We had the good fortune of connecting with Sunny War and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sunny, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I believe nothing great ever happens to people unwilling to take risks. When I was 21 I was living with 4 roommates in a two bedroom apartment and working full time as a mall janitor. I was very depressed because I had no time to pursue music and thought I’d work at the mall forever. The big risk I took was quitting my job and pursuing music full time with no idea how to do so. I played on the streets for years and sold cd’s out of my guitar case. I was poor and barely making rent every month but I knew I would rather play music on the streets than work another day at that mall.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been writing/performing/recording songs for about 15 years now. I started in a folk punk band called Anus Kings my freshman year of high school. We played a lot of punk shows on the west coast throughout our teenage years. When I was 19 I released my first EP as a solo artist titled ‘Worthless’. I printed 100 ‘Worthless’ cd’s at a time and sold them on the Venice boardwalk. I was a street musician for many years and there were times I thought I should just stop playing. Busking is very beautiful but it can also be depressing. It was very emotionally draining. I supported myself as a street musician for 10 years before I ever started to get paying gigs. It was exhausting but I eventually met my manager, producer and a family of amazing and inspiring musicians. I’ve played. all over the country and in a couple other countries too. I just released my 3rd full length album ‘Simple Syrup’ through Hen House Studios & Org Music and I am currently working on the 4th album.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well…. Since most of the city is different now due to Covid I will pretend it was before Covid. I used to love going to The Smell and then heading to La Cita Bar. I would definitely take visiting friends to La Cita bar cos they have a great patio bar and play old school punk and ska. Those were kinda the only places I used to go for fun because I am a very boring person. But luckily… I don’t have a lot of friends.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I owe a whole lot to my mom. My mother bought me my first guitar when I was 7 years old and was always supportive of my artistic journey. I took piano, dance, harmonica and drumming classes as a child. Knowing that my grandmother was not supportive of my mother and her siblings when it came to pursuing the arts makes my moms opposition even more special to me. Shoutout to you ma!

Website: sunnywar.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunnywarmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SunnyWar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunnywarmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sunnywarmusic

Other: Bandcamp: https://sunnywar.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Randi Steinberger Florencia P. Marano

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