Oklahoma Unplugged: ‘red sun' the not so Emo band

Signed by the emo record label Wax Bodega, red sun is in the midst of crafting a highly anticipated album while gearing up for several festival appearances. Despite their emo sound, the band describes themselves as a goofy group of friends. With each addition, the band's sound evolved, ultimately leading them to their current lineup and an unmistakable energy that’s now defining their music. red sun is not just about the music—they are deeply committed to Oklahoma’s growing emo scene. They have an unrelenting drive, fueled by their passion for music and connection.

Here is their story, unplugged:

The Band's Beginnings

In high school, Quinn and Dylan played in separate indie rock bands. Quinn joked, “I was not invited to play bass in [Dylan’s] band.” After graduating and going off to college, Quinn was finally invited to play bass in a new indie rock band. However, after just one rehearsal, he and Dylan were ghosted. That experience sparked their independence, leading to the formation of their own band.

“Dylan’s roommate at the time had never played an instrument [...] so the logical thing was to force him to play bass,” Quinn said.

Wanting to expand the group, Quinn put out a job listing on Twitter: “I said, ‘Hey, does anybody want to play guitar in my band?’” The one and only response came from Zeke McPhail, a locally known musician. “That one response was the greatest thing that’s ever happened. It was Zeke. I was a little anxious because Zeke was already playing around town. I had seen him live a couple of times before with Ben Quad, who are the big guys around town,” Quinn said. 

Shortly after joining, Zeke quickly became a core member. When Dylan’s roommate decided bass wasn’t for him, the band dropped to three members. The trio recorded with producer and audio engineer Trace, who meshed so well with them that they considered asking him to join. Before they could, Trace asked, “I noticed you don’t have a bass player… What’s going on with that?” Quinn and Zeke immediately decided Trace was the missing piece. Quinn recalled telling Dylan, “Yo, Dylan, Trace is in the band.”

Now, a year after Trace’s impromptu addition, Quinn says the band is closer than ever. “I am really happy. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people.”

The Meaning Behind red sun

The band's original bassist suggested a list of names, including “Decimate” and “Son of Neptune,” which Quinn felt were too intense. Then they saw "Red Sun." The name was inspired by the DC Comics series Superman: Red Son, but Trace had his own interpretation: “I think it’s anti-Frank Sinatra (opposite of Blue Moon).”

red sun Music and Influence

red sun's latest release is an EP titled Unnecessary Riffness, featuring the tracks "Boomer" and "Sooner," with album art styled after vintage football posters.

The band cites Mom Jeans as a major influence, blending Midwest Emo with pop-punk indie rock. Dylan also credits Prince Daddy & the Hyena and Oso Oso for their emo and indie sounds, while Trace draws inspiration from Fall Out Boy in both his playing and production.

red sun's songwriting often began in Zeke’s garage, where they spent months crafting new material. Typically, Quinn would send a snippet of lyrics or a chord progression, and the magic would start from there.

In the early days of performing, the band wanted to enter Norman Music Fest, which Quinn called "Oklahoma's version of Coachella," but they needed music on a streaming service. Their first song, Dallas, was recorded in Dylan’s garage using a MacBook microphone and mixed using YouTube tutorials. Though the song is no longer available, fans still request it at every show.

Their first official release, "...SAUCY!!!," was a mix of two guitar riffs. “Trace thought we were geniuses because it goes into the melodic minor, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I don’t understand music theory well enough to know that I did something cool,” Quinn joked.

(Pictured left to right: Zeke, Trace, Dylan, Quinn)

A Journey Marked by Challenges

One of red sun’s first major performances was at "Fauxchella" in Bowling Green, Ohio. On the way, they were robbed in Chicago, and their van windows were smashed. Quinn recalled blasting The 1985 at full volume to cover the wind noise as they drove a windowless van. After finally securing a rental minivan, Quinn says they remained positive, “We were just so excited that somebody asked us to come out there and play.” And they were glad that they did. “It’s a life-long memory for sure,” Zeke said.

The members of red sun soon found themselves performing in a jam-packed bar thousands of miles away from home, where hundreds of people were singing along. “People were standing into the street to watch us, and it was so cool,” Quinn remembered. “Being from Oklahoma City, you don’t think that champions the kind of music that we do. So it was cool to see that we did something that was reaching people all around the country.”

The Fan-Favorite: "red SUNFO"

The band’s most-streamed song, red SUNFO, pays homage to the Oklahoma City band SUNFO, whom they consider local legends. “We end every show by playing it, and there’s always people who come up on stage and grab the mic. People are crowd-surfing [...] and I’m like, ‘this is a cool moment,’” Quinn said.

