Sound Blur Interview (www.soundblur.com)
ANSWERS By: Marko 72 (Sugarcult guitarist)

1. How would you describe the new album?
From the day we went to work on "Start Static" our goal was to make a well rounded rock n roll album. We wanted it to hang in the same 'hood as such timeless, energetic, and all-good-songs-no-filler records like, The Clash "London Calling", AC/DC "Back in Black" and Weezer's debut for example. We get tons of good feedback from people who buy "Start Static"and say it's one of the few CDs they can actually listen to all the way without skipping over tracks. There are way too many bad records that get put out as vehicles for maybe one or two decent songs; if we only had 2 good songs we would've put out a fucking 7".

2. What was it like recording "Start Static"?
The process of making our first record was a lot like losing your virginity; difficult, nerve wracking, and a lot of fun all at the same time! Our producer Matt Wallace had worked with groundbreaking legends; the Replacements and Faith No More, so he understood our desire to stray from the herd of typical power-pop/punk bands and follow our own vision. He was our tour guide through the experience, encouraging us to have fun and not get too freaked out about playing everything perfectly, which can make for a sterile sound. We tracked at Rumbo studios in the same rooms where GnR's "Appetite for Destruction", Tom Petty's "Full Moon Fever" (ex-Beatle Ringo Starr set up his drums in the same room we used as a break room, and our singer Tim used as a shag room!) and No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" were made which was inspiring seeing how all those records were massive hits against-all-odds.

3. Do you consider it a kick that "Pretty Girl" is getting aired on Much Music & MTV2?
We rarely get to watch TV 'cause we're always on tour, but it's the biggest thrill to have friends call us up and say, "Dude, I see your video all the time!" It's a great way to reach a lot of people with our music, all walks of life sit home and channel surf. "Pretty Girl" is our 3rd video and was definitely the most fun to make; we were down in the Caribbean to play a festival in Trinidad-Tobago so we brought our director friend down with a Super-8 camera and just had him shoot us as we cruised around drinking with Rasta guys and hanging with local kids in the streets. No make up, no people running around with clip-boards, just a cheap ghetto-blaster and a copy of our CD.

4. You've just toured with Less Than Jake, can you tell us about that?
Those guys are a class act; a perfect example of how to be a successful band. They've built their whole foundation on touring and winning over fans with a kick ass live show; then they follow it up with record deals and radio as an afterthought. They seem so in touch with the original reason we all start our bands: to have fun and play music with your friends. They're really smart too: when they were on the same label as Megadeath they did a split 7" with them, how rad is that? All these punk bands doing splits with hipster bands on cool indie labels and LTJ turn around and do one with fucking Megadeath of all bands!

5. What would you say "Start Static" is about, and means to the band?
I hope it's the first of many Sugarcult album's to come! It's special in that it's our first real record. Bands seem to always have the rest of their careers measured up against their first record, so we're glad we are happy with ours and that the songs on it represent several dimensions of our sound. The "meaning" of art to an artist isn't as important as what it means to those who discover it and apply it to their lives. That's the cool thing about putting something like a record out; that it takes on a life of its own. It's like having a kid, raising it and sending it off on it's own into the world. We wrote the songs, designed the packaging, but the people who buy it ultimately decide what our album "means" to their lives. Mostly the lyrics just reflect Tim's (our singer) experiences, confusions, and mixed emotions in love and life. It's cool to see how many others can relate; 13 year olds and 35 year olds alike.

6. Was playing Warped Tour a dream come true, or something you knew would happen?
Our original dream was just to get on the road, especially after being holed up in the studio for 2 months. The Warped opportunity came along and we thought it would be a fun challenge to see how Rancid and AFI fans would react to our band, as we had never really played with many "punk" bands before. Our motto with live shows is "they'll either love us or hate us, but they'll never forget us". I think we stole that from Kiss. Anyway, we knew we were venturing into the unknown and playing for people that had never heard of us so all we had was our 25 minutes a day to prove ourselves onstage. We learned a lot about touring from all the professional bands and crew people that were around us all day, as well as all the kids at the shows. Standing in line behind Fletcher from Pennywise waiting for Jerry Only (Misfits) to serve you potato salad; eventually you strike up a conversation. Warped '01 was the most important catalyst to our growth as a band over the last year; the majority of the people that went out and bought "Start Static" and called radio stations to request us found us at Warped. The majority of bands who've taken us out on tour found us at Warped. We're stoked to be part of that family now.

7. How long has Sugarcult been together as a band?
Just under 4 years with all four of us. Before that the band slowly evolved and mutated from Tim alone in his bedroom with his guitar and whatever girl he hooked up with the night before as his audience; to Tim and our drummer Ben (then playing bass!) as a coffee house duo; then with Airin on bass as a trio playing dive bars; then I came along and it's been destination arena-rock worldwide ever since!

8. I've heard that your band was named after a group of teenage lesbians?
Tim lived across the hall from 5 or 6 lesbians that called themselves the Sugarcult, after a 60's term for a lesbian hippie commune. Being a lesbian trapped in a man's body himself, Tim adopted their name for our band.

9. Is music 100% of your lives now? Has everyone from the band left their day jobs?
Yeah, but it's not like we're on some fancy label that gives us tons of money; we live off of constant touring; when you buy our T-shirts you're really helping us pay our long-distance bills! We traded our day jobs for a 24-hours-a-day job, but it's the best job in the world!

10. Is there any plans for a second album, any new music in the works?
More music is always in the works, but as far as recording new stuff, right now we're still touring like crazy. We hope to get our next record started in early 2003. We're excited to see the result of playing together almost every day for over a year come out in the studio. We recently pressed up a limited edition CD of our pre-Start Static recordings called "Wrap Me Up in Plastic" only available through our website (www.sugarcult.com) and at shows. I have a side band with Joey from Lagwagon called Bad Astronaut, our new album comes out in October on Honest Don's Records (www.honestdons.com).

11. Have you met some cool stars/celebritites on your tavels as Sugarcult?
We've met so many new friends on tour; I always have my camera with me so I try and take pictures with any pop-culture figures I meet. At festivals we get to mix with bands from other genres. It's always fun to have drinks and conversations with bands we don't necessarily like musically; the other day I felt bad for all the shit I talked about Nickelback, 'cause I met their singer and he was really nice. We're doing a "Marko the celebrity stalker" feature on our website soon with photos of me and famous folks: Everyone from Tara Reid, Carmen Elektra, and Booger from Revenge of the Nerds to Johnny Ramone, Kool Keith, Moby, and David Lee Roth. We were at a post-VMA Awards party in NYC recently and I ended up getting wasted at an after-hours bar in the lower-Eastside with members of every currently-hyped band you can imagine: The Strokes, The Hives, White Stripes, Ryan Adams, The Vines. I was giving Julian (Strokes singer) advice about girls!

12. Who do you think would be better in bed, Marge Simpson or Wilma Flintstone?
I'd shag Wilma because she looks a lot like the hot mom on the Jetsons, Judy Jetson. However, being a cave-woman she probably has horrible B.O. and hair everywhere imaginable! I'd ask blue-haired Marge Simpson, "Does the carpet match the drapes?"