It’s been 30 years since the Supersuckers first set-out on their path to rock'n’roll greatness. Having initially formed as the Black Supersuckers in Tuscon, Arizona, the band relocated to Seattle shortly before the Sub-Pop hype took-off. Unfortunately, the change did not agree with their original singer, Eric Martin, who decided to quit the band and return home, resulting in bassist / songwriter Eddie Spaghetti taking over the vocal duties and the bands' name being shortened. The rest, as they say, is history and so, with their 30th Anniversary Tour arriving in London, I decided to take the opportunity to review their first three decades, as well as discussing their current line-up and latest album, ‘Suck It’. Meeting-up with Mr Spaghetti shortly after their soundcheck, we found a relatively quiet spot in the venue proceeded with the conversation.
As previously noted, the band originally formed in Tuscon, which isn’t exactly a place well-known for its’ rock’n’roll heritage. What was the music scene like when you first started playing gigs ?
‘Well, we definitely didn’t fit-in with whatever the musical-scene was back then. For me, it seemed like there were either Heavy Metal bands or else those kind of jingly-jangly, singer-songwriter types, you know, bands that sounded like Camper Van Beethoven or Green On Red, stuff like that. There were a lot of bands who had those kind of vibes and we didn’t fit-in with either one of them. We just didn’t want to do those things… The metal bands were people who wanted to sound like Guns & Roses, who I never liked. They were too ‘heavy metal’ for me back then and I still don’t think they’re anything great. I never wanted to be like that so we set-out to find a different way for us to be. Once we figured-out what we wanted to do, we realised that we’d have to move out of Tuscon.’
As previously noted, the band originally formed in Tuscon, which isn’t exactly a place well-known for its’ rock’n’roll heritage. What was the music scene like when you first started playing gigs ?
‘Well, we definitely didn’t fit-in with whatever the musical-scene was back then. For me, it seemed like there were either Heavy Metal bands or else those kind of jingly-jangly, singer-songwriter types, you know, bands that sounded like Camper Van Beethoven or Green On Red, stuff like that. There were a lot of bands who had those kind of vibes and we didn’t fit-in with either one of them. We just didn’t want to do those things… The metal bands were people who wanted to sound like Guns & Roses, who I never liked. They were too ‘heavy metal’ for me back then and I still don’t think they’re anything great. I never wanted to be like that so we set-out to find a different way for us to be. Once we figured-out what we wanted to do, we realised that we’d have to move out of Tuscon.’
Had any of you been in bands together before the Supersuckers ?
‘Yeah, there was a band called Thai Pink… you can even find some recordings of them on Youtube. I was in the band along with Dancing Eagle, the first Supersuckers' drummer, and Eric Martin, who became the singer in the Black Supersuckers. We were a kind of Glam-rock band, but not in the Heavy Metal way, like Poison or anything like that. We wanted to be more like Gary Glitter-meets-Cheap Trick. We wanted those kind of big beats and nonsense-choruses… the songs didn’t really have to mean anything and it was probably best if they didn’t. I still think it was pretty good, I’m not ashamed of it or anything.’
So how did the Black Supersuckers come together ? Apart from the other two in Thai Pink, did you already know the other band members ?
‘I’d known everybody since High School and I’d known the drummer since Grade School. We were all into the same kind of music, more or less. If they were listening to something that I deemed shitty, I’d let them know and we’d all decide that it was shitty ! As far as the band went, they were malleable enough at that time to do what I wanted the band to do. I never really wanted to be the singer, I wanted to be the mastermind behind the scenes, sort of like Brian Wilson but playing the bass.’
The band were originally called ‘The Black Supersuckers’ which, so the story goes, was borrowed from a porn movie…
‘Yeah, I guess, although we never actually saw the movie. It was just a title we saw in the back of a certain lurid gentlemans’ magazine…. Which just happened to be there one night when we were rehearsing… We used to do this thing at the end of the night, when we were done practicing, where we would all just jam on something and Eric would look through a magazine and read-out the classifieds at the back of it in place of any real lyrics. The porno ones were always really funny and one-time he came across an advert for a movie called ‘Black Supersuckers’. He got hung up on it and kept repeating that title, so that’s what we became. I think our final choice was between that and ‘The Cock-Hungry Studs’, because we wanted the excuse to tell everybody that we loved fried-chicken ! But we only really intended to use that name for this one-show which we’d already agreed to play. We weren’t really ready for it so we were just going to play it as a kind-of warm-up and use this silly name. But when we played, there were a lot of people there and it went really well, so suddenly we were stuck with the name. But it was never a problem, really… the only people who ever seemed to have a problem with ‘The Black Supersuckers’ were white people, so we didn’t worry about it too much and it was never became a big deal.’
