Sunday's Best: "Don't Let It Fade" Video

Video description: "There?s a fine line between stick-to-it-tiveness and self-delusion," quips Sunday?s Best drummer/producer Tom Ackerman, "and right now I think we?re happily confused as to where we stand." Seated next to lead singer/guitarist Ed Reyes, who smiles, Ackerman continues in the tone usually reserved for the telling of embarrassing childhood anecdotes, "we have endured a seriously tough winter: a horrible fall tour, the departure of a founding member and primary songwriter, the changing of booking agents, the quitting of our manager/lawyer, as well as my personal troubles of divorce and rehab. Most bands probably would have quit." A great deal of "Behind the Music" style antics have transpired in the last nine months for the Los Angeles-based quartet, despite their somewhat typical beginnings. Sunday?s Best formed in 1997 when Reyes met guitarist (and then drummer) Ian Moreno while working at KXLU, Los Angeles? seminal college radio station. Sunday?s Best first signed with crank! records and released the Where You Are Now EP, and hit the road. Then they signed to Polyvinyl Records and released their first full length, Poised to Break, in October of 2000. After a great run at college radio and some key high profile shows in New York, the band limped home from their 6 week Fall tour and then seemed to implode. Shortly after arriving home from tour, the booking agent and the band parted ways, the manager stopped calling, and Ackerman checked into rehab and his wife filed for divorce. To top everything off, before Ackerman could complete his rehab stay, Pedro Benito, a primary songwriter and founding member, resigned. The days ahead seemed pretty dark. "I thought I was going to be arrested any minute for forging prescriptions," explained Ackerman, "between that and the dissolve of my five year relationship/marriage, band matters seemed relatively distant in my overall perspective." And yet, in the months that followed, when things seemed the bleakest, the true character of the band was revealed. Reyes took over the business aspects of the band and switched to guitar, James Tweedy was added to play bass, and the band got back to doing what all good bands do: writing music. And with the help of a new booking agent Mike Kelly, the band has been playing West Coast dates since late February (with Dashboard Confessional, the Weakerthans, Cursive, the Juliana Theory). The band is about halfway through writing songs for the follow-up to Poised to Break, and has plans to record in the winter and tour in the fall. Reyes caps off the interview with his own thoughts of the bands resolve, "we just kind of stripped everything down and started having fun again. It?s not really all that epic if you consider we just did what friends usually do when the shit hits the fan: we stuck together.

Related Videos

The Shins: "Basement Recording"

The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.

The Shins: "New Slang"

The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.

The Shins: "Pink Bullets"

The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.

The Shins: "So Says I"

The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.

The Loved Ones: "100K"

The Loved Ones are a rock n roll outfit based loosely out of Philadelphia. Born in late 2003 singer/guitarist Dave Hause and his fellow cohorts DC based bassist Michael "Spider" Cotterman and drummer Mike Sneeringer are deeply steeped in their hometown lineage having initially offered up their talents as players in Kid Dynamite, The Curse, Trial By Fire, and for a time Paint It Black; where Hause handled axeman duties before leaving to front The Loved Ones. So while the three-piece is definitely a departure from the members past endeavors, the punk sensibilities, and organic approach to playing still remain paramount. Owing as much to Bruce Springsteen as say Dillinger Four, the end result mixes killer riffs and raspy vocals to explosive ends. Expect big things, as heartfelt hometown sing-alongs simply don't get any better than this.

"Duck Season" clip: "You're Safe"

"Duck Season" takes you into one particular Sunday morning in the lives of two fourteen-year old boys, Flama and Moko. With their neighbor Rita and pizza delivery boy Ulises, they create their own adventures to overcome their boredom. "Duck Season" explores the loneliness of childhood, the effects of divorce and the curious power of love and friendship. Winner of numerous awards, including an unprecedented 11 Ariel Awards, the Jury Award at AFI Fest, and the MTV Movies Award - Mexico. The film was produced by Christian Valdelievre, Lulu Productions and Cinepantera and executive produced by Jaime Ramos. Warner Independent Pictures and Alfonso Cuaron's (director of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") Esperanto Films will distribute. Directed by Fernando Eimbcke, the film stars Enrique Arreola, Daniel Miranda, Diego Catano and Danny Perea.

"Duck Season" clip: "Blondes"

"Duck Season" takes you into one particular Sunday morning in the lives of two fourteen-year old boys, Flama and Moko. With their neighbor Rita and pizza delivery boy Ulises, they create their own adventures to overcome their boredom. "Duck Season" explores the loneliness of childhood, the effects of divorce and the curious power of love and friendship. Winner of numerous awards, including an unprecedented 11 Ariel Awards, the Jury Award at AFI Fest, and the MTV Movies Award - Mexico. The film was produced by Christian Valdelievre, Lulu Productions and Cinepantera and executive produced by Jaime Ramos. Warner Independent Pictures and Alfonso Cuaron's (director of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") Esperanto Films will distribute. Directed by Fernando Eimbcke, the film stars Enrique Arreola, Daniel Miranda, Diego Catano and Danny Perea.

"Duck Season" clip: "11 Seconds Late"

"Duck Season" takes you into one particular Sunday morning in the lives of two fourteen-year old boys, Flama and Moko. With their neighbor Rita and pizza delivery boy Ulises, they create their own adventures to overcome their boredom. "Duck Season" explores the loneliness of childhood, the effects of divorce and the curious power of love and friendship. Winner of numerous awards, including an unprecedented 11 Ariel Awards, the Jury Award at AFI Fest, and the MTV Movies Award - Mexico. The film was produced by Christian Valdelievre, Lulu Productions and Cinepantera and executive produced by Jaime Ramos. Warner Independent Pictures and Alfonso Cuaron's (director of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") Esperanto Films will distribute. Directed by Fernando Eimbcke, the film stars Enrique Arreola, Daniel Miranda, Diego Catano and Danny Perea.

"Duck Season" trailer

"Duck Season" takes you into one particular Sunday morning in the lives of two fourteen-year old boys, Flama and Moko. With their neighbor Rita and pizza delivery man Ulises, they create their own adventures to overcome their boredom. "Duck Season" explores the loneliness of childhood, the effects of divorce and the curious power of love and friendship. Winner of numerous awards, including an unprecedented 11 Ariel Awards, the Jury Award at AFI Fest, and the MTV Movies Award - Mexico. The film was produced by Christian Valdelievre, Lulu Productions and Cinepantera and executive produced by Jaime Ramos. Warner Independent Pictures and Alfonso Cuaron's (director of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") Esperanto Films will distribute. Directed by Fernando Eimbcke, the film stars Enrique Arreola, Daniel Miranda, Diego Catano and Danny Perea.

Digital cameras and camcorders

There are a lot of cameras and camcorders out there. If you're confused about which one is best for you, digital imaging editor Lori Grunin and host Dan Ackerman will help set you straight on this edition of Editors' Office Hours.