Sun K Make Music to Chart a Roadmap for Adrift Twentysomethings

Photo courtesy of Ashlea Wessel

“You could say I was a little lost at the time,” says 26-year-old Kristian Montano. On the phone from Toronto, the Sun K front man is revisiting a point in his life when music was not the primary goal. Born in Oakville, Ontario, Montano grew up on the sounds of the Beatles, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, and ABBA. As Montano’s mother was a music teacher, he learned to play the piano at an early age. While initially smitten with tickling the ivories, Montano quickly gravitated towards the guitar after watching his older brother play.

Although he felt intertwined with music, Montano ultimately went on to study medicine at McGill University. While it appeared his time spent in Montreal had sidelined his dreams of becoming a musician, it actually acted as a catalyst for Sun K’s formation. In between reading textbooks on anatomy and pharmacology, Montano was researching the great musicians of the past. “I figured if I wanna write like [them], I should go back to the history of music and see what they loved,” says Montano. It was during this time that Montano met what would go on to become Sun K's keyboardist, Stuart Retallack. Though they eventually lost touch after school, the two would reunite at Montano’s first live solo show in Toronto. Before that reunion however, Montano met Kevin Michael Butler at an open mic night back in 2010. Butler would go on to become Sun K’s guitarist, but as with Retallack, Montano lost touch with Butler when he decided to spend some time between London, Ontario and San Francisco.

Upon his return to Toronto, Montano felt more confident than ever to pursue music. Performing under the name Kristian Montano and the Warm Guns, Montano released his first solo album Land Of Kings in 2012. In the midst of promoting that record, Montano caught the attention of producer and Sum 41 bass guitarist Jason “Cone” McCaslin. Realizing the depth of Montano’s potential, McCaslin prompted Montano, Retallack and Butler to get a band together. Thanks to a series of cosmic events, the boys were introduced to bassist JuHang Sin, who in turn knew of a drummer by the name of Aaron Bravener. With both Sin and Bravener now onboard, Sun K was finally ready to share their music with the world. In March of 2015, the band released their debut album Northern Lies. Acting as a roadmap for adrift twentysomethings everywhere, Northern Lies magnifies a confusing time in most people’s lives and lets listeners know they’re in the same boat. Although this journey known as life can be treacherous, Northern Lies makes it clear that the destination is worth the trip, even if there’s a heartbreak or two along the way.

Noisey: You mentioned that it was your parents who turned you on to becoming a musician. Do you remember the moment when you realized that’s what you wanted to do?
Kristian Montano: It took some coaxing. I remember coming back [from school]. I think it was third year. I was about a week away from midterms, and all I was bringing back was autobiographies on musicians and my guitar. My parents sat me down and asked me what I wanted to do in the future. I said “well, I either want to train hop in the southern states and learn folk music, or go and do a masters in pharmacology.” They basically looked at me like I was crazy, and told me that I should try to pursue music and if I was gonna do that, the right way would be to get a degree in audio engineering. I think having that support was the first time I realized that it was okay to pursue this, and that I’d be all right because my parents had my back.

Back in February of 2012, you released your debut solo album Land Of Kings. How would you say your craft has changed since then?
I think my voice has developed a lot, that and a sense of production and arrangement for sure. Since that time I’ve worked in a lot of studios. I worked in San Francisco at a place called Faultline for a while. I got to watch some top notch producers do their thing. That really influenced my ability to do my home demos. You’ll notice the song “Land Of Kings,” the title track off that [debut], is on the [new] record. The differences I think you can hear in that, are definitely in production and vocal prowess.

What was it about “Land Of Kings” that you felt was special enough to carry over to the new album?
That was actually one of the first songs I ever wrote. It’s a song about finding music, and about being lost in that period of time that I spent at McGill and Montreal. I used to write weirder, out there music and it was the first time that I sat down and was like “you know what? I’m gonna try to write something more concise, that’s just simple and to the point.” I think that conciseness is something that carried over into Sun K’s vibe. It really meant a lot to me.

