Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?
« Sunbeam Overdrive » is a song from one of Tom’s former projects, about speed racing records established at Lake Bonneville (Utah, USA). « Sunbeam » is one of the car brands that were involved, and « Overdrive » hints at the blinding sun reflecting upon the endless horizons of the salty lake.
As for the band’s history, Sunbeam Overdrive derives from Tom’s former project “Tom Abrigan and the Shrunken Heads”, which was more solo guitar-oriented, where Tom was both lead singer and lead guitarist. “Sunbeam Overdrive” was actually the last song written for this project and marked a turn towards a more “full band” songwriting. That was the inception of our band, with a first show at Euroblast Festival 2019 in Germany, before Karim joined on lead vocals in late 2019… but then the pandemic happened so the band focused on composing and recording the first album throughout 2020 and 2021; getting back on stage in late 2021 to open for Psykup and Ze Gran Zeft.
Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?
All band members are from the south of France except Karim (vocals), but it’s been 9 years since he settled in Marseille so the area’s become pretty familiar to him!
Bruno (bass) and Karim (vocals) met Tom (guitars) when they went recording at his studio with their respective bands at the time, and Laurent (drums) has been around for a long time in the professional music scene of France’s South. So, we all knew each other before the band was formed, and Tom picked the other three members because he thought they were the right choice when Sunbeam Overdrive was created in late 2019.
Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?
We all grew up listening to bands like Tool, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, Meshuggah, Fu Manchu, The Beatles, Devin Townsend, Deftones, Porcupine Tree, Down, Corrosion Of Conformity, Dillinger Escape Plan, Chevelle, Filter… So it felt pretty natural for us to express ourselves through music that blends the richness and sophistication of prog with the savage tones of 90s alternative rock.
Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?
Well for both Tom and Karim, the starting point was hearing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: Tom the guitarist was 11, at his grandparents’ with his brother in front of the small TV they used to watch cartoons on, and there they saw that video clip. When the chorus came in they were like « he’s shouting, that is awesome! ». As for Karim, the band’s vocalist, when he was 13, he heard that same Nirvana song played on the radio on the way to school, and he instantly knew that’s what he wanted to do, one way or another.
If it weren’t music, well Tom has developed a passion and talent for fine coffee-making, so he would probably go for barista. As for Karim, apart from music, travel is what keeps him going and he’s done a few bike trips across Europe so far, retrieving a genuine feeling of adventure. So, he would probably just travel on a bike, satisfied with the most basic comfort possible, and feeding on whatever life offers on the way.
What songs or albums are on your current playlist?
Tom loves Sleep Token’s recent singles, and he also discovered Dark Atom recently in a Spotify playlist we are on, and thought it was great. And most lately: Astrodeath !
Karim really enjoyed the last Avatar record; they really do their own thing with consistency and talent. Also, the last Leprous album takes its whole dimension once you’ve seen it played live like it’s augmented sort of.
Do you sing in the shower?
Paradoxically not really… A shower can be a moment of silent contemplation, or listening to music or radio podcasts, but not singing. But hey, sometimes bathrooms can have funny reverb to play with!
Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?
Well, we have a couple of shows in our region right after the release, especially an exciting night opening for ten56 at Toulon’s Omega Live venue. Beyond that, we will be looking into our possibilities to work with a booking agency to get on tour in other parts of France and beyond borders, because the sunbeam needs to travel across Europe soon! The plan: get people to listen to our album « Diama », play shows everywhere we can, share the stage with cool bands, and start to prepare new material for future releases…
Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?
Our album “Diama” is out since May 12, and it’s about elevation, travel, adventure, and energy. It’s meant to lift you up yet make you endure the storm both inside and outside of yourself. It comes with the video clip for the single “Diama”; and we also released one video in March (“Out Of Plato’s Cave”) and one single in April (“Crimson Stains”).
If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?
There are so many, but let’s say Hellfest, because it’s become France’s flagship event for metal, and one of Europe’s biggest festivals, improving every year, and with the most immersive out-of-this-world site… We’ve been going for years now, Karim as a festival-goer and Tom for guitar/amp/string/pickup showcases, and playing there as a band would kind of affirm our place among the flourishing French scene.
If we look beyond French borders, one of the many places we haven’t played and would love to, Karim would have loved to play New York’s legendary CBGB, but unfortunately, it’s been closed for a few years now… Otherwise, well, London’s Brixton Academy would be awesome.
Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?
That’s no easy question to answer, so here are 5 albums we picked as a band:
Soundgarden – Superunknown
It was hard to choose between Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, but let’s say “Superunknown” is one of those records that contain so many absolute instant classics… just like Pearl Jam’s “Ten”… sheesh see???
Porcupine Tree – In Absentia
Ethereal, almost mystic at times, yet solidly grounded, “In Absentia” takes you on a hypnotic journey before even leaving Earth. This album is quintessential. Yes, we said it.
Pantera – Far Beyond Driven
This record represents the perfect balance between finesse and brutality, mutually feeding each other.
Tool – Lateralus
This is the ultimate expression of progressive alternative music. Period.
Meshuggah – Destroy Erase Improve
Together with “Chaosphere” (oops…), this album marks the birth of a genre that still remains defined as “modern” to this day… The vibrant new scene owes everything to these two records, which date back almost 3 decades now! Did you say “modern” tones?
Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?
Oh, we have many… the band members listen to and play an extremely wide variety of music genres, especially for professional purposes.
I guess the first one that comes to mind for me (Karim), would be Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction”, which is an absolute timeless banger. Can’t help but shake those limbs when it comes to parties. I actually enjoy some “aggro” electro…
If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?
OK let’s get rowdy:
Drums: Eloy Casagrande (Sepultura)
Bass: Mike Inez (Alice in Chains)
Guitars: Greg Kubacki (Car Bomb) & Josh Homme (QOTSA)
Everything else: Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
Vocals: Mike Patton (Faith No More)
Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?
Linkin Park’s “Meteora” for Karim: I still have it, along with tens of CDs from that era, in my car! Some of them are original, and some of them are burned because those were the days when people would burn their favorite playlists on CDs as gifts to their crush, and it was so adorable. This and putting cryptic emo song lyrics as MSN status haha omg millennials….
As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?
We would like to send them the deepest of cheers and thanks because they have been consistently supportive, even before we released any music, they believed in what we were and what we were planning to do. And now that the album is out, we’ve been getting so much positive feedback so it really helps going forward, and we’re on our way to adding new fans to share our music with!
Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!
This is the link tree where you will find absolutely everything, from our social media to our streaming profiles and even album sales: https://linktr.ee/sunbeamoverdrive
Sunbeamoverdrive.bandzoogle.com/home
Instagram.com/sunbeamoverdrive
This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum
Metal Planet Media 