He's the son of music royalty, Sting, but singer-songwriter Joe Sumner says Nirvana made him want to become a musician. The LA-based dad of four has just released his first full-length solo album, Sunshine In The Night , 12 indie folk pop rock masterpieces that tell the story of love, life, hope and family. Sumner is currently getting high praise, opening for his dad around the world. We can see why. We were fortunate to get a listen when he performed his song; appropriately titled "Live Life" at the LifeMinute Studios earlier this month. This is a LifeMinute with the uber-talented, fantastically fun Joe Sumner.
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00:00 Hi, this is Joe Sumner and you're watching Life Minute TV.
00:07 He's the son of music royalty Sting, but singer-songwriter Joe Sumner says it was Nirvana that made him
00:19 want to become a musician.
00:20 The L.A.-based dad of four has just released his first full-length album, Sunshine in the
00:26 Night, 12 beautifully evoked masterpieces that tell one story about love, life and family.
00:33 Currently getting high praises, opening for his dad all over the world, and we can see
00:37 why.
00:39 We were fortunate to get a listen when he performed live at the Life Minute Studios
00:42 earlier this month.
00:44 This is a Life Minute with the uber-talented, fantastically fun Joe Sumner.
00:49 Hello, nice to meet you.
00:51 So nice to meet you.
00:52 Thanks for coming to Life Minute.
00:53 Thank you for having me.
00:54 Yay, such a pleasure.
00:55 So tell us what you have going on.
00:57 A new album coming out in October, you're touring.
01:00 Absolutely.
01:01 So I've been on tour since April 2022.
01:03 It's now September 2023, so it's been a long time.
01:07 Sunshine in the Night, it's really all about me falling in love, getting married and having
01:12 children, and just incredible joy and wonder that comes from all of that.
01:18 So Sunshine in the Night, it's, you know, the darkness, the universe is dark and empty,
01:23 and then there are these little points of light.
01:25 It's beautiful, it really is.
01:26 You know what I love about your music?
01:28 You can hear every word you say.
01:32 I find that very important.
01:34 So when I, in real life, it's hard for me to communicate and express myself, so when
01:38 I commit something to a song, I really want it to be heard.
01:49 That's the main thing that I focus on, is get the sentiment across, get the words, and
01:55 make sure it's understood.
01:56 Who played all the other instruments on your album?
01:58 So I had Blair Sinter on the drums, he used to play with Alanis Morissette.
02:03 Paul Cartwright played the violins.
02:06 Sylvain Carton played the flutes, and then I played everything else, so the guitars and
02:09 bass and keyboards.
02:10 I didn't realize that.
02:11 And there was a percussionist as well, Danny Frankel.
02:16 He's a crazy guy.
02:19 How would you describe your sound?
02:21 Well, I always struggle with this, but I'm trying to be Jeff Buckley.
02:28 I want to be Kurt Cobain, sound-wise.
02:33 And when I started making this album, I decided it was going to be acoustic guitar and voice
02:37 and nothing else.
02:39 And then two days in the studio, I was like, synthesizers, strings, flutes, big drums,
02:46 everything's on it.
02:47 And the sound is just whatever comes to mind, basically.
02:51 I don't know.
02:52 A friend of mine described it as a magical crystal cave of sounds.
02:58 That's a good description.
02:59 Yeah, it is.
03:00 It's very collective.
03:01 There's a lot of stuff.
03:02 Yeah, it's cool.
03:03 Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?
03:06 No, definitely not.
03:07 When I was a kid, it was not on the radar.
03:12 When I heard Nirvana on the radio for the first time, three seconds later I was in a
03:16 band.
03:17 But until then, I was like, video game creator or tester or something like that.
03:24 And then suddenly I just got the bug.
03:25 And then I was in a band, we did a gig, and I'm like, this is it.
03:28 This is what I need to do.
03:31 And were you self-taught on the guitar?
03:33 I had lessons with a very kind Scottish guy who was very patient with me.
03:39 I didn't do my homework or practice ever, but I had lessons from age 9 to 11.
03:45 And because he didn't push me, I didn't quit.
03:48 I just kept it going.
03:50 And then when I actually got interested in music, I was like, oh, thank you, because
03:55 now I have these basic skills going on.
03:57 And he taught me classical guitar.
04:00 So I kind of play like electric or acoustic guitar with a bit of a classical edge.
04:05 I do all this stuff.
04:07 People are like, what are you doing?
04:08 That's wrong.
04:09 Was your dad supportive of that music career growing up?
04:13 Yeah, always supportive.
04:14 I don't know if he always thought it was the best idea, but he's always been great about
04:19 that.
04:20 What has he taught you?
04:22 What has he taught me?
04:24 So I think what I've learned from him is you have to be-- when you're doing something creative,
04:31 you have to stand on your own, and you have to ignore the haters, and you have to know
04:36 that however many people love you for what you do, X number of people will be like either
04:43 dismiss you completely or be annoyed by you.
