By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
This will be a summer of firsts for the Sunset Sinners.
The Salina band has signed with British record label Earache Records and plans to release its first live album later this summer, according to drummer and spokesperson Blake Blackim. Additionally, the Sunset Sinners, who describe their music genre as "Whiskey Barrell Rock," have struck a deal with Breckenridge Distillery in Colorado for a Sinner Select whiskey that also will be out later this summer.
The album
After playing at the Fox Theatre in Hays, a sound engineer at the theatre told the Sunset Sinners that he was able to record them live, should they ever be interested. That was an easy sell for Blackim, who favors live albums.
In April, the band returned to Hays to record a live performance that would be made into an album. In addition to band members Blackim, Brad Johnson, Tony Bowell, and Chris Brungardt, Blackim's daughter, Brittany Blackim, who works for the Chicago Bulls, flew in from Chicago to play the flute on the recording of Tavern Sandy, her father said.
Blake Blackim said the live album, titled Original Sin, will have all of the Sunset Sinners' hit songs, including Act Your Age, Always Time for One More Beer, and Friday Night, as well as some new music.
"Obviously, it's all our music," he said. "So it'll be real cool."
In addition to the digital format release, the album also will be released in CD format, Blake Blackim said.
"Crazy enough, is still how many CDs we sell from our first album," he added. "There's still a lot of people out there who have CD players in their cars. So we actually sell quite a few CDs."
The whiskey
Blackim said he was contacted by the regional representative for Breckenridge Distillery, who, as it turns out, is a Sunset Sinners fan. She suggested that the band partner with the distillery on a project.
"And I said, well, you know what I've always wanted to do because we do Whiskey Barrel Rock, I thought it would be cool to have a Sunset Sinners' whiskey," he said.
And from that, Sinner Select Whiskey was born!
Blackim said that Salina Wholesale Liquor "has basically purchased the entire allotment right out of the gate."
Like the live album, Sinner Select is expected to be out later this summer, probably about the same time as the album, he said.
Sinner select, Blackim noted, will be different from other whiskeys.
"Breckenridge whiskeys are thought of in high regard, but this will be different than anything on the shelf. It's a special batch," he said. "I think it's gonna go really well."
Blackim said that people are already expressing an interest in purchasing Sinner Select.
The release dates for the live album and the Sinner Select Whiskey will be made on the Sunset Sinner's Facebook page and on the band's website.