Sluka sound the alarm about the rise of the Sunset Screamer with their new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The second preview single from the San Diego progressive alt-rock project’s upcoming album Cautionary Yell, the prophetic and topical Sunset Screamer offers provocative, thought-provoking lyrics delivered in the band’s usual boundary-pushing fashion.
Released on April 30 — not coincidentally, the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s suicide, a date when most of the world erroneously thought would be the end of fascism — the song is a reflection of the political and social polarization in the U.S. and around the world. “We used to just ignore people who would rant and scream nonsense,” explains the band’s mastermind Christopher Sluka. “But now the Orange Jesus, as he is referred to by people in his own party, is leading in many polls to regain the presidency, sounding more and more like the Fuhrer of 1930s Germany.” The accompanying video was intentionally released on May 8 — the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, a similarly historic and significant date.
As for his own history: Sluka was always musically inclined. He remembers his first instrument as a trombone, but on his eighth birthday his parents gave him a guitar. Now, while he claims not to be an expert musician, he can hold his own on piano, drums, bass, French horn, percussion, trumpet and of course, guitar. By age 13, he was trying his hand at songwriting. By 17, he was in New York City going to college and playing in clubs.
Between the ’80s and today, he’s released hit singles in Japan and Europe, released albums on major labels and started his own, owned not one but two successful coffee shops, and sold them to open a flight school. “For me, flying and music are very similar,” he says. “They both feel like magic and it’s incredible that human beings are able to do them both. They follow check lists. Mistakes can have dire consequences. They require lots of study, practice, and repetition. And yet no two flights are the same and no two musical performances are the same.”
In 2021, Sluka released his 13th album, Figure it Out. While he covered guitar, keyboards and vocals, he was joined by bassist Anna Eppink, as he was on the 2019 release Ready to Connect. “Anna has a very unique style. She comes up with bass parts I never would have thought of. She also has many ideas visually for our videos and our live show. And she influences me greatly through our endless discussions of life on this planet.”
Watch the video for Sunset Screamer above, hear more from Sluka below, and find him on his website, Facebook and Instagram.