‘Yeah, there was a band called Thai Pink… you can even find some recordings of them on Youtube. I was in the band along with Dancing Eagle, the first Supersuckers' drummer, and Eric Martin, who became the singer in the Black Supersuckers. We were a kind of Glam-rock band, but not in the Heavy Metal way, like Poison or anything like that. We wanted to be more like Gary Glitter-meets-Cheap Trick. We wanted those kind of big beats and nonsense-choruses… the songs didn’t really have to mean anything and it was probably best if they didn’t. I still think it was pretty good, I’m not ashamed of it or anything.’
So how did the Black Supersuckers come together ? Apart from the other two in Thai Pink, did you already know the other band members ?
‘I’d known everybody since High School and I’d known the drummer since Grade School. We were all into the same kind of music, more or less. If they were listening to something that I deemed shitty, I’d let them know and we’d all decide that it was shitty ! As far as the band went, they were malleable enough at that time to do what I wanted the band to do. I never really wanted to be the singer, I wanted to be the mastermind behind the scenes, sort of like Brian Wilson but playing the bass.’
The band were originally called ‘The Black Supersuckers’ which, so the story goes, was borrowed from a porn movie…
‘Yeah, I guess, although we never actually saw the movie. It was just a title we saw in the back of a certain lurid gentlemans’ magazine…. Which just happened to be there one night when we were rehearsing… We used to do this thing at the end of the night, when we were done practicing, where we would all just jam on something and Eric would look through a magazine and read-out the classifieds at the back of it in place of any real lyrics. The porno ones were always really funny and one-time he came across an advert for a movie called ‘Black Supersuckers’. He got hung up on it and kept repeating that title, so that’s what we became. I think our final choice was between that and ‘The Cock-Hungry Studs’, because we wanted the excuse to tell everybody that we loved fried-chicken ! But we only really intended to use that name for this one-show which we’d already agreed to play. We weren’t really ready for it so we were just going to play it as a kind-of warm-up and use this silly name. But when we played, there were a lot of people there and it went really well, so suddenly we were stuck with the name. But it was never a problem, really… the only people who ever seemed to have a problem with ‘The Black Supersuckers’ were white people, so we didn’t worry about it too much and it was never became a big deal.’
The band decided to relocate to Seattle, but unlike so many that moved there following the success of Sub-Pop etc, you moved there before that whole scene started to become really well-known…
‘Yeah, we had no idea that Sub-Pop even existed at that point. We thought we were going to move to Seattle and we’d be the best band they’d ever heard. I mean, who was from Seattle back then ? We hadn’t heard of any of those new bands so we thought we’d be the best band in town. But when we got there, we found all these great bands… The first things we heard were, like, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney, so we quickly found-out there were a lot of really cool bands. Fortunately, they were all super-supportive. No-one had an attitude and no-one had a problem that we were from somewhere else. No-one thought they were there to get famous because it was before all of that started to happen. Everyone was really welcoming… I liken us moving to Seattle from Tuscon with that scene in The Wizard of Oz when the house gets sucked-up into the tornado and everything is in black and white. When it lands and they open the door, everything is in colour ! That’s what moving to Seattle was like for us. Everything about it was so much better for us, from the climate to the culture, which is why I’ve stayed there ever since.’
