Sunny’s Day

That accomplished, she declares her remaining goals unequivocally. “I want a Manuel suit, I want to meet Merle Haggard and I want to play the Grand Ole Opry,” she says. “I get to play the Opry on March 2, so that’s one out of three.” Make that two: she met Haggard a few days after this interview (you’ll find a picture of them together on her MySpace page, of course). Your move, Manuel.

Scene: How did you first become interested in music?

Sunny Sweeney: I was doing theater and improv comedy, and everybody was real encouraging about all the singing skits I did. My friends were like, “Start a band.” I said, “I don’t know how to start a band.” They said, “Just start one.” So there you go.

Scene: How did you get into improv comedy?

Sweeney: It came out of some acting classes I was taking in Austin. I always thought it would be fun to do.

Scene: Seems like it would be terrifying.

Sweeney: No, it’s not terrifying at all. I think pretty fast, and it’s a fast-thinking art. I just like being onstage. If it’s performing—singing or standup comedy or improv or dance, anything that has an entertainment value—I’m totally cool with it. The more people are there, the better it works out for me. I feed off the audience. It’s just fun as hell. I can’t believe this is what I get to do. I just can’t.

Scene: Did you learn skills in improv comedy that you still use in music?

Sweeney: Oh, shoot, yeah. In the honky-tonks that we play in, you’ve always got the old drunk dudes that have something to say, and you can mess with them.

Scene: How did you learn to play guitar?

Sweeney: My stepdad bought me a guitar three years ago, and taught me three chords at my request. Me and him and my mom drove to Colorado, and I sat in the back seat and just played G, C and D over and over for the whole 13 hours. He was looking at my mom like, “Oh, god, what did I do?” I’ve taken lessons and stuff since then, but I’m not a good guitar player by any stretch of the imagination. I’m still working on it.

Scene: Three years from learning your first chords to releasing your first album and performing on the Opry? That’s pretty amazing.

Sweeney: Dude, it’s… yeah. Yes. Yes. I know, it’s completely insane.