Open Sunday

November 14 2002
Open Sunday “Lack Of A Better Word”: A CD Review

By Kevin Guinn (SugarBuzz Magazine reviewer)

OK, A few days ago I went to my mailbox and I received a package from a band called Open Sunday. This band wanted me to listen to their stuff. Now you can probably guess what I was thinking. "I was thinking I don’t know about this…I don’t think they are going to sound good." so I put it down for an hour. Then I got to thinking a little more, so I decided to give it a try.

When I heard the first track "Marry Mary" I fell in love. This CD started out great so I had high hopes for this band. As soon as I heard the rest of the CD I could not put it down.

My favorite highlights on this CD include:

“Marry Mary”, a great rocking opener that delivers the goods with chucky rock guitars and great lyrics.

Gritty, soulful lyrics highlight “Gone For Good”. I really relate to this song, as should any teenager with relationship angst.

“Hollywood Dream” a power ballad which hits home. “Never been what I thought it should”, the delusion of many who come to the land of swimming pools and movie stars.

“Forever” features awesome guitar sounds and drive.

“Freaking Me Out” is so catchy that it is freaking me out. Locomotive chew guitars drive this song over the edge.

This is a 14 track CD so you get a lot of energy and emotion. Every song has thoughtful lyrics and is good for whatever mood you may be in. This band rocks!

Open Sunday is one of my new favorite bands. I have not heard something this good since I bought Incubus’ "Morning View". So now Open Sunday is at the top of my charts along side

Linkin Park and Incubus… I know this band will make it to the top.

The Band’s Influences are: Bush, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Default, nickel back, Our Lady Peace, and Better the Ezra.

Lucky (SugarBuzz Hollywood Reporter) stopped by my house yesterday, and after letting him listen to a few tunes he said they sounded a bit like Creed, but better. Then he tried to jack the CD from me! Get your own copy asswipe!

You should get the CD too! It will make a great addition to your collection!

Be sure to check out Open Sunday at: www.opensundayonline.com.

Kevin Guinn (SugarBuzz Reviewer)
kevinguinn@sugarbuzzmag.com or
Kevin Guinn
4100 McFarlane Ave. # 12L
Burbank, CA 91505

- Kevin Guinn

Open Sunday- What No Cuervo?
Show Review By Crystal Weir



Justin Berry- Vocals Guitar
Josh Crumley- Vocals Bass
Bryan Gulledge- Guitar
Andrew McMullin- Drums




Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I wasn’t involved in any of that, sadly. But cheers to all of you who were! I actually don’t mean sex and drugs in the literal sense, per se. It was really just one chick who got the urge to get naked and molest several men in the bar, and so she did. And, now that I think about it, that does sound kinda fun, huh? Anyway, I don’t know, but I’m PRETTY sure she was fucked up in some form of the word. This was all captured on video, by the way, at the Open Sunday/Black Mollys show last Friday, Jan. 24 at Benders.

You may remember Open Sunday from the Teenage Wasteland section a while back. Kevin Guinn reviewed their cd “Lack of a Better Word”, but due to some computer fuck up it got zapped off the site and couldn’t be recovered. We thought that sucked, and since Kevin really liked the cd, Lucky and I thought it would be cool to make it up to them by doing a live show review. They were scheduled to play with The Black Mollys Friday, Jan. 17th, so I was supposed to attend the show and do the review. As simple as it sounds, it didn’t work out. I did, in fact, attend the show, but due to circumstances beyond my control (Absolutely NOT because I couldn’t remember anything about that eve!) I couldn’t do the review. It would not have been fair to the band. But have no fear! I will always find a way to get the shit done, especially if I think I’m gonna get in trouble if I don’t. So they were playing the following Friday, Jan. 24, again with the Mollys, so I’d just be a little late getting the review in.

So, finally, here it is. (Just a side note, the photos were taken at the first show, the review was written at the second show.)

