1) Do you find profanity in lyrics to be gratuitous or just a good way to get
a strong point across?
Fuck yeah! Some songwriters abuse profanity just to get attention or create
a veneer of rebelliousness; which I think is boring and obnoxious at best. However,
I do think that when carefully chosen, cuss words can be great emotional punctuation.
"Fuck" is such a powerful word.
2) Your band seems to be exploring lots of different sub genres of punk rock.
Are you trying to diversify your music or are you just trying to find a sound
thats right for you?
I would hope that any band, short of a cover or tribute band, would strive for
diversity. If we are punk, it's by default rather than pretension; all we ever
set out to do was form a rock band with some verses, choruses, guitars, drums,
and a bass. Punk is a term that gets thrown around as carelessly as the blues,
or hip-hop. It's more than just a style of music; it's a whole culture. Elements
of that culture seep into our band because we grew up in and around it. But
we absolutely don't limit ourselves to the confines of any particular sub-genre
of rock music. We play kind of sloppy, raw and fast, and wear cheap sneakers;
those are punk characteristics; but we also have melodic songs, vocal harmonies,
guitar solos, slow and mid-tempo stuff that would be more associated with power-pop
and classic rock influences. The records we bonded on when we were first putting
this band together were; the first 2 Elvis Costello albums, the Ramones, The
Clash, The Police, Blondie, The Cars, Superdrag, Nirvana, etc. But we've evolved
and learned a lot since then which has given us the confidence to be ourselves
more than ever.
3) I hear you guys are in the the recording process. What can we expect on
the new album?
Like I said before, more confidence as players and as songwriters; hopefully
that will translate to tape and make for a stronger strain of the Sugarcult
disease! It's fun to be making a record at a time when the musical climate is
getting back on it's feet with some good bands being put back in the limelight
(the Strokes, Jimmy Eat World, White Stripes, Ok Go, the Vines, the Used, Foo
Fighters, etc)
4) Who inspired you guys as musicians?
We'd all answer this differently. In my case, it was all the bands from the
Santa Barbara scene, that I grew up alongside and learned from. When I was a
little kid I thought you had to be from outer space to be a rock star; then
I started going to local shows; RKL, Rat Pack, Jerkin Gherkins,The Tan, Giant
Eden, all the shows at the Red Barn; all these colorful folks that were stars
in their own right. Who needs tickets to the Motley Crue concert, when you've
got Jason Sears from RKL throwing up onstage and doing backflips! Then success
became a reality. First that kid from San Marcos High, Glen Phillips and his
band Toad broke out of Goleta; then Lagwagon; then Nerf Herder, Dishwalla, Snot,
Summercamp, Mad Caddies, The Ataris, the list goes on to this day...
5) What are you guys currently listening to?
We've been digging that band Spoon from Austin, TX; Ryan Adams has some good
songs; Queens of the Stoneage's latest is worthy of it's hype. Lot's of old
stuff too; it's good to rediscover records that you may have overlooked in it's
day, because of a teenage closed mind or because you weren't born yet! Early
Bowie continues to fascinate, 70's reggae, our singer Tim went and saw Joe Jackson
recently and was blown away. Few new "punk" bands are of any interest
to me; too safe and homogenized to even qualify as rock n roll, let alone punk;
somebody please stick a fuckin safety pin through your nose or something!
6) Are you guys planning a tour after the release of your upcoming album?
Making records and touring is what being a band is all about. We toured for
almost 2 years straight on our last album "Start Static"; we'll be
hitting the road again ASAP.
7) When do you guys expect your new album to hit stores(roughly)?
I'm probably jinxing it by saying early October 2003; we want to be able to
wear Halloween costumes at our record release shows!
8) Do your lyrics normally relate to autobiographical incidents?
Lyrics always have deeper meanings, that’s a big part of why people love
music so much. Tim may write his lyrics from the perspective of his own life
and experiences, but you don’t have to know him personally to relate to
our songs. The cool thing is you put a song out there and it takes on a life
of it’s own, it’s meanings depend on how someone relates to it as
it pertains to there own life and imagination. I have records in my collection
that I feel were made just for me; the fact is there may be millions of others
who feel the same way, about the very same record. One song might remind you
of a girl you dated 3 summers ago; another might remind you of a group of friends
that were really tight for a while and have since all moved away or whatever.
In the book, High Fidelity (by: Nick Hornby) the main character explains how
his record collection is organized autobiographically, rather than alphabetically.
Music really is the soundtrack to life. That said, it’s less important
what Tim meant by writing “Stuck in America”, than what meaning
you take from it.
9) Is there a regular lyricist in your band or is it a group effort?
Tim writes the lyrics, but we all chime in to help him if he's having trouble
articulating an idea. I think it's best that Tim sings words that came out of
his life. We all write on our own as well. I have a side-project band with Joey
Cape from Lagwagon and a bunch of amazing Santa Barbara musicians (Angus Cooke,
Todd Capps, Thom Flowers, Derrick Plourde, Jonathan Cox) it's called Bad Astronaut;
it's just another outlet for sonic adventures; it's actually pretty good, (get
info on our 2 releases at www.honestdons.com) Shameless plug, I'll admit!
10) What's in the future for SUGARCULT?
We've only just cracked the surface of getting our band know around the world.
We've toured Europe only once. As soon as we finish our recording; we're jumping
on planes to Europe and Japan to spend our summer touring abroad and catching
our fans overseas up to speed on our band. Then it's all about the new record,
and of course, collecting enough material to justify doing a VH1 Behind the
Music special on our band in 10 years time!
Support local music and independent record stores!!
cheers,
Marko 72
(sugarcult guitarist/bad astronaut bassist)