However, your original singer, Eric, didn’t stay in Seattle for long and ended-up moving back to Tuscon…
‘Yeah, he didn’t even stick around long enough for the first record to be made. He was still around when Sub-Pop began courting us and we did some demos with him, but nothing ever happened with them until we released them a few years ago. I actually wrote the song ‘Marie’ about him, later on. That was the depressing OD song for Eric Martin, after he died… Once he left, we needed a new singer and, since I wrote all the words and I already knew them, I agreed to sing in the interim until we found the right guy. But it all seemed to work-out like that so we never really looked for anyone else. The whole idea of adding a new personality to the band and hoping it would fit-in seemed stupid once we realised that I could do it. I only did it out of necessity at first, but it just worked-out. I hadn’t really wanted to do it, but when I did, I felt freed-up. I’d always felt that I had to compromise my vision while we had a separate singer and that hadn’t really worked for me.’
You released several singles on different labels before you signed-up with Sub-Pop. Did this all come together once you arrived in Seattle ?
‘Yeah, and again, I didn’t even know that world of small labels even existed before we got to Seattle. I had no idea that anything like that was happening at that time, so it was another really rad thing that we became a part of. All of a sudden, I was going to record stores looking for singles by bands that I’d seen. They were fun and you’d find these great songs , some of which you would only be available on a 45. It was a really cool, tangible way to hear music.’
‘Yeah, we had no idea that Sub-Pop even existed at that point. We thought we were going to move to Seattle and we’d be the best band they’d ever heard. I mean, who was from Seattle back then ? We hadn’t heard of any of those new bands so we thought we’d be the best band in town. But when we got there, we found all these great bands… The first things we heard were, like, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney, so we quickly found-out there were a lot of really cool bands. Fortunately, they were all super-supportive. No-one had an attitude and no-one had a problem that we were from somewhere else. No-one thought they were there to get famous because it was before all of that started to happen. Everyone was really welcoming… I liken us moving to Seattle from Tuscon with that scene in The Wizard of Oz when the house gets sucked-up into the tornado and everything is in black and white. When it lands and they open the door, everything is in colour ! That’s what moving to Seattle was like for us. Everything about it was so much better for us, from the climate to the culture, which is why I’ve stayed there ever since.’
However, your original singer, Eric, didn’t stay in Seattle for long and ended-up moving back to Tuscon…
‘Yeah, he didn’t even stick around long enough for the first record to be made. He was still around when Sub-Pop began courting us and we did some demos with him, but nothing ever happened with them until we released them a few years ago. I actually wrote the song ‘Marie’ about him, later on. That was the depressing OD song for Eric Martin, after he died… Once he left, we needed a new singer and, since I wrote all the words and I already knew them, I agreed to sing in the interim until we found the right guy. But it all seemed to work-out like that so we never really looked for anyone else. The whole idea of adding a new personality to the band and hoping it would fit-in seemed stupid once we realised that I could do it. I only did it out of necessity at first, but it just worked-out. I hadn’t really wanted to do it, but when I did, I felt freed-up. I’d always felt that I had to compromise my vision while we had a separate singer and that hadn’t really worked for me.’
You released several singles on different labels before you signed-up with Sub-Pop. Did this all come together once you arrived in Seattle ?
‘Yeah, and again, I didn’t even know that world of small labels even existed before we got to Seattle. I had no idea that anything like that was happening at that time, so it was another really rad thing that we became a part of. All of a sudden, I was going to record stores looking for singles by bands that I’d seen. They were fun and you’d find these great songs , some of which you would only be available on a 45. It was a really cool, tangible way to hear music.’
Your first single on Sub-Pop, the ‘Like A Big Fuckin’ Train’ EP featured a picture on the cover that many (including myself) assumed was GG Allin…
‘No, It’s actually me ! I’d shaved my head and drew ‘666’ on my forehead… It wasn’t meant to look like him, it was just a fucked-up picture of me that the art-guy liked. It was also the first appearance of the Supersuckers logo, which we’ve used ever since. But I never even liked GG Allin, so that was definitely not a good comparison for me… and it still gets mentioned online in discographies or whatever. But I never wanted to be anywhere near anyone who was maybe going to throw poop at me !’
How did the deal with Sup-Pop come about ?
‘I got a job at Sub-Pop through a buddy of mine, stuffing singles into their sleeves and doing menial labour for them. I ended up hanging-out with people from there and that’s how I got to know Bruce. They came down to see us play a show and it was one where we’d decided to dress-up like banditos, in sombreros and panchos, that kind of thing. They liked us, but they thought that was what we were all about ! They asked us to record some demos for them, which is what we eventually released as the Black Supersuckers demos, but they had the idea that we were going to be this kind of Disco-Rock band, because of that one show they’d seen us play. I didn’t particularly mind that idea, because I’ve always loved Disco, but it wasn’t going to work because it would’ve been too forced. And then,soon after that, Eric went back to Tuscon so we became the Supersuckers and had to do a whole new courtship with Sub-Pop. It was like starting all over again and, in some ways, I think they took a little bit too long to come around. We set our sights on being on Sub-Pop but it took us about nine months longer than I think it should have, although I may have felt like that because I was still young and in a hurry…’
By the time ‘The Smoke of Hell’ album was released, Sub-Pop was starting to get a lot of media coverage. But the Supersuckers didn’t really fit-in with the ‘grunge’ style that the media expected from the label and probably didn’t get the attention that they deserved…
‘Yeah, we felt a little bit like a fish out of water, but they also had The Dwarves on the label and, as long as they were there, we had a kindred spirit. First time we played in Europe was a Sub-Pop tour with us, The Dwarves and the Reverend Horton Heat and it was pretty successful, but none of us were ‘grunge’ bands. We were the odd-men-out and that was felt at times, but it was never Sup-Pop’s fault. They were always changing and putting-out different things… lots of crappier music than what we were doing, because, really, that’s all there is ! There’s what we do and then there’s all the other bands and their crappy music ! So, we couldn’t really expect them to find anything good to sign…’
‘No, It’s actually me ! I’d shaved my head and drew ‘666’ on my forehead… It wasn’t meant to look like him, it was just a fucked-up picture of me that the art-guy liked. It was also the first appearance of the Supersuckers logo, which we’ve used ever since. But I never even liked GG Allin, so that was definitely not a good comparison for me… and it still gets mentioned online in discographies or whatever. But I never wanted to be anywhere near anyone who was maybe going to throw poop at me !’
How did the deal with Sup-Pop come about ?
‘I got a job at Sub-Pop through a buddy of mine, stuffing singles into their sleeves and doing menial labour for them. I ended up hanging-out with people from there and that’s how I got to know Bruce. They came down to see us play a show and it was one where we’d decided to dress-up like banditos, in sombreros and panchos, that kind of thing. They liked us, but they thought that was what we were all about ! They asked us to record some demos for them, which is what we eventually released as the Black Supersuckers demos, but they had the idea that we were going to be this kind of Disco-Rock band, because of that one show they’d seen us play. I didn’t particularly mind that idea, because I’ve always loved Disco, but it wasn’t going to work because it would’ve been too forced. And then,soon after that, Eric went back to Tuscon so we became the Supersuckers and had to do a whole new courtship with Sub-Pop. It was like starting all over again and, in some ways, I think they took a little bit too long to come around. We set our sights on being on Sub-Pop but it took us about nine months longer than I think it should have, although I may have felt like that because I was still young and in a hurry…’
By the time ‘The Smoke of Hell’ album was released, Sub-Pop was starting to get a lot of media coverage. But the Supersuckers didn’t really fit-in with the ‘grunge’ style that the media expected from the label and probably didn’t get the attention that they deserved…
‘Yeah, we felt a little bit like a fish out of water, but they also had The Dwarves on the label and, as long as they were there, we had a kindred spirit. First time we played in Europe was a Sub-Pop tour with us, The Dwarves and the Reverend Horton Heat and it was pretty successful, but none of us were ‘grunge’ bands. We were the odd-men-out and that was felt at times, but it was never Sup-Pop’s fault. They were always changing and putting-out different things… lots of crappier music than what we were doing, because, really, that’s all there is ! There’s what we do and then there’s all the other bands and their crappy music ! So, we couldn’t really expect them to find anything good to sign…’
Did you enjoy touring Europe with the Reverend Horton Heath and The Dwarves ?
