LA newcomers Stains of a Sunflower explode onto the LA scene with their new song, “If We Could Burn”. Natalie Renee mesmerizes with her young powerful voice that is capable of transporting you back to a rock infused era where female rock n roll powerhouses owned the stage like Patti Smith, Janis Joplin and Joan Jett. A clear rocking frontwoman, Renee’s voice grabs the listener, submerges them into the song, and drowns out all of the noise that surrounds you. She’s strong, she’s powerful but incredibly graceful. Renee is backed by just as powerful and formidable band. The base plucks a deep funk, the electric guitar belts out rugged rock n roll riffs and the drums pound and crash rhythmically in the background. Hailing from Boston, Stains of a Sunflower is new to the LA scene but has already played gigs at LA venues big and small including Lot 1 and The Whiskey A Go Go. The band recently performed their new single “If We Could Burn” on LA's resident underground radio/YouTube program A Fistful of Vinyl, and will be released March 22. Stains of a Sunflower deserves your listening attention, as this band is destined for rock n roll greatness.
Don't miss out and stream "If We Could Burn" here!
Scroll below for the bands personalized interview with BuzzMusic.
So nice to chat with you! Your new single “If We Could Burn” is badass! What was idea behind the song?
Thank you so much!! That means a lot. Shade and myself (Natalie) got together for a writing session, and he showed me the lick, the one that opens the song & turns into the main hook. A few nights before, I’d been in my writing den trying to come up with something, anything. I kept writing the phrase “if we could burn like the stars in the night sky” over and over in my notebook. When we got together, the phrase just made more sense split up and repeated, copying the riff. We wrote pretty much the rest of the song there in the studio, trying to embody this sense of longing to be great, to be fantastic. That being said, we also wanted to encourage having patience with ourselves and each other when we feel we are not great.
Talk me through the writing and composing process for a band of 4? How do you avoid creative differences?
Writing with the band is quite interesting, really, and only continues to be so. We all have different interests, backgrounds, and approaches to playing and writing, but with all that, a common ground. We have fun. And we really care about each other. Of course we have to remember we’re human too, not just artists, and that people are inherently unique and different. Performing and writing with the band since 2015 has been one of the most eccentric, educational, and truly magical experiences in my career and personal life, and because of that I believe our creative differences actually lend themselves to our writing, quite a lot. So really, we like having creative differences, and continue to focus on not avoiding them, but communicating them clearly. Here and there, of course there’s miscommunications, but we stay open, we stay grounded, and we have fun.
What have you been up to since moving to LA?
Since moving to LA, we’ve all just been trying to settle in and keep moving forward, independently and together. We’ve restructured our rehearsal schedule, so we’ve had a lot more time to workshop new ideas and write together every week. The rest of my time has been job hunting, networking, and more writing. And lots of goofy adventures, of course.
What was it like recently playing on A Fistful of Vinyl, which is really a small, hidden backyard location in Culver City?
It was super fun playing on A Fistful of Vinyl. The backyard patio we played in was just beautiful, and so intimate, and it was a blast just hanging with the crew and getting to know them (and their family!) and the owners of the house (and their dogs!).
What are you hoping to see happen for your career in the year ahead?
In the next year, I’m certainly hoping that we become more immersed in all the different music and artistic communities in Los Angeles. We knew it would take some time to gain a following here, moving is always an adjustment, but everyone we’ve met and worked with so far has been just wonderful. The communities and people that have begun to embrace us and welcome us have been so genuine, and it’s a really nice reminder that when we feel alone, we’re really not so alone. I’m looking forward to hopefully be playing with lots of the friends we’ve made so far, and many more in a year, being able to fill venues and be playing regular shows for free, and to record some of our newer songs.
Connect with Stains of a Sunflower on the bands website and socials: