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Sunfall Windfall - Salt Lake City Weekly
Provo's Sunfall Festival scores a record deal on the internet
through Garageband.com.
When the members of Sunfall Festival landed their Garageband.com recording
contract, they really had no idea it was coming.
They had uploaded the song "I Walked Away" a year ago on the
recommendation of some friends, thinking that would be the end of it.
After tracking hits on their own website, www.SunfallFestival.com, they
noticed a lot of traffic coming to it from Garageband.com. They checked
it out and found that their song was sitting at No. 25. It gradually rose,
and after four days of sitting at No. 1 they were anxious for something
to happen so they could get some sleep.
Then they received the phone call. They had become the winners of the
seventh $250,000 award the site has given.
"There are musicians who are big, like Jewel, who's supposedly from
Utah [Jewel was born in Payson], and I heard Poe was from Provo but she
didn't like it here," singer Amy Greetham says. "All of us came
together from different parts of the country to Utah and made it Ôbig.'
I think that's amazing."
Sunfall Festival was formed in the now-distant '90s. Drummer Chris Peterson
had known guitarist Scott Wiley most of his life. Deciding they needed
a female on vocals, they found Amy soon after, forming the band's creative
core. The bottom end has been less stable: Their first bass player, George
Brunt, ended up going to law school in New York. A second moved to California.
Then Brunt might decide to put law school on hold and came back.
Scott brings the pretty, jangling side to Sunfall Festival by listening
to bands like The Innocence Mission, R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs and other
indie-pop, while Chris prefers the edgier stylings of Elliott Smith and
Sunny Day Real Estate. Amy has always been partial to Brit-pop with male
vocals, faves including Ride, the Charlatans and My Bloody Valentine.
All of this influence has contributed to their sound, ethereal pop in
the alt-rock vein.
With a female vocalist, comparisons to 10,000 Maniacs and the Sundays
are frequent. Scott thinks when they're being "poppy," Sunfall
sounds like Australian band Frente. When they get darker, it's more like
the Red House Painters. He realizes most people won't find their music
"groundbreaking," but the band thinks it's right for them and
the audience they're seeking.
Because the Garageband.com recording contract was announced only last
week, details are still sketchy. "We still have to work out all the
details with the label before we even start figuring out when and where
that album will be recorded," Chris explains. "We've been working
on our own independent release for the last two years, but the album with
Garageband.com won't even be started for months at least."
The contract-winning song "I Walked Away" will be included on
that second full-length album, Monday 23, which they promise will be out
soon. In the meantime, you can pick up a copy of Sunfall Festival's debut,
Absolutely Splendid, or the interim EP On the Verge from www.SunfallFestival.com.
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