Sunshine Blind was a second-wave [goth music|gothic rock] band from [Freehold, New Jersey|central New Jersey]. They formed in [1991] ([the year that punk broke]!) and released three albums before breaking up in [2003].

The music they produced was usually fast, intense, fierce, energetic and intricately crafted by the lineup, which consisted of the standard drum machine and bassist, but also two [lead guitarist]s. Those two, [Caroline Blind] (née Bokman) and [CWHK], were the only two members to stay with the band for its entire career. Caroline was the singer; CWHK, as mentioned, was the lead guitarist and studio producer, and also handled synth programming; the band's first album, [1995]'s [Love The Sky To Death], also featured bassist [Cousin Al] and no live drummer—CWHK, again, stepped up to sequence the [drum machine|electronic drums].

After the release of their first album, Sunshine Blind did what they could to tour as extensively as they could. All of them also held [day job|day jobs], not having found being rock stars particularly [Filthy Lucre|lucrative]. Nevertheless, in 1996, the album [Liquid] followed. During these tours, live drummers [Geoff Bruce] and [Gregg Ziemba] joined the band for live shows, but didn't play on any of the albums. Prior to this album, original bassist Cousin Al departed for whenever the Cousin Als of this world end up. He was replaced by [J.T. Murphy].

After Liquid, the band became more well-known. They played the [Convergence|Convergence III] festival in [San Francisco, California|San Francisco], contributed about 15 tracks to various record label [compilation album|compilations], most notably [Music From The Succubus Club], a soundtrack released for the tabletop RPG "[Vampire: The Masquerade]". They were famously booted from the bill of the [Dark Harvest III] festival by [The Sisters of Mercy|Sisters of Mercy] front-man, notorious egotist and, incidentally, show headliner [Andrew Eldritch] for being "too gothic"; given the source of the quote (from a goth icon who had been rejecting the whole goth thing for years, thinking he was too good for it), much was made of this on [alt.gothic] and in similar [net.goth] circles at the time. If anything, though, this attention, negative as it was, brought the band to broader appeal and they were even interviewed on "[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434098/sisters-mercy-slag-bands-being-goth.jhtml|MTV News]" by [Kurt Loder] in a small blurb about the Dark Harvest III snub.

Bassist J.T. Murphy was also a session musician, and joined [Faith and The Muse] on stage for Convergence IV in 1998 as their live bassist. Unfortunately, he committed [don't give up|suicide] about a week later. This put Sunshine Blind's plans on hold for some time, and it wasn't until 2003 that a new album would appear: I Carry You. It was largely disregarded by the music press and by fans alike and the band broke up shortly after its release. Caroline and CWHK attempted to get a new project off the ground not long after, a band called [Fear Makes Perfect], but that, too, didn't last, and now Sunshine Blind exists only in memory, old articles and websites. Following a one-off reunion show in 2014 which featured William Faith of [Faith and the Muse] on bass guitar, they have reunited for a single show—[https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/10259893_10152287449926005_226947313363713911_n.jpg|Convergence XX] in [Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]—in April 2014, but sadly, I don't expect much more than nostalgia appearances, if any further shows are announced at all.

Comparable bands include [Mephisto Walz], [Inkubus Sukkubus], [I:Scintilla], [Serpahim Shock], [The Crüxshadows] and maybe [Helalyn Flowers], although by and large, the sound was pretty unique. Like these comparable bands, Caroline's voice is strong and forceful, and very nuanced. In my humble opinion, their best song is far and away "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv5Io0r6FpY|Regodless]", from their first album. "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssf4uODj_O8|Release]" from Liquid, the only single SB ever released, is also great, although were I to name my favorite track from that album, it'd be "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEDk7drZxKg|This Longing]". Their cover of [A Flock of Seagulls]' "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKwWoRrGzRo|I Ran]" is also not to be missed.

I can't really recommend any tracks off the final album, [I Carry You], as I have not paid it much attention; probably a mistake on my part.

In conclusion, this has been another writeup about another band that most of you probably haven't heard of. As always, my goal is to get at least one reader to give them a listen. Please let me know if I've succeeded!

UPDATE! LATE 2017: Sunshine Blind has [http://sunshineblind.com/|reunited] with most of the original line-up and are at the time of writing planning a tour of North America, including a stop at Convergence XXIV on April 29, 2018, in Detroit.

FURTHER UPDATE! 2020: Caroline has released a solo album called [https://carolineblind.bandcamp.com/album/the-spell-between|The Spell Between]. It contains a mixture of original songs, reworked Sunshine Blind songs and covers, including a version of [SWANS]' "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5eFfzQrBhU|God Damn The Sun]".

Discography:

[Sunshine Blind] - 1992 / [demo tape|demo cassette] / self-released
[Love The Sky To Death] - 1995 / CD / Scream Records
[Liquid] - 1996 / CD / Energy Records
[Release] - 1997 / 12" maxi / Energy Records
[I Carry You] - 2003 / CD / Underground Inc.
[Rewind] - 2007 / 2CD / Dancing Ferret Discs (re-release of SB's first two albums, packaged together)

Sources:

[http://www.motherofskye.com/sunshineblind/|Mother of Skye - Sunshine Blind]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Blind|WP: Sunshine Blind]
[http://www.discogs.com/artist/90015-Sunshine-Blind|Discogs.com - Sunshine Blind]
[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunshine-Blind/127847997234704|FB - Sunshine Blind]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJt6-Y7QjF06MjUSiWdBSQg|Caroline (Blind) Bokman's YouTube channel]
[http://www.songkick.com/artists/322366-sunshine-blind|Songkick - Sunshine Blind]
[http://www.last.fm/music/Sunshine_Blind|Last.fm - Sunshine Blind]

I've seen this band live once:

1997 - Detroit (with [Switchblade Symphony])

Sunshine Blind (thing)