “We have a 200+ song set list that we draw from for each show, obviously we try to mix it up as much as possible,” Butchy explains, “during the course of a show we do close to 90% Dead tunes and 10% other covers, but it is a wide mix since the Dead also did so many covers.”
Splintered Sunlight mixes their style into each Dead song says Butchy, “I personally try to match the clean tone of Jerry’s guitar and the sound of his voice but I will also inject my own style into each song.” I went on to ask which songs were the crowds really grooving to now-a-days. According to Butchy the perennial favorite Dead jams were popular with Splintered’s audiences. “Tunes like Shakedown Street, Scarlet Begonias, Fire on the Mountain and China Cat Sunflower instill energy into the audience.”
This weekend you can get involved with the jam when Splintered Sunlight takes the stage at 12:45pm. Butchy gave me some insider info about a special guest who will be joining Splintered Sunlight on stage. Justin Farkus, an 11 year old guitar phenomenon will be up on stage shredding guitar alongside Butchy and the rest of Splintered Sunlight. If you don’t happen to catch Splintered Sunlight at the Southern Shore Music Fest then check them out every Thursday at Brownie’s in Ardmore or catch them during their two day show at Triumph brewery on July 2nd and 3rd. Also upcoming for Splintered Sunlight is their own festival the “Splintered Sunlight Family Camp Out” on July 16th. Check their website, http://splinteredsunlight.com, for all the details.
The Lee Boys play the Southern Shore Music Festival … Sat June 19th!
June 19, 2010 | Gates Open: 11:00am | Performances: 12Noon – 8:00pm
Little Feat
Trout Fishing In America
Lee boys
Elizabeth Cook
Dala
Splintered Sunlight
Sin City band
Just $25.00 for 8+ hours of peace and music…
$35.00 at Gate | Children 12 & Under Free!
WXPN & Jersey Arts Card Members Receive Advance Ticket Discount When Purchasing Tickets Online!
FREE SOUVENIR IF PURCHASED THROUGH FACBOOK
