What prompted you to sign to Epitaph's label?
For starters Mr. Brett (from Bad Religion) owns the label and liked our songs a lot. We have a lot of respect for him both artistically and for the way he runs his business. Most labels only have brains and muscle; Epitaph has all of that and lots of heart and soul, rare qualities to find in the music business. Epitaph knows how to deal with bands like ours that like to be involved in decisions and that tour constantly. It was a perfect fit, plus they gave us free Rancid, Tom Waits, Refused, and NOFX records!!!

Where do you think your new album 'Start Static' will fit in today's music scene?
We don't really give things like that much thought. All we try to do is be the best band we can be and write good timeless songs. When we formed this band we had no idea who was going to like us, we've never tried to fit in to any trendy style of music. We're all so different from eachother, it would be impossible to be that one-dimensional. Good songwriting and interesting style are the common threads that run through most music that has made an impact through the years. From the Beach Boys to the Ramones to the Decendents to Nirvana to the Used or whatever's on now. I hope "Start Static" can stand the test of time, because we are proud of the work we put into it.

What sort of fans do you hope to attract with this album?
Loyal fans, the ones that stick with you through thick and thin. We don't want you to like us just because it's considered "cool" to like us or because we're on the radio or in a magazine; we want you to like us (or hate us) based on our music and our shows. Everyone's invited girls, boys, cats, dogs, moms, punks, etc.

Would you say it's a universally appealing album?
Sure. The songs may have been written from Tim's (our singer) perspective and life, but all people can relate to themes of love, loss, confusion, addiction, anxiety, alienation, and wanting to just cut loose and go crazy; all of which are represented in our songs!

Is punk rock and punk pop on the way out due to the recent surge in garage rock?
Who cares? In the long run, nothing is ever really in or out as far as artists are concerned. Poppy punk has been around since the Ramones came out in '76, garage rock has consistently had a worldwide audience since the early '60s (Small Faces, early 'Stones, Love, etc). Trends are a function of media and business angles trying to make money by capitalizing on things people like. I don't think most real bands get together and say, "hey let's be punk!", you just do what you do and the way it comes out reflects what you've picked up on and been exposed to along the way. It's the critics and publicists that assign genres to bands to make them easier to sell, not the bands.

What do you think of garage rock?
I love loud, raw, rootsy, soulful, heartfelt rock n roll. The sloppier the better, and it's always more fun when bands have cool clothes on! I've dug that music forever. Before Sugarcult hit the road and got a record deal I actually used to promote "garage rock" shows in a small dive bar in my hometown to entertain myself and make a few extra dollars along with my old job at the record store.

What's playing in your stereo at the moment?
Queens of the Stone Age, Motion City Soundtrack, Primal Scream, The new Lagwagon, Lee Perry "Blackboard Jungle Dub", a burned copy of the upcoming Weakerthans album, and I finally got around to buying a record by the Smiths "The Queen is Dead". I hated them when I was in high school, but they're actually really good. I bought it in Manchester (where the Smiths are from) while on tour at this little shop across from the Holy Name church which is referenced in the lyrics to one of the songs. I'm such a fucking tourist!

You have been compared to Sum 41, Good Charlotte and Bowling for Soup. Are these fair comparisons or are you disappointed to have been categorised alongside these bands?
If people come to see Sugarcult because they heard we were like any of those and then they like us (or not) that's fine. The problem with being generally categorized along with other bands is that there are loads of people out there that would probably like us, but would never find us because we are being compared to bands that in my opinion are not totally representative of what we are like. We know those bands from touring or having played a few shows here and there together, so I can tell you they are light years apart from each other and our band stylistically. In all fairness, we all play high energy music and use loud guitars and drums but so do most rock bands. It's circumstantial because we are all coming up and getting known by people at the same time, so of course we share fans in common. Kids at our shows have shirts on from all kinds of bands: Slipknot, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, the Strokes whatever; so I suspect the only people lumping us in together are the critics, not the people that actually listen to and love music.

Tell us more about being arrested for surfing on your RV...
Well, New York's finest tried to arrest us, but they were on foot and we were in our fast RV, so we got away. We were in New York for some show and had time to kill during the day, so me and our drummer Ben duct taped our Sugarcult logo banner to the side of our RV, got on top of it with a box of stickers and had the other guys drive us around Times Square as we threw handfuls of stickers out to crowds of people. Shameless self-promotion at it's finest! You gotta get the word out.

What sort of people make up your fan base?
Our fans fucking rule. They are loyal to our band and they treat us with respect, because they get it in return. We don't act like pompous rock stars and hide backstage or whatever, we like to hang out and meet the people that come to see us play. We see a lot of fans following us for several shows and coming back evertime we play in their area; to me that shows that we've earned their trust and it's all the more incentive to put on a better show every time. Most of our fans seem to be rambunctious teenagers with raging hormones; probably because we insist on playing all-ages venues. We started out playing bars in the old days and all people want is for you to stop playing so that they can put the moves on someone to go home with and shag.

Do you make yourself accessible to fans?
Yes. (See previous answer)

Who would you most like to work with/alongside and why?
I would love the opportunity to work with some of these rock legends: Elvis Costello, Mick Jones (the Clash), Paul Westerberg (the Replacements), Ric Ocasek (the Cars), the Stones, Cheap Trick, Paul McCartney, etc. It would be fun to see what would happen if you mixed their experience and wisdom with our energy, youth and innocence. It could be a total disaster, but it would be something to tell your grandkids about one day at least.

Most embarrassing album you ever bought?
I saw a copy of our record "Start Static" in the bargain used bin for 99 cents once and bought it so no one would think we sucked that bad!

Are your family supportive? Do they enjoy your music?
Absolutely, especially now that we're making a living at it. We always worry when our parents say they love our music; parents are supposed to hate good music! My mom always points out how clever we are for switching from major to minor keys in our song Pretty Girl, I'm like "we had nothing to do with it, we were just trying to copy Nirvana and the Beatles!"

If you could be remembered as a band for one thing, what would it be?
That we wrote good songs and gave it our all. But I'd settle for Sugarcult: the second greatest band of the 21st Century! (I'm sure the Hives have already reserved the #1 spot)

Thanks
Marko 72
Sugarcult Guitar