‘Oh, yeah ! We’d already toured a little bit with the Reverend and I already knew Blag from The Dwarves, just because I was such a big fan and we became friends. But it was weird having those two bands together because they didn’t really know anything about each other and they were pretty different people. When all three bands were together on one bus it could get pretty crazy, especially as we were together for thirty days or whatever. I remember the show we played in London, because that was the first date on the tour and everyone was jetlagged and super-tired. We played our set and it went okay but we were so tired. Then the Reverend Horton Heat did his thing and finally, The Dwarves came on, only to walk-off after five minutes ! I couldn’t believe that they’d flown all the way to London just to do that, but they hardly played any longer than that on the entire tour. It was as if they were trying to see how soon they could get off the stage !’
Around the time of ‘The Smoke of Hell’, the band had a pretty straight-forward, blue collar kind of image and it wasn’t until the second album, ‘La Mano Cornudo’ that you started to adopt a more Western / Cowboy style, as well as the tongue-in-cheek Satanic references…
‘They were just two things that I’d always enjoyed. We began dressing like cowboys on our first trip to Japan. We wanted to be so American that it would hurt, so what else could we wear but cowboy hats ? I loved it so much that I never stopped… the rest of the guys wouldn’t wear them all the time, but I just stayed with it. It wasn’t something that we stole because we were from Tuscon, so it was totally acceptable. We’d already recorded some Country music as The Junkyard Dogs by then, so we weren’t trying to genre-bend or anything. For me, it was a natural part of who I am and I think that was also the same with the Satanist stuff… I grew-up in a house where my Mom was always making references to the Devil and shouting about how Evil was running free… We always used to have these Jehovahs Witnesses coming around to our house when I was a kid, so one time she took us to the Mall because you could buy t-shirts and get these felt letters that you could ironed onto them… She bought us these red t-shirts and put three 6’s on the chest for us to wear the next time these people came over. I mean, I didn’t know what ‘666’ meant, I had no idea, but the next time the doorbell rang, she told us to put-on our shirts… When we opened the door, the look on their faces was great and I’ll never forget it ! My Mom just said ‘Hail Satan’ and they turned around, got out of there and never came back ! I remember thinking ‘What the Hell is this ?’ The next day, I wore the shirt to school and they took me into the office and called my Mom to bring me a new t-shirt… She got so mad with them, like, ‘It’s only a bunch of fucking numbers, you dumb shits ! It doesn’t mean anything.’
‘Oh, yeah ! We’d already toured a little bit with the Reverend and I already knew Blag from The Dwarves, just because I was such a big fan and we became friends. But it was weird having those two bands together because they didn’t really know anything about each other and they were pretty different people. When all three bands were together on one bus it could get pretty crazy, especially as we were together for thirty days or whatever. I remember the show we played in London, because that was the first date on the tour and everyone was jetlagged and super-tired. We played our set and it went okay but we were so tired. Then the Reverend Horton Heat did his thing and finally, The Dwarves came on, only to walk-off after five minutes ! I couldn’t believe that they’d flown all the way to London just to do that, but they hardly played any longer than that on the entire tour. It was as if they were trying to see how soon they could get off the stage !’
Around the time of ‘The Smoke of Hell’, the band had a pretty straight-forward, blue collar kind of image and it wasn’t until the second album, ‘La Mano Cornudo’ that you started to adopt a more Western / Cowboy style, as well as the tongue-in-cheek Satanic references…
‘They were just two things that I’d always enjoyed. We began dressing like cowboys on our first trip to Japan. We wanted to be so American that it would hurt, so what else could we wear but cowboy hats ? I loved it so much that I never stopped… the rest of the guys wouldn’t wear them all the time, but I just stayed with it. It wasn’t something that we stole because we were from Tuscon, so it was totally acceptable. We’d already recorded some Country music as The Junkyard Dogs by then, so we weren’t trying to genre-bend or anything. For me, it was a natural part of who I am and I think that was also the same with the Satanist stuff… I grew-up in a house where my Mom was always making references to the Devil and shouting about how Evil was running free… We always used to have these Jehovahs Witnesses coming around to our house when I was a kid, so one time she took us to the Mall because you could buy t-shirts and get these felt letters that you could ironed onto them… She bought us these red t-shirts and put three 6’s on the chest for us to wear the next time these people came over. I mean, I didn’t know what ‘666’ meant, I had no idea, but the next time the doorbell rang, she told us to put-on our shirts… When we opened the door, the look on their faces was great and I’ll never forget it ! My Mom just said ‘Hail Satan’ and they turned around, got out of there and never came back ! I remember thinking ‘What the Hell is this ?’ The next day, I wore the shirt to school and they took me into the office and called my Mom to bring me a new t-shirt… She got so mad with them, like, ‘It’s only a bunch of fucking numbers, you dumb shits ! It doesn’t mean anything.’