I arrived at the bar, which I had never heard of, and ordered a beer and a shot of tequila. The bartender proceeded to tell me that they did not carry Jose Cuervo. What the hell? I mean, what fucking drinking establishment in America doesn’t carry Jose Cuervo? I was traumatized, but I’m getting off the subject. There were not many people there at all, but the venue was actually an okay little place for a smaller scale show. The stage was really tiny, which I’m sure wasn’t ideal for the band. I chatted with the guys before the show, and they are all pretty damn young! Or maybe I’m just getting old, but I’m not ready to admit that yet. They talked about their upcoming trip to Texas to do a series of dates in a few different cities, so check out the Tour section on their website, www.opensundayonline.com.


The show was ready to begin, and I was concerned for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there are four of them, and the stage was so small they could hardly move. Secondly, the crowd was pretty small, and sometimes I find a band not really getting into the show when they aren’t playing for a full house….or even half full. But Open Sunday played as if they were playing for a crowd of thousands. They had fun, they played a full set, and they played well.

They started the show in perfect sync with “Unspoken”, and they played a tight set of around eleven songs that proved to be quite pleasing. It was refreshing, because the band I had seen the Saturday before sounded as if each member was playing a different song at the same time. There were a lot of unique guitar riffs as well as interesting fast to slow changes, slight pauses leading into high energy shit, and aside form the occasional feedback issue, they sounded polished and clear. The vocals were impressive, and the drummer was steady and consistent as well. All of the songs possessed a little something to get your attention, which is cool because I get bored very easily. Especially if I’m drinking.

They played Unspoken, Somehow, All You Wanted, Black Roses, He’s All Right, Mary Mary (Kevin Guinn’s fave), Another Ending, Hollywood Dream, Freakin’ Me Out, The One, and Gone For Good. I may have missed one or two, but you get the idea.

The guys gave me a copy of their cd, “Lack of Better Word” that night. I listened to it for the first time the next day while driving in my car. I don’t think the cd does them justice by a long shot. When you see someone perform live, it is apparent whether or not they are truly talented because there really isn’t room for fuck ups. You get one shot when it’s live, so it is blatantly obvious if a band sucks or if they rock. And there’s no doubt that Open Sunday rocks. When someone plays live you see the energy and emotion, and there is the freedom to play “in the moment” and just fucking throw it down! It’s hard to project that through 2.5 minutes of recorded sound. So, although I didn’t LOVE the cd, it was pretty good, and the live show proved that they definitely play their asses off.

In conclusion, I wanna say that I passed the owner of the bar on the way out, at 2 a.m., and expressed my dismay regarding the Jose Cuervo situation, at which time he walked over to the cooler, removing a full bottle of JC. What the hell?? The bartender looks confused as he states, “I didn’t think to look in the cooler”. OH MY GOD!

Check ‘em out in Texas. Support your local musicians. - Crystal Weir

Open Sunday
For Lack of a Better Word
independent, 2002

This is one of those albums that really grew on me with each listen. Lack of a Better Word consists of 14 songs of tuneful, yet raw, "alternative" sounding (whatever that means now) rock n' roll that reminded me of Mudhoney and Nirvana. The Mudhoney sound comes from the ragged playing, which includes played-on-ten lead work and no bullshit axe playing; Nirvana comes through Justin Berry's vocals, which can sound like Kurt Cobain.

The album opener of "Marry Mary" is a no-nonsense rocker with a great hook. It's the song that immediately brought to mind that fuzz tone fury of Mudhoney and the Cobain Bleach era vocals.

It's more of the same on "Gone for Good," but the distortion factor is raised up a notch and there is a bit more melody; I dug the verse sung over the rumbling bass line. Songs like "Hollywood Dreaming" are raw but tuneful. The chorus almost sounds off-key until you realize that it's more about the vibe than the polish, which is something that I'll take straight to the bank over some MTV, sissy-produced piece of crap.

"Unspoken" has a rising groove with some cool wah-wah guitar before it moves into clean picking and melodic singing on the verse. It's a mid-paced melodic track that is a nice change of pace. "Last Ticket" combines ragged pop with fuzz tone guitars and a 90s college radio sound. I also liked the stoner rock guitar sound of "One Step," which also features from some cool lead guitar accents.

I love the amp-blowing delivery on this album. My guess is that these songs sound fantastic in a live setting. Open Sunday has succeeded in putting together a strong effort of raw guitar fury, driving bass, and melodic song craft.

This is rock n roll — period.
- Scott Alisoglu