Northern Lies was produced by Cone from Sum 41. What was it like working with him?
He’s awesome. I can say he’s one of my best friends. He’s a fantastic producer, and he’s a very meticulous arranger. He really helped me find the sound that I was looking for. I’d send him demos, like really, really rough stuff and he’d let me know what I should incorporate and what I should drop. He really pushed me to find the sound, and pushed the band to sonically find something that was cohesive.

The track “Sweet Marie” is about your Gretsch guitar. How did you come into possession of that particular instrument?
I was actually in Toronto at Ring Music. I saw it and played it for about 20 minutes, and just knew. It’s one of those beat up old guitars. You have to struggle with it a little bit. It has the neck crease, the tuning pegs are loose. But you know, sometimes with an instrument you sit down and it makes sense. So I played it for 20 minutes, and I have a habit of being an impulse buyer, so I went for a walk for about an hour. My fiancé turned to me and she said “what do you think? Do you still want it?” I hadn’t stopped thinking about it for the entire hour. So I went back in and bought it.

Were there any events in particular that you knew you had to write about for the new album?
Yeah there’s one in particular that I’m really glad we got out. It’s the last song “Hymn For The Living,” and it’s a really important track to me. I wrote it two years ago. I got a call from my parents saying that my grandmother was on her deathbed, and that she might not have much longer. It’s a song that came really quickly to me. The idea is it’s a prayer that she’d have one more day, and she actually lived another two years up until this past Monday. As soon as I sent it to Cone he knew that we needed to include it on the record. The fact that it did make it on there means so much to me.

I’m sorry to hear about her passing. What’s one piece of advice you’ll take from her throughout the rest of your life?
“Hold your head high.” She was tough. She was a very, very tough lady. She’d want me to be polite and respectful, but also not take any shit from anyone.

What would you say is the overriding theme of the album?
Truth, love, loss, and deception. Your twenties is a pretty fucked up time period in the sense that it’s tough to meet the right people, especially trying to find your way through this industry. You meet a lot of shady characters and you meet a lot of honest people. Trying to figure out who’s who and where to go with your life, can be a really difficult and challenging thing. You make a lot of mistakes when you’re going through it. You gotta learn from your mistakes and move on.

How do you find a balance between navigating your way through the industry, as well as your personal life?
I’m just winging it. I think that’s the theme of this as well. I take the guidance of the people around me who have done this before, and they’ve been humongous in helping me out and helping me realize when to take a break.

What song on the new album gave you guys the most trouble to record?
Probably “New York City Blues,” which is odd because it was known as a single. We always knew that song had a lot of potential, but I think in knowing that we wanted to be really careful with how we went into it. We ended up going through a number of different arrangements and song structures in trying to find what worked. It ended up working out really well, but it was a tough one for sure.

As a band from Toronto, it’s interesting that you have a song called “New York City Blues.” What’s your connection to the Big Apple?
That’s where my fiancé is from. She’s from upstate New York. When we were first dating she used to go on these trips to [the city]. When she left me I’d get the New York City blues. So that’s what that song’s about, missing your partner.

Having switched back and forth from Toronto and NYC, when it comes to the music scene what do you find is different between the two cities?
I think there’s a bit more of a frenetic pace in New York City, which is odd cos coming from the suburbs I used to find that Toronto was a frenetic place. But New York City is definitely crazy. There’s so much going on. And Toronto, it’s not that it’s more laid back, but with all the neighbourhoods it feels like you can create more of a home here. Whereas I think New York City is a great place to visit.

What’s been your favourite part about touring?
I think it’s a cathartic release. You spend all this time pent up in a van travelling four hours a day from venue to venue. When you get in sometimes you have to do press, and it’s all for this 45 to 50 minute release of getting it out there and seeing how people react to it. Even if there aren’t a lot of people there, for us right now it’s about the band interacting and getting better. And when the crowd is there, and when the crowd does respond, it just means so much more.

What would you like listeners to take away from the album?
There’s a lot of ups and downs, which again is what we’re going through, and that’s what life is all about. We try to bring up a lot of energy, and then bring it back to these simple love songs. We want people to know that we can have a good time, but sometimes you have to pair it back because there’s gotta be a lot of diversity. I hope people want to come to the show, cos I think that’s where people really start to get what we’re after.

Aaron Morris is a writer living in Toronto - @aarmor212