The Rise of the Seattle Sons
The pungent grunge scene emerged from the American northwest and went on to permeate its way into worldwide consciousness in a way other genres did not. With it came a new fury. A new honesty and truth that did not celebrate over the top polish that had rendered a lot of rock and roll anemic. Raw became an extension of the punk element. Guitars with bad attitudes carried the emotional sentiment of a generation.
Dangerous rock and roll was well and alive having resurrected the spirit of rock. To me it was kind of like being there when Frankenstein first got off the table.
By now many of the tunes from this era have become stapled anthems in our collective consciousness. You know who the groups and major players are. It’s no surprise there will be tributes to this scene all over. Syracuse is no exception being the home base for Seattle Sons—a group that respectfully maintains the authenticity in their tribute to this music.
I had a little chat with bandleader Jake Bunger about the project.
Chuck Schiele: Tell us about Seattle Sons. When did the group start?
Jake Bunger:
Originally, it started as a discussion between Kevin and I, maybe 10-11 years ago. Kevin rounded up Aaron Dodge (guitars), Jessie Marsallo (vocals), Sean Trinkaus (bass) and I to start putting things together. We had a set list, a couple potential band names … but that never got enough traction to see the light of day. There were a couple iterations (without me), until January ’19. That first weekend after the new year, Sunday night, Kev called me and said come down to studio; bring your guitar. That’s where I met Shane Stillman (vocals) and Gabe Infantino (bass) for the first time, and the four of us banged out a half dozen songs that are still part of the setlist today. Actually, I think a good portion of that setlist Kevin originally compiled years ago is still part of today’s setlist.
One of our promises with each other: play the songs as close to album accurate as we could – because that’s how we hear all that music. Obviously, it’ll never be a perfect match, and there are some songs we take liberties with … we are still musicians, after all. What I’ve come to appreciate about this band is how no one is above some constructive criticism, and everyone is of a mind to work together and improve the end result.
CS: obviously, the scope of the project Seattle based. Is there anything more to the project than that?
JB: The original idea has spread out a little as we’ve evolved, but the primary focus was to cover the Seattle bands that gave birth to the grunge era. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, they were the ‘big four’. As we dug into the music of the era, we started to find a lot more bands that applied directly (Candlebox, Screaming Trees, PoTuS, etc.) – along with some non-Seattle bands that just fit. There’s a healthy dose of Stone Temple Pilots (San Diego) in our set now, along with Smashing Pumpkins (Chicago) and some other “period correct” stu, like Hum and Space Hog. They’re the ‘adjacent’ bands; and we like the excuse of ‘tangential’ bands … Foo Fighters is a perfect example.
The ‘grunge’ era really started before the ‘big four’ achieved their success, but they are the most recognizable and widely known. Not to dismiss anyone like the Melvins, Mudhoney, Green River, Mother Love Bone or Tad – arguably the origins of the species – but they didn’t have the same commercial success and don’t have the same recognition. Plus, we had all this other music that we wanted to play and hear, it just seemed natural to go with the stu that resonated the best, with the most people.
CS: Who’s in the group?
JB: Kevin Dean, who’s kind of like the mayor of the music scene, is our drummer. I have to give Kev the credit for getting the fire lit and keeping an ember burning. It was probably 4-5 years between that first “we should make a grunge tribute band” comment and the day we started making noise in the studio. We’ve been friends since just after high school.
During the COVID lockdown, our original bassist found a new job out of state, and we were lucky enough to be put in touch with Scott Henderson, from Whitesboro. I called my friend Pam at Big Blue North recording studio after Gabe left, and asked if she knew anyone “good enough, interested, and not a jerk” – and Scott is on another level for all that. Scott played with Nineball for years, and still does a lot of session work and impromptu stu with Max Scialdone.
Ben Wayne just joined us in the past couple months as our new singer. Ben’s been doing the solo acoustic circuit for a while now, and when he came in to audition … I knew he was it. He had a high bar to clear: Seattle Sons had five years of shows and an established rep to uphold. We needed a front man not just with the right voice and the stamina, but the right presence, attitude and personality. And Ben … well, we just played our first live show a couple weeks ago, and the feedback has been amazing. From a band standpoint, that show was only the fourth time we all played together, and it felt like we’ve been doing this for years. The great thing – Ben’s no stranger to playing guitar, so this opens up a whole bunch of possibilities that we didn’t get into before, with just the one guitar player.
And that’s me. I play guitar.
CS: Heard you got a new singer… JB: Yes sir! It wasn’t exactly planned in advance, but circumstances being what they were … honestly, it’s worked out for the best. We’re really stoked about Ben. Hope he likes us too.
CS: What are some of the highlights for the group so far?
