Seeking Sui

Progressive rock ensemble Seeking Sui (formerly the Sui Generis) is a powerhouse band - with a cello - making waves in the local music scene.

The musicians hail from as far away as New York and Miami, and each bring a sound that adds to the mayhem that is Sui: unconventional song structures, extended groove breaks and unlikely instrumental arrangements.

The members of Seeking Sui - cellist/keyboarder Mark Ford, bassist Joe DeMerritt, guitarist Jon Gary, drummer Drew Goodner and vocalist Tony Planas - are open to playing most any type of rock that inspires them.

"(Our) music is based on a wide-lens interpretation of various forms of rock 'n' roll," said Goodner, "taking cues from every sect of rock, and landing somewhere between technical, groovy and melodic."
- Tallahassee Democrat

Amidst the tourist villas, spoiled scampering children's cry of craving cavity-stricken chocolates shaped as Donald Duck, but beyond the travesties of American parenting, into the villa next door, progressive rockers, Seeking Sui begins to rise for a 13-hour recording day with renowned producer Brett Hesla.

Walking into the miniscule villa laced with dollar store appliances and intimidating small signs reminding the prohibition of smoking in the room, the sense of the monotony of everyday life is reminded. Yet, upon the introduction to the five main characters seeking more than tedium, it is then apparent that life proclaims more than the digestion of molded chocolate candy.

Joe DeMeritt, Mark Ford, Jon Gary, Drew Goodner, and Tony Planas disquiet themselves on the highest concentration of difference.

Formerly known as Sui Generis, which has the literal meaning of its own kind, the band resonates an aggressive melodic sound merging with a progressive rock experience.

"Seeking Sui is a band engaged in the sole pursuit of exploring the link between the obvious and the obscure," drummer Drew Goodner said. "It's a sound that boils over the pop-culture cauldron with a mix of reminiscent melody and innovative virtuosity."

Not only does the sundry sound produced set them apart, but the intellect and understanding they encompass makes their reverberation so distinct.

"Music is an incredible anomaly, that is 100 percent natural and 100 percent unnatural at the same time. Something that you do and understand, without actually doing or understanding," bassist Joe DeMeritt said.

At the impressionable age of 14, guitarist Jon Gary formed Sui Generis and together with vocalist Tony Planas both have spent years developing and cultivating an original sound.

The current quintet, whom have been together for a year and half, include DeMeritt and Goodner, who take part in each catalyst in the band while generating the distinctive progression.

Additionally, cellist Mark Ford, who just completed his masters at Florida State, helps to further distinguish Seeking Sui with the dark resonance that his clavier and cello embodies.

"Music needs to be a force for good, something that means more that just a catchy chorus, or a really neato t-shirt," DeMeritt said. "It needs to empower, heal, predict, encourage, and drive you to make everyday worth every precious second."

Although the inventiveness and professionalism that surrounds the group of men is evident when it comes to the music, their demeanor reflects the good humor they share.

"Our goal is to be as big as Chuck Norris. But we're not trying to get out there for the public to view us in a certain way, we are the same on stage as off stage; evidently not faking it," Planas said.

On stage, Ford describes their show as "abstract heavy music combined with gut-wrenching power."

In conjunction with the abstract power they amalgamate on stage, the most memorable experience for Seeking Sui is while on the road pursuing the passion they share.

"It's an amazing feeling to wake up everyday not knowing what you're going to do, all you really know is who is standing next to you," Gary said. "It is a band of brothers who stick together, who play good shows, who are just incredibly talented."

The tone and assail of Seeking Sui remains rigid and unrelentingly raw throughout their music. Which led them to producer, Brett Hesla, who recorded their EP during the first week of August in Orlando, Florida,.

"We are all overly excited about working with someone who has been in the business for over 14 years," Gary said. "Hesla is a singer, producer and songwriter who's formerly from Virgos Merlot and now singer for Dark New Day. He's someone we admire musically as well as a personal influence to my own songwriting."

Although working with the producer who was the basis of Creed may elate some egos, Seeking Sui keeps their feet planted firmly in the southern soil of Tallahassee.

"We are made up of FSU students and alumni as well as Tallahassee natives. This is our town, our community," Planas said. "We represent the local talent and stay true the town who has influenced and made us who we are."

As the band continues to gain the admiration of their surroundings, they continue to stay true to what they are here for, the music.

"There are no self-proclamations of grandiose perception, no self-absorbed notions, and no delusions of greatness," Goodner said. "Only a desire, an ambition, a phrase to live by: we are seeking sui generis."
- Shari Lesser

Seeking Sui cannot be described in the simplest of pretenses. Rather a delectable dose of diction to mess with the simple-minded is needed to convey the ideals that Sui represents.
The aggressive, melodic, progressive rock quintet with a cello breathes upon the very notion of individualism and aptitude, for the manifestation that the ideals of music embody.
- FSView 2008