In the Connecticut music scene, showgoers will often see familiar faces taking the stage with different groups. Whether it’s being a fulltime member of multiple bands or helping a band out by filling in, it’s not uncommon to see someone take the stage with more than one band. Seb Bernal is one of those many musicians who has pulled double-duty.
Bernal is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who fronts the garage punk group Death Valley Sun Troopers. He has a long history in the Connecticut music scene, bringing his musical talents to anyone who needs them while also making a name for himself as the Sun Troopers’ lead singer.
He first picked up a guitar when he was 13 years old, but the first instrument he learned was bass. It was this instrument where he would get his start playing shows in Connecticut when he joined Justin Esmer — a Hamden-based singer-songwriter who has made regular appearances in Storrs — as his bass player when he was 15. Bernal said that Esmer has been “a total influence on me since we started” and someone who has greatly inspired him.
“He’s such a talented singer, musician and writer,” he said. “I felt so inspired to keep up with him and I really feel like the bulk of my musical development was there.”
He also was the bass player in Brooke Dougan’s backing band, who he had played with in Esmer’s backing band. He considered himself a bassist-for-hire during this time as he “learned about playing and what it means to be a local Connecticut musician.”
But Bernal would prove to just be a background gun-for-hire, as he soon started writing songs of his own. He started playing with his childhood friend and drummer Dan Lindberg in jam sessions that would evolve into the start of Death Valley Sun Troopers. Bernal noted that as the two played more, his songwriting efforts became more collaborative, feeding off of Lindberg’s input.
“When I started, it was just me writing songs, piecing together riffs and trying to figure out how to play the guitar,” he said. “Eventually I found out that [Lindberg] was also a drummer. And ever since then, it’s gotten more and more collaborative.”
Bernal explained that the two will get together to jam and shoot ideas off each other, something he noted is “really important for how the song ends up turning out.” The two have written together so much that Bernal said, “I don’t really write songs alone anymore.”
By 2021, Bernal and Lindberg started writing the songs that would be released on the group’s debut album “BREAKFAST” in May 2023. Bernal said that putting together the album as “a really weird process” since it was the first time the two had recorded anything and Bernal was still trying to find his musical voice.
“I was still figuring out my style on the guitar, how I wanted to sound singing and my lyrics or however the songs were going to be structured,” he said. “It took a really, really long time to get everything together.”
When the album came out, Bernal said that he was “immediately pessimistic,” as he was worried people would think that the release was “so unfished, so unraw or so unpolished.” But the reception ended up being the opposite.
“I felt very worried about the reception and that I hadn’t spent enough time on it or I hadn’t worked on it hard enough,” he said. “But when I saw people’s reactions, it was overwhelmingly positive. And I felt more and more accomplished as time went on. I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’m at peace with how the songs turned out and I’m happy with that being our debut album.”
Since then, Bernal and Lindberg have taken their duo across Connecticut, playing at some of the most prominent DIY venues across the state and making friends with many bands in the scene along the way.
“I feel like the Connecticut music scene is passionate about the music and the people in it are so kind and supportive,” he said. “Every band we’ve ever played with we have a funny friendship story with.”
To accompany the duo during their shows, the group features a rotating “army of musicians” from various Connecticut bands who hop in and fill out the sound. Bernal said he views the group like a collective now, with different people jumping in and out and giving the songs their own interpretations.
“I’ve always wanted Death Valley Sun Troopers to become kind of like a collective where everyone comes and helps out,” he said. “It’s still me and Dan at the core, but people’s inputs matter to me and I think it’s really cool to see that live.”
Bernal recently performed in Storrs for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 16 at The Dog Pound, a venue that he regularly attends shows at and that he said he had been wanting to perform at. The show lived up to his expectations, with the energetic crowd moshing and dancing along with the band.
“It was way better than I ever could have imagined,” he said. Pretty much all my UConn friends were there, the mosh pit was crazy, the basement was packed. There was so much joy and that’s great when you look out into the crowd and you see everyone having a great time.”
One time weekend’s better