WHY GUNSHINE FEELS LIKE A BAND MEANT TO BE SEEN, NOT JUST HEARD 

WHY GUNSHINE FEELS LIKE A BAND MEANT TO BE SEEN, NOT JUST HEARD 

 Writing the Ride: Inside Gunshine’s Grand Rising   

 By Lori Anne|I Am Lorelei! 

Grand Rising was never made to sit quietly in the background. Not a chance. From the start, the album moves with too much intention, too much swagger, and too much life to settle to be half-heard. Guitarist and singer-songwriter Austin Ingerman and vocalist Jordan Benson shape these songs with a clear sense of when to hold back, when to hit hard, and when to blow the whole thing wide open. Grand Rising swings, breathes fire, and gives listeners a place to drop their real-world bullshit and give themselves over to the ride. This is not an album chasing heaviness just to look tough, and it is not afraid to lean into purpose. Beneath the hooks, the attitude, and the larger-than-life theatrics, there is a real pulse running through it – an album built to connect, to wake people up, and to make damn sure they feel alive. 

 That same sense of purpose runs through the sequencing. The flow matters. The turns matter. The way one mood crashes into the next gives Grand Rising its shape and force. One of the clearest examples is the shift from “Shark Lounge” into “Valentine.” “Shark Lounge” grew out of a story about the Shark Lounge, a once-notorious Daytona Beach strip club that has since closed due to prostitution, violence, and illegal drug sales. That backstory gives the song its brazen, sleazy, playful edge, and Michael Starr’s guest appearance pushes its theatrical swagger even further without knocking the album off balance. It is one of Grand Rising’s boldest flashes of spectacle and excess delivered with a smile. 

Then the record takes a sharp turn into “Valentine,” a slower, softer and far more vulnerable song Jordan wrote when he was around 15, imagining the woman he would one day meet and love. That feeling comes through in the line, “I loved you long before I met you,” and it gives the song an unusually tender pull because of what’s around it. Jordan’s voice softens, the band eases back, and suddenly Grand Rising reveals another side of itself without losing its identity. That contrast is one of the album’s strengths. Gunshine does not get trapped inside one emotional register. They know when to have fun, when to hit hard, and when to strip things down. 

Jordan also shared that he had pitched “Valentine” in Nashville, where it was passed over. Jordan did not seem bothered. Quite the opposite. “That’s alright, he said. ‘They have their writing formula and rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t. It all worked out.” He was right. The song found the right home on Grand Rising, where its sincerity lands hander because of everything surrounding it. 

If sequencing gives Grand Rising its shape, the songwriting gives it its grin, and “Goth Girl” is one of the best examples. The band’s trip to Vancouver to record brought Brian Howes into the process, and that collaboration sharpened the melodies, strengthened the hooks, and opened up new ways to push what Gunshine already does well. Rather than pulling the band away from its identity, it pushed them further into it, giving “Goth Girl” even more humor, attitude, and that oversized personality.  

 The story behind “Goth Girl” only makes it clearer. It started with a friend’s Facebook post—a half-serious complaint about never finding his ideal big-titty goth girl. Then, during a Gunshine show in Albuquerque, Jordan spotted one in the front row. Dakota was not there that night to meet his goth girl, but the moment stuck. What could have remained a quick laugh turned into a song that fits the band perfectly: mischievous, exaggerated, self-aware, and fully committed to the bit. That kind of instinct runs all over Grand Rising. Gunshine understands how to turn humor, character, and attitude into something that still hits with real conviction. 

 Austin also made a point of highlighting Chris Collier’s role in giving Grand Rising its final impact. When I asked whether any one song took on new importance after mixing and mastering, the answer was not really about a single track. It was about the way Collier helped the album lock into focus. His work added muscle, clarity, and punch, but never at the expense of the band’s edge. Grand Rising still sounds dangerous. It still sounds alive. It just comes through sharper, bigger in its delivery, and more confident in its attack.   

One song that seems to hold a particularly special place for Austin is “Table Dancing.” He repeatedly singled it out as a song he was proud to write and one he clearly enjoyed performing. It also stands out because it takes a risk. When I first heard the opening, I was not immediately pulled in. It does not come at the listener with that classic Gunshine sound, and for some people, that may make it more of a slower burn. Most listeners like knowing what to expect, and change is always a gamble. But that is also what makes the song matter. The attitude is still there, only now it comes through in a slower sway, brushing up against a Sinatra-like feel before folding back into rock ‘n’ roll. That choice expands the band’s range instead of watering it down, and I am glad they took it.  

 That range is part of what makes Grand Rising hit as hard as it does. Gunshine clearly cares about precision, pacing, and making a record that works as a full experience, but just as much of its power comes from chemistry, atmosphere, and release. When I asked what they love most about being in this band, the answer was simple: writing their own music and bringing it to their fans. That directness says a lot. For all the polish surrounding Grand Rising, its core is still about making something loud, alive, and impossible to ignore – then watching the crowd throw it right back at them. “It’s so cool to see people in the crowd singing every word of every song right back at us,” Jordan said. That is not just audience reaction. That is connection in real time, and Gunshine knows exactly what it has built. 

 Their performance at Montage Music Hall in Rochester, New York was a reminder of exactly why this band feels meant to be seen, not just heard. Gunshine tore through fan favorites like “Daylight,” “Swing Away,” “Bayou,” and “90 Proof,” while also giving the crowd a taste of newer material with “Goth Girl,” “Valentine,” “Single Looks Good On You,” and “Table Dancing.” Onstage, the songs hit with the same force, humor, and personality that define the record, but with even more immediacy. The attitude lands harder. The contrast lands harder. The spectacle lands harder. Gunshine already writes with movement, tension, and release in mind, and live, that design becomes impossible to miss. 

 In the end, Grand Rising sounds like a band that knows exactly what it is doing and has no patience for playing small. Gunshine loads the record with swagger, sex appeal, danger, melody, humor, and pure release, then delivers it with enough control to make every shift land and enough attitude to make it leave a mark. This is not an album built to fade into the wallpaper. It is built to grab you by the collar, shake the real world loose, and remind you what rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to feel like when it actually has blood in its veins. Grand Rising does not just make noise. It lives, it breathes, it struts, and leaves its fingerprints all over you. 

 Fans can find tour dates, merch, music, videos, and contact info all in one place at GunshineBand.com.  

 By Lori Anne|I Am Lorelei! 

lorimckone66@gmail.com