Second Sun

Second Sun
By John DeGroff

Second Sun, the band that finished fourth in whatzup‘s 2004 Battle of the Bands, was not deterred in the slightest with that ranking. According to drummer Rob Cannon, “We’d do it again. We really found out who our fan base was in Fort Wayne. Especially in Fort Wayne, there aren’t a lot of people who come out to shows like that. To have a big turnout and to have people coming up to you saying ‘...we’re here for you ...,’ that meant a lot.”
Besides Cannon, Second Sun are Steve Ahern, bass and vocals; Matt Clibon, lead vocals; Mike Marting, guitar; and Scott Lankenau, guitar and vocals. They met while they were still students at Northrop High School and have been a working band for four years now.
Second Sun’s name comes from the idea of there always being a second way of looking at something; there’s always a different light on things. While this might be considered a very good philosophy for a band to have, for Second Sun, it’s also part of their work ethic.
These guys have taken the time to understand what’s going on in the Fort Wayne music market and have developed a perspective that enables them to view it as more than just a place to get gigs.
Perhaps the best example of this “second way of looking at something...” is the knowledge that being a working band involves more than just live performances. Another way of looking at things is to know what goes on behind the scenes as well.
“It was two years ago that we put our studio together,” said Cannon. “It was a group effort - 13 weeks of not practicing just to build the place.”
“Basically, we built the studio because we just couldn’t afford to keep going in and making demos here, demos there,” said Marting. “We were just never happy with the product. We’d spend all this money and still have some questions or some doubts about it at the end of the day.”
“If something’s not right,” said Cannon, “we don’t hesitate to turn around and re-record the whole thing.”
“That’s happened several times,” added Clibon. “We do it because we care. Not many people can; we’re very fortunate. The coolest thing is that our whole album is produced by us. If anybody’s gonna take the fall, it’s us. Our raw recordings sound better than a lot of bands’ demos.”
The album in question has the working title of Lux Aeterna, Latin for eternal life. It consists of 12 tracks, with the possible addition of another. With the exception of one yet-to-be-recorded vocal, the album is done and is due to be mixed and mastered in Boston. The project will also be accompanied by a DVD.
The band is grateful to Carl Bleke, a recent graduate of Berkley College, in sound engineering and music performance, for his work on their project.
“The nice thing about Carl,” said Cannon, “is that he didn’t come in and tell us this is how you’re gonna do it. He would ask us all the way through how we wanted to do a song. even figuring out mic placement and how each mic should sound.”
“With our music,” said Marting, “we record at a loud volume to get that power out. Carl works with us all through the process.”
The band is also working on distribution plans for the project. “We’re going to try everything with it,” Marting said. “We’ve made some new connections recently that will hopefully work out, but it’s a long shot, like everything else. But we are going to release the album locally ... hopefully flood the market, hopefully get our name out, so people know who we are, because we’ve been playing this town for years, but a lot of people seem to have never heard of us.”
“We actually play more out of town, “ adds Cannon. “You go up north and say ‘Second Sun’, and people know who we are in the Elkhart and South Bend area. We’ve also played in Ohio and Michigan, and we’re trying to set up a short tour for the spring.”
“We’ve been building our money up in order to do this,” said Clibon. “It takes money to tour. We’ve been getting ourselves up for basically the last two years. You’ve got to be established to do it, and with our CD and DVD coming out that’s what we’re doing.”
“Hopefully,” adds Marting, “there will be a resurgence of metal fans. There’s more melody to our music, though, than just a thrash metal band. There’s also a lot of softer music ... and we throw melody in. Maybe we’ll get a broader scope of people to check it out.”
Part of what Marting is referring to by “softer music” is the band’s acoustic performance of their tune “Unturned,” live on X102. This involved the entire band with the exception of drummer Cannon. Second Sun have had other material played on public access as well.
They have plans to follow up the album release next year with another project that will include more acoustic numbers and material they consider as “B sides.”
“We sort of see acoustic music as a trend,” said Marting. “It helps to connect people. It’s so raw.”
On the subject of the local music scene, the guys in Second Sun have strong opinions as well. “It’s a really strong music community here,” said Cannon. “I hear that from people who play music in other cities that come here.”
“I wish there was a push more to let original bands play,” added Marting. “I understand that covers are what people want to hear, and that’s what gets them in the door, but some places won’t let you play any originals. They won’t even give you a percentage to play with. They want you to be a jukebox, and that’s not what I want to be.”
“The funny thing is,” said Clibon, “we get people to stay with our originals; then we throw in some covers, and it works out.”
“That’s the thing,” said Marting. “If they just give us a chance, we put on a good show. They ask us back.”
All the work that Second Sun have put into their music, their studio and their live performances has also given them somewhat of a critical eye about what it takes to make a band viable locally. Marting even suggests that it’s helpful for a band to videotape their shows in order to know exactly what the audience is seeing.
“I can’t stress that enough,” he said. “If you videotape, you can actually analyze what went down as opposed to what you thought went down. So many people have told us they are impressed with how tight we are, and that’s because we have sat for hours and analyzed tapes. We always want to perfect it. We want to be a national act, so we want to put on a national act show. This would work wonders for so many bands.”
“It’s also important to be social,” added Clibon. “Be very social. Don’t hide in the corner and think you’re the best musician in the world. Go talk to the club owner, and to other bands.”
“Just make yourself more available,” said Cannon. “We’re just like everyone else; we just like playing music.”
The soon-to-be-released CD, which Second Sun are planning on packaging with their DVD, along with some upcoming out-of-state bookings, is the result of four years of hard work. They would also love a shot at fronting a national act at a major venue such as Piere’s. Of course, time and the fickle nature of the music business will be the final judge. But with the combination of powerfully played music, great attitude and a bust-ass work ethic, Second Sun won’t have to be second to anyone for very long.
In closing, drummer Rob Cannon wanted to be sure to add this: “We definitely want to thank the fans for all their support during the Battle of the Bands. It was an incredible turnout, and we couldn’t ask for more.”

Copyright 2004 Ad Media Inc.

- Whatzup Magazine