"Faker! What Was That?!": A Spotlight Song

In Faker! What Was That?!, each band member gets a moment to shine. Trace noted, “There are so many layers happening, and everyone takes their turn at some point to show their chops.” The song transitions into a cover of David Guetta's Titanium, which, according to Quinn, always excites the crowd.

Meet the Members

Quinn, 22: Lead Singer & Guitarist

Growing up performing in a concert band all through high school, Quinn picked up the euphonium. But the brass instrument isn’t what sparked his love for music. “My parents gave me an iPod Shuffle when I was like four or five [...] and they pre-loaded all of their favorite songs onto that,” Quinn said. He grew up on 80’s Alternative Rock and 90’s Grunge.

Quickly, music became Quinn’s main hobby, and it was something he couldn’t stop, “It became an activity for me to just look up music, to try and find music, and just sit there and listen to it.” In middle school into high school, Quinn started seeing music videos on YouTube of Indie Pop bands. He quite literally said, “They're not that much older than me, I could totally do this.”

Soon thereafter, Quinn discovered a somewhat untapped emo music scene right at home. “I would go to shows all the time, and I got really involved with that,” Quinn said. But he says it’s not the music, but the people that’s kept him around. “The community in OKC and how much it’s grown, and it’s growing. To see people come together to support something I think [that] you wouldn’t expect to come out of Oklahoma City [...] and to see our friends like Ben Quad, go from being a band that I saw in a garage on my 20th birthday, to playing sold-out 3,000 cap venues all around the country [...], it’s been incredible."

Quinn has a message for anyone in Oklahoma wanting to be in the music scene: “Anyone who wants to be in a band, don’t think that being from [places like] Oklahoma City should dissuade you from pursuing music. You can do it,” he said. “Give it a shot.”

Zeke McPhail, 25: Guitarist

For Zeke, playing music isn’t just about the melody, the lyrics, or the instruments themselves. It’s about the community. “A lot of it is just about getting people together, enjoying something that they love locally,” Zeke said. “It’s just another thing that’s great about Oklahoma.”

Another band kid at heart, Zeke started his music journey in high school in the marching band. He says he draws a lot of his inspiration and personal music taste from his family, “My family loves music. I think [my passion] is a natural extension of that. But, it’s all [about] connecting with people. And it’s great.”

Dylan, 21: Drummer

Dylan started listening to 90’s and early 2000’s Rock music at an early age. And a meeting with his elementary school band teacher changed the way he saw music, “[He taught me] how to make drum beats with my hands and feet, patting my hands on my legs,” Dylan said. From there, he joined the school band, “And I fell in love with playing drums.”

Up until high school, Dylan was playing cover songs on the drums in his bedroom. But he says that since playing with Quinn, Zeke, and Trace it similarly has become less about the music despite his love for it, “I live the music, don’t get me wrong [...] the more time we put into it, the reason I want to keep going is about the community.” Dylan holds his relationships close, like the drum beats in his chest, “At the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to just being able to spend time with the people that I am lucky enough to call my good friends and my best friends.”

Dylan says that the time together has given them all more than just songs on an album. “As the band has progressed [...] our lives have grown, the trajectories that we are on have changed, and we all have gotten busier. But the music is a great way to spend time together and focus on doing something we love.”

Trace, 27: Music Producer, Audio Engineer & Bassist

Different from his band brothers, Trace wasn’t a band kid. But he found his love for music growing up going to church. “I’d go to youth group, and one time I went they said ‘We don’t have a drummer,” Trace laughed. “I said ‘I can drum.’ But I can’t actually drum.” From there, Trace says that he learned how to play through trial by fire. But he says that drums weren’t necessarily for him.

Trace learned guitar and bass, but as he got older, he says that he gravitated more towards the bass. “I looked up to so many bassists that were so intricate and technical with their craft, and I wanted to implement that,” Trace said. Bass for him is much more beautifully complicated than people may realize, “There’s so much versatility and it goes so far under the radar for so many people.”

Despite being a part of the music scene for the least amount of time as the others, Trace says that their community’s impact on him is huge. “It’s amazing to have cultivated even a small iota of community within ourselves, and with everyone else. It’s seriously such an honor to be a part of,” Trace said. “I couldn’t have asked to do it with anyone else.”

Oklahoma’s Emo Scene

Does it really exist? ‘Red Sun’ says yes, without a doubt. “There actually is a really big community for this kind of thing in Oklahoma. I mean, we're selling out the local venue spaces and stuff. It's a really cool way to come meet people, see something new [...] if you've never been into rock music, you've never been to like a show like this, it's really cool to do,” Quinn said.