Sun Tower is Shael Wrinch, David Friend and Bruce Warren, three Vancouver-based guitarists/songwriters who have been composing and producing music together for over ten years. We are all a product of our experiences and Sun Tower is no exception to that rule. The members of Sun Tower grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Steely Dan and the Allman Brothers just to name a few of the bands that defined the period. These influences can be heard in the musical creations of Sun Tower - a unique blend of rock, jazz, folk and blues.
Background
Back in 1990, 4 guys got together in Vancouver Studios and put together an album with some help from Danny Greenspoon of CBC, Kat Hendricks, Kirsten Nash and a variety of local session folks. The project was named "The Hitmen" and cuts from the CD received rotation on CFMI, CFOX, Coast 800 and of course CBC radio nationally. The CD was critically acclaimed locally and received nominations at the West Coast Music Awards. The studio project was taken live and backed up bands such as 3 Dog Night and the Tower of Power. Things were going quite well for the "Hitmen".
The CD was shopped to major labels in the US because at the time, a Canadian deal was about as good as getting a job at 7-11. A&R representatives from Geffen and Warner Brothers loved the music, but when the executives couldn't pigeon-hole the style they ultimately passed. In an attempt to try and categorize the music, one label went as far as to compare the lead singer to Huey Lewis. They then went on to say that the market for Huey's music at the time was not looking good.
Dejected, the Hitmen went on for a short while longer but the writing was on the wall. The bass player, Marc Ramaer, moved to New York to pursue gigs as a recording engineer. The lead singer, Shael Wrinch, went back to his recording business at his studio downtown called Beatty Lane. Guitarist and backing vocalist Bruce Warren went on to create his own multimedia production company called Blue Zone Productions. Lead guitarist David Friend got a job at Digital Equipment Corporation.
One might think that this is the end of the story, but the core of the Hitmen (Shael, Bruce and Dave) stayed in Vancouver and kept in touch. Since Shael ran his own studio, the trio would get together around once a week to write and record. While it has been slow going, time was on their side and to date have produced two finished CDs with another one in the works. The project was renamed Sun Tower (after the building nearby the studio) and a pilot website built with the 2ndCD loaded onto the site.
The band has been shopping the music to film and television directors and producers, with a notable success in 2003 by getting seven songs into the feature film "Moving Malcolm".
The site is at http://www.sun-tower.ca/ - we certainly hope you like it.
Thanks!
The Sun Tower Team