You stayed with Sub-Pop for four studio albums and things seemed to be going pretty well for you. Why did you eventually decide to leave ?
‘I was happy with them and I think we made some really good records back then, which have stood the test of time. But we were offered a deal with Interscope and signed with them because we thought we were moving on to bigger and better things. They lured us away from Sub-Pop but then we recorded an album for them that never came out. It was a really disheartening experience and I think that happened for a few other bands as well, back then. But at the time, it seemed that it was an opportunity that we couldn’t turn down.’
Apart from that first tour alongside The Dwarves and the Reverend Horton Heat, the Supersuckers always played their own tours in Europe. In retrospect, in those earlier years, do you think it may have helped the band if you had got to support already-established bands in Europe ?
‘For sure, I’d have loved to have played with someone much bigger than us. If it was a good choice, I’m sure we could have impressed their fans. But for some reasons our agents over here never seemed to think it was a good idea. I mean, we toured with Motorhead over in the States and I’m sure we would have done well with someone like that in Europe. I really enjoyed playing with them for that tour… I got along with Lemmy eventually, although we had a bit of an argument at one point, early in the tour. But after we’d cleared the air, we became, like, best buddies. I was actually learning a bunch of Elvis songs at the time, for this Elvis show that I had coming-up, and he loved Elvis so he’d be backstage with me while I was playing through the songs.’
Which band have you enjoyed playing alongside the most ?
‘I really don’t know which was the best, but there are a few that come to mind straight away… Mudhoney were great. They were the first band that we really got to go out on the road with, but it just felt like we were all in one big band. They were so cool… they showed us how you had to be with people that were on tour with you. You can’t treat people like assholes and you can’t be stand-offish with them. I mean, you can get away with that if you really don’t like someone and you’re only going to play with them the one time, but if you’re going to be around them for a while, you don’t want to be a dick. So they were great. Another band I really enjoyed playing with were The Upper Crust, just because those guys were so much fun. Their whole schtick is so unstoppable, but they also write really great rock songs. They’re a cut-above, for sure !’
‘I was happy with them and I think we made some really good records back then, which have stood the test of time. But we were offered a deal with Interscope and signed with them because we thought we were moving on to bigger and better things. They lured us away from Sub-Pop but then we recorded an album for them that never came out. It was a really disheartening experience and I think that happened for a few other bands as well, back then. But at the time, it seemed that it was an opportunity that we couldn’t turn down.’
Apart from that first tour alongside The Dwarves and the Reverend Horton Heat, the Supersuckers always played their own tours in Europe. In retrospect, in those earlier years, do you think it may have helped the band if you had got to support already-established bands in Europe ?
‘For sure, I’d have loved to have played with someone much bigger than us. If it was a good choice, I’m sure we could have impressed their fans. But for some reasons our agents over here never seemed to think it was a good idea. I mean, we toured with Motorhead over in the States and I’m sure we would have done well with someone like that in Europe. I really enjoyed playing with them for that tour… I got along with Lemmy eventually, although we had a bit of an argument at one point, early in the tour. But after we’d cleared the air, we became, like, best buddies. I was actually learning a bunch of Elvis songs at the time, for this Elvis show that I had coming-up, and he loved Elvis so he’d be backstage with me while I was playing through the songs.’
Which band have you enjoyed playing alongside the most ?
‘I really don’t know which was the best, but there are a few that come to mind straight away… Mudhoney were great. They were the first band that we really got to go out on the road with, but it just felt like we were all in one big band. They were so cool… they showed us how you had to be with people that were on tour with you. You can’t treat people like assholes and you can’t be stand-offish with them. I mean, you can get away with that if you really don’t like someone and you’re only going to play with them the one time, but if you’re going to be around them for a while, you don’t want to be a dick. So they were great. Another band I really enjoyed playing with were The Upper Crust, just because those guys were so much fun. Their whole schtick is so unstoppable, but they also write really great rock songs. They’re a cut-above, for sure !’
You have an acoustic guitar that’s signed by Jerry Lee Lewis… how did that come about ?
‘We managed to play a show with him at the House of Blues in Anaheim… I think we were probably playing a Country set that night. So, after we finished, I was waiting in the corridor for him to come out of his dressing room, to ask if he’d sign my guitar. When he appeared, I asked him for his signature, but he said, ‘Weeelll, I don’t know about signing guitars, I play piano !’ So I started to explain that I didn’t have a piano with me when he saw that I had an old Gibson and he said, ‘Heyyy, I can sign a Gibson !’ Perhaps he had some kind of deal where he wasn’t allowed to sign certain makes of instrument, but evidently Gibson was okay… as it should be !’
Going back to when you first started playing and recording Country songs, the first couple of records you released were under the name ‘The Junkyard Dogs’. Why did you decide to do it under a different name ?
‘Well, the Junkyard Dogs wasn’t strictly the Supersuckers. It was us with a bunch of other people and, at first, we’d just go out once a year and play at a street-fair in Tuscon. That’s where it first started, back in Arizona. We’d go out and kind of busk on a corner at this street-fair. We did that two years in a row in Tuscon and then, when we moved to Seattle, there turned out to be a street-fair in the neighbourhood where we were all living and we decided to continue doing the Junkyard Dogs thing. But in Seattle, we met a whole army of dudes that would want to come down and join-in, so instead of there just being the three of us, there’d be six or seven people playing guitars and there’d be a bunch of girls singing back-ups… It was really rad and some of the songs started to sound good enough for us to make a record, so that’s what happened. We never thought to call it anything else but The Junkyard Dogs. It was a few years before we decided to release the ‘Must’ve Been High’ album and the idea for that had actually started out as an Eddie Spaghetti solo album. I’d played a few of my songs to a friend of mine who was a producer and he said he wanted to make a solo record with me. But I needed to get some other guys to play on it and the best guys I knew were the Supersuckers, so we just went ahead and did it as a Supersuckers record.’
Were you surprised by how popular it became in its’ own right ?
‘Yeah, because at first a lot of people were really not into it. But it seemed that when they listened to it a bit more, they realised that it still had the same essence of the Supersuckers and they started to enjoy it. People may have been a bit confused at first but they eventually decided that this was good music, too.’
Did it create problems trying to combine both styles when you played live ?
‘It did, because we needed to have another guy to play the Country sets properly. We had to get another bass player to play live, so that I could play acoustic guitar. We’ve been able to rectify that a bit in recent years, but I think it was an attempt to make it sound more genuine so, at that time, we’d either go out and play Rock sets or Country sets.’
‘We managed to play a show with him at the House of Blues in Anaheim… I think we were probably playing a Country set that night. So, after we finished, I was waiting in the corridor for him to come out of his dressing room, to ask if he’d sign my guitar. When he appeared, I asked him for his signature, but he said, ‘Weeelll, I don’t know about signing guitars, I play piano !’ So I started to explain that I didn’t have a piano with me when he saw that I had an old Gibson and he said, ‘Heyyy, I can sign a Gibson !’ Perhaps he had some kind of deal where he wasn’t allowed to sign certain makes of instrument, but evidently Gibson was okay… as it should be !’
Going back to when you first started playing and recording Country songs, the first couple of records you released were under the name ‘The Junkyard Dogs’. Why did you decide to do it under a different name ?
‘Well, the Junkyard Dogs wasn’t strictly the Supersuckers. It was us with a bunch of other people and, at first, we’d just go out once a year and play at a street-fair in Tuscon. That’s where it first started, back in Arizona. We’d go out and kind of busk on a corner at this street-fair. We did that two years in a row in Tuscon and then, when we moved to Seattle, there turned out to be a street-fair in the neighbourhood where we were all living and we decided to continue doing the Junkyard Dogs thing. But in Seattle, we met a whole army of dudes that would want to come down and join-in, so instead of there just being the three of us, there’d be six or seven people playing guitars and there’d be a bunch of girls singing back-ups… It was really rad and some of the songs started to sound good enough for us to make a record, so that’s what happened. We never thought to call it anything else but The Junkyard Dogs. It was a few years before we decided to release the ‘Must’ve Been High’ album and the idea for that had actually started out as an Eddie Spaghetti solo album. I’d played a few of my songs to a friend of mine who was a producer and he said he wanted to make a solo record with me. But I needed to get some other guys to play on it and the best guys I knew were the Supersuckers, so we just went ahead and did it as a Supersuckers record.’
