John: Ok, give us a brief history on the band.
Jeff: Wow.. I don’t think it’s possible to give a brief history. Sunnshine went through more shit than most VH1 Behind the Music bands before one record ever came out.
John: What were the primary influences to Sunnshine?
Jeff: Well there’s the obvious Black Sabbath, Kyuss, and Sleep influences, and we were also shaped by bands like AC/DC, Robin Trower, Tool, and Only Living Witness. Everybody listened to different music so there were always fresh ideas coming into play when we were writing.
John: What led to the band’s demise?
Jeff: Drugs, death, women, and beer… I think that sums up what happens to most bands.
John: During your history, what was the best year you had, collectively?
Jeff: 2001. We toured the US with Throttlerod and then recorded for a week at Sound City with Joe Baressi. That was a great year!
John: Now at one point, you almost landed a major label deal. Why did it fall apart? I heard it was because they didn’t like your singer. What were they looking for?
Jeff: Who knows. We finished our recording for Maverick Records a week before 9/11. Obviously everything was on the back burner for a while and it was hard to get the interest back we initially had. There were many labels that expressed interest at the time but I don’t think they knew what to do with us because we weren’t rapping or wearing masks
John: How’d it feel to find out that Jochen from Daredevil was such a fan that he wanted to release No More Forever? Was it tough getting the material together?
Jeff: I have known Jochen for many years. He’s been a big fan since the early days and it just seemed to make sense to have him put it out. We had to go through a bunch of recordings to figure out what would be the best stuff to put on the CD. It wasn’t hard - just a lot of e-mails and stamps since we all live in different parts of the world.
John: Which of the songs on No More Forever do you really think stand out the best? And, on the flip side, are there any songs that don’t really work for you?
Jeff: I like it all for the most part. Some of the stuff is really crude demo work, and, of course, you wish that you could change things and record it again. It is what it is and I think it has a lot more heart than most recordings you hear nowadays.
John: I know Kevin’s playing drums for Throttlerod; what about the other members of Sunnshine. What’s everyone up to? Ye olde internet rumors had someone in the band training for UFC. True?
Jeff: You lost me on that one. That’s the first I have heard of a Sunnshine UFC fighter. Josh is getting ready to be a daddy, Joe is building houses in North Carolina, Chris is laying the tile, and I am tattooing in at Redletter1 in Tampa, FL.
John: Contemporary-wise, who do you think would’ve made a good fit on a Sunnshine tour?
Jeff: We always enjoyed playing with other genres of music. I get really bored seeing ten bands that all sounds the same. We would have gone out with just about anyone. High on Fire or Mastodon would be good bands to play with.
John: And speaking of tours, what were the best and worst tours you guys had?
Jeff: We always had a great time. That’s what its all about, you know. Hanging with your friends and playing music you love. I don’t think we ever had a bad tour or show. I only remember good times.
John: Had you the chance to do it all over, what would you have done differently?
Jeff: We would have rapped and worn masks.