04:46 And that's just fine.
04:47 Yeah.
04:48 So that's what I've learned.
04:49 There's a thick skin to it.
04:50 Yeah, thick skin and just perspective.
04:53 I can imagine myself going to a concert, watching the band, and saying, eh, I don't like it.
05:00 And it's my opinion, but the band, they don't care.
05:04 Everyone is loving it, or they're doing their thing.
05:07 That's fine.
05:08 So you've got to have that kind of distant perspective.
05:11 And you're touring with your dad.
05:13 Yep.
05:14 It's a very amazingly privileged situation.
05:16 COVID kind of really wrecked everybody's touring careers.
05:21 So the people who had the infrastructure to set up and still be able to go out and tour,
05:27 my dad's one of them.
05:29 I couldn't have done it on my own at that time.
05:32 So it's really nice to be able to get out on the road and just try these songs and reach
05:36 audiences.
05:37 And I've noticed, actually, the audiences are so much more excited now, because they
05:43 realize what it is to miss live music for two years.
05:46 They really appreciate it.
05:47 And it's a proper show.
05:48 It's amazing.
05:49 It's fantastic.
05:50 So I'm loving it.
05:51 Everybody loves it, too.
05:52 Everyone said, oh, my god, you put on such a great show.
05:56 Yeah, I do my set in the beginning, and then I'll come and do a little cameo with him towards
06:00 the end, just to get the whole show to feel connected.
06:06 What are fans going to get when they see you come play live?
06:09 Well, basically, I come out and play as just me.
06:13 I've got my guitar.
06:14 I've got some loops.
06:16 And I'll sing to any size audience, and you'll be able to hear the lyrics I'm saying.
06:22 That's for sure.
06:23 And hopefully, you'll-- I try and be super clear about that.
06:27 And wherever you're sitting in the room, hopefully, you'll hear those, and you'll feel what I'm
06:32 talking about.
06:33 And of course, you have a family.
06:35 How has that been, touring?
06:37 And how do you manage to juggle everything?
06:40 Well, that's the hardest part of the whole thing.
06:44 So I grew up-- my dad was always touring.
06:48 And I've always promised not to be that.
06:50 The last couple of years, it's ended up being that, just because I was making up for the
06:54 lost time in COVID.
06:56 And it's-- yeah, I think it's something you can't really explain until it's happening.
07:00 You're like, yeah, you just-- I'm just sort of swanning into an arena and playing a big
07:05 show.
07:06 And that's the best thing in the world.
07:07 And I'm like, yeah, but I would like to be home.
07:10 So that's my other goal, is to be very more strategic and just be able to get home and
07:17 be a proper dad.
07:18 I can imagine that's hard.
07:20 So now do you understand?
07:21 Now, maybe better?
07:22 Well, it's a wrench, for sure.
07:26 It's a big dilemma.
07:28 Most jobs don't let you go in halfway.
07:32 That's the problem.
07:33 Oh, well.
07:34 How do you do it, unless they come with you?
07:36 Well, that would be my goal.
07:38 Just be like a traveling-- be the Partridge family.
07:42 Yeah.
07:43 Why not?
07:44 Did you like the police growing up?
07:46 I didn't really know what was going on.
07:49 They were doing their thing, and I was like, they're a kid.
07:53 You look so much like your dad.
07:54 It's so freaky.
07:55 I'm sure everyone says that.
07:56 Are you freaking out?
07:57 Ew.
07:58 You don't actually sound like him, though.
08:03 You sound different.
08:04 A little bit, but I almost got like a Bono vibe.
08:09 Do people tell you that?
08:11 People tell me that when I sing sometimes.
08:13 You're going to play for us, right, today?
08:15 I'm going to play for you, yes.
08:16 What are you going to play?
08:17 I'm going to play my new single, "Live Life."
08:20 How perfect for Life Minute.
08:21 Perfect.
08:22 It's exactly-- yeah, Live Life Minute.
08:23 Yay.
08:24 Hey, it's Joe Sumner.
08:25 This is my song, "Live Life."
08:26 We were born without a clue in our heads.
08:48 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
08:52 We were so afraid of what we'd become.
08:56 And I said, "Wake up.
08:57 Now it's time to be here.
08:58 Now you're falling in love.
08:59 Now you're tasting the fear.
09:00 With some luck, you will learn how to breathe.
09:01 If you can look, there's a whole world to see.
09:02 If you can hear me, well, it's three out of three.
09:03 And if you can't, there's still so much you can be.
09:04 We're going to live.
09:05 We're going to live."
09:06 We were born without a clue in our heads.
09:07 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:08 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:09 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:10 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:11 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:12 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:13 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:14 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
09:35 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
10:01 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
10:25 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
10:50 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:16 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:43 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:44 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:45 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:46 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:47 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:48 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:49 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.
11:50 We were ghosts fast asleep in our beds.