Velvet Sun returns after 20+ years

Q&A

Florida based band Velvet Sun marks their return after a 20-plus year break with their new EP Empire. Led by Scott Weinkle, Velvet Sun has a natural inclination toward making melodic post-punk/psych pop music that touches on the influences Weinkle grew up on. From Pixies to Blue Oyster Club, the impact of their early records along with finding melodies “by chance,” Empire is a tribute to that early sound. On songs like “Wonder” and the title track, Velvet Sun blends hypnotic bass grooves and heavy distorted guitars. 

We spoke with band member Scott Weinkle about returning to music, his musical upbringing, being an autodidact and more.

Your latest EP Empire comes 20-something years after your debut album Dreamhome. What inspired you to continue the creative journey?

My old college bandmate Eric Gould from the band :2902 created a home studio and installed GarageBand hoping we could get together to record some new material. I took that opportunity to refine some sketches of songs I had in mind so it sounded like a plan. It took some time for him to get his home studio together so while the songs were fresh in my mind I went to Shack North to put down the basic tracks. I circled back to Eric afterwards for him to add some keyboard and some additional guitars before the final mix.

You’ve discussed the influence that artists like Joan Jett and Blue Oyster Club had on you while growing up. What did your musical upbringing look like?

Joan Jett is not an influence but I am drawn to psychedelic pop like Don't fear the Reaper, Matchstick Men, and Telsar but also post-punk like the Pixies. I was originally the drummer in bands but when punk and new wave came along I imagined I could be a songwriter as you did not have to have the musicianship of King Crimson etc. I also liked the cosmic guitar leads by Phil Manzanera in his prog rock band Mainstream Quite Sun. (hence the name Velvet Sun).

As someone who taught themselves guitar to those songs early on, what are some of the advantages/challenges of being an autodidact?

I feel I look for the color of sounds and the desire to create alternate realities and spaces within the music. I'm less concerned with riffs and scales. I'm looking to stumble upon chance melodies or sounds which can be difficult when waiting for the inspired moments to occur.

Empire explores political themes including the expansion of power through war. Has writing ever helped you process something significant?

Empire was a new direction for me bringing a political dimension into my music. Most of my songs were about the joys and struggles of relationships and what can be learned going through those struggles so I think I learned something about myself along the way but I would look forward to expanding outside the self into more political observations.

The musical landscape is notably different now than it was with your debut LP. What are some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen in the music industry and how have you approached those?

In 2001 it took a lot of effort and expense to create a CD and to have it mailed to indie radio stations etc. so that it attracted a certain amount of attention if only because the band had the determination to go into a recording studio and to create the entire package. Now everyone can create professional sounding tracks at home which allows people to take more risks and be more creative as there is not as much at stake. This is wonderful for the artist but it is also harder to stand out from the enormous amount of music being created. I still like the recording studio environment and working with professional engineers who know how to separate all the frequencies properly.

If your music were a color palette, what would it be?

A rich purple or deep red. It used to be blue which is a more upbeat atmospheric color but purple is regal and red is like the blood that flows through our veins. A deeper feeling.


Empire is out now. You can also listen below on Spotify or wherever you stream music. Follow Velvet Sun on Instagram.


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