JB: We’ve had some notable shows, like opening for Puddle of Mudd, and Schism (the longest running Tool tribute band) – but honestly, and I think I can say this for all of us, the best highlights are just performing this music live. Some of these bands no longer tour, and in too many cases, the original voices are no longer with us. Cobain, Staley, Lanegan … Cornell. Some of these songs carry their own emotional charge for folks, including us as well. So getting to hear it live (and loud) again? Getting to be that band that plays it live? That makes a connection with the audience. And it’s pretty f$&king great (sorry!) Quick example – and one of the best highlights: playing Pearl Jam’s Betterman, that starts with just the guitar – and then having the whole audience sing the first half of the song back to us. That was amazing.
CS: What do you enjoy most about this style of music?
JB: Oh, man. For me, and I know for so many folks, it is the soundtrack to a special era of our own lives. Getting to hear it again, live, and getting to be part of a group making it live again? I can’t put a word
to that. And the music is catharsis, itself: the opening drums of I Am One, the bass line through In The Meantime, hearing Ben do justice by Chris Cornell, standing in the feedback loop with a guitar? Seeing someone’s face light up when they realize what song you’re about to play? What’s not to like?
CS: Any crazy stories from the stage… you know, the time the aliens beamed down, stole your beer during a solo…
JB: Ha! Well, eventually we started saying “it’s not a Sons show until something gets broken” and I swear, I used to think Shane owned stock in a mic stand company. I think he went through at least one mic stand a show for four months straight. He used a wireless mic, initially. But then we started working with Elite Light & Sound, and they talked Shane into using a wired mic. First night working with these guys, and Shane starts windmilling the mic like Roger Daltry. Clear out over the heads of the audience. Once the song ended though, here comes James from Elite with a roll of black gaers tape, takes the mic out of Shane’s hand, tapes the shit out of the cable and mic, hands it back and walks o without a word. I thought that might’ve been the first and last time they put up with us, but they keep coming back!
CS: Does the group just play locally or do you have plans to go on the road at all?
JB: We get around – we started local because we’re all from central NY so it just made sense. But we’ve been up to the Kallet in Pulaski, and Watertown, out to the Dinosaur BBQ and Buntsy’s in Rochester, Putnam Place in Saratoga, Ithaca & Utica a bunch. But I’d like to see how far we can stretch without disrupting our day jobs. Until it is our day job …
CS: What do you have to say about the central New York music scene?
JB: I’m sure I can speak for any musician who has been in an original band that it’s not the easiest road and Syracuse isn’t the easiest market, which is unfortunate. There are success stories, naturally, but you gotta have a thick hide and I commend everybody who sticks it out.
Personally, I’m grateful for our experiences as a tribute band; the support is great, the audiences are awesome and there are a bunch of folks and bands that we’ve really come to enjoy being around. Overall, there’s a great community of great people who – for the most part – all seem to get that we all share in each other’s successes, and that our eorts are improved by how much we can help, and how much we are helped, along the way.
CS: Got any tips for all the young rockers coming up the pike?
JB: My first bit of advice is you have to love playing your instrument for you. They say if you own your own business, pay yourself first. Well, that applies to enjoying your instrument and the noise you make with it. I’ve played guitar for … well, since I was 13. Every day. Band or no band, across all the plateaus between growth and interest. Sometimes it’s habit, sometimes it’s chore, and sometimes it’s transcendent. And if you do it for you, even if you’re playing someone else’s music, people will feel that. So when you get those gigs that you’re upside down afterwards – paying the bar tab and the sound guy – at least you were playing. Find enjoyment in your performance. Then if you get to the point where you go home with something extra in your pocket? Even better.
CS: What is in the future for Seattle Sons?
JB: Getting Ben up to speed, first. We typically play three hour shows (and longer, at Shifty’s!) There are so many songs in our pre-Ben repertoire, so many more that are available now with Ben’s voice and guitar playing, and so many that we just want to play, to hear live again … it’s a bit like starting over, because it takes on a bit of new shape with a new singer.
We are working a new team-up project for 2025 that’s gaining some good interest … I don’t want to spill any of those beans yet, but I’m psyched. Stay tuned to the socials … it’ll be announced!
Otherwise, our next shows are an unplugged set at Rocky’s in Liverpool the night before Thanksgiving, then a full night of loud at Nothin Fancy in Vernon the night after Thanksgiving!
CS: how do we stay in touch with the group and your shows?
JB: We’re on Facebook, where we’ll advertise events and such – you’ll get photos and videos there first, usually. (We encourage folks to post and tag us if you’ve got photos and video!) Plus Instagram, which is kind of like our vehicle for behind-the-scenes stu and hilarity. We need to work on our YouTube and TikTok though. We also publish all of our events through bandsintown.com/SeattleSons, and use linktr.ee/SeattleSons to link to everything. And you can always reach out via email through SeattleSonsSyr@gmail.com
CS: thanks for taking the time to talk to us here it sounds of Syracuse, Jake. It’s been good talking with you.
JB: Chuck, thank you and right back at you. We appreciate your ongoing support of the local scene !
Website: https://seattlesonssyr.wixsite.com/grunge
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeattleSonsSyracuse/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seattle.sons/