Were you surprised by how popular it became in its’ own right ?
‘Yeah, because at first a lot of people were really not into it. But it seemed that when they listened to it a bit more, they realised that it still had the same essence of the Supersuckers and they started to enjoy it. People may have been a bit confused at first but they eventually decided that this was good music, too.’
Did it create problems trying to combine both styles when you played live ?
‘It did, because we needed to have another guy to play the Country sets properly. We had to get another bass player to play live, so that I could play acoustic guitar. We’ve been able to rectify that a bit in recent years, but I think it was an attempt to make it sound more genuine so, at that time, we’d either go out and play Rock sets or Country sets.’
Although ‘Must’ve Been High’ didn’t end up as a solo album, you did eventually begin releasing records under your own name in 2003, starting with ‘The Sauce’, and also playing solo acoustic sets…
‘I think I first started playing acoustic by myself was around the time of ‘Must’ve Been High’, when I realised that I had enough songs that I felt I could do that way. But I still didn’t do very many solo gigs until the first solo record came out. Then I started doing them more often and really enjoying them. It was a bit strange not having the band around me at first, but we’d also played other things that were a bit unusual, like those street-fairs, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable. It was just a bit weird because, suddenly, you have to fill-up all of the space by yourself.’
You’ve chosen to support various Causes over the years, such as Farm Aid and the West Memphis Three, despite the fact that a lot of people seem to be unwilling to take a band with the name ‘Supersuckers’ too seriously…
‘Well, it’s always been things that we felt were right. I’d never get involved with something that I didn’t feel comfortable with… The things that we have been involved with seem to have been nothing but positive. We got to meet Willy Nelson through doing the Farm Aid shows, and it’s kind of like rarefied air when things like that happen. It was something we wanted to do, anyway, and we had no idea we’d ever get to meet him, so that was very cool. And things like that does help to wash-out some of the stain of having called ourselves the Supersuckers ! I mean, perhaps we don’t take everything so seriously, but we do take our music seriously and we do take it seriously when we decide to support something. But, you know, how seriously do you expect people to take a band that call themselves the Supersuckers ? So it is what it is… it’s like, a comedy movie is never going to win an Academy Award, but it’ll still be the movie that everybody wants to watch over and over again ! So, fuck that ‘serious’ bullshit ! All you can do is make sure that you’re doing something good.’
Apart from the short period of time around the ‘Sacrilicious’ album when Ron was temporarily replaced by Rick Sims, the original four members of the band remained together up until Dancing Eagle left in 2004, after the ‘Motherfuckers Be Trippin’’ album. Since then, there’s been quite a few changes. Were you surprised when people started to leave such a solid line-up ?
‘Yeah, I was… although, the first one I actually kicked-out… the drummer had to go. I don’t want to go into all the reasons why, but things just escalated until he had to go. It was either he had to go or I’d stop wanting to make music, so something had to happen. At first, I thought that I was going to leave the band, but then the two other guys decided to come with me. That worked out for a while but then Ron decided to quit again, which was when we got Marty and that worked out great. We had Scott Churilla on drums for a while and that was good at first but then it started to get awful. Around the same time, Ron came back for a while and I was in band with Ron, Scott and Dan Bolton, which just became the most miserable band line-up that I’ve ever been a part of ! It was just awful… Then Ron decided to leave, once again, and Marty was back so we just had to deal with Scott and that wasn’t so bad. He eventually left and then, more recently, Dan left, so now there’s just the three of us, myself, Marty and Chris and it seems to be working real fine again.’
‘I think I first started playing acoustic by myself was around the time of ‘Must’ve Been High’, when I realised that I had enough songs that I felt I could do that way. But I still didn’t do very many solo gigs until the first solo record came out. Then I started doing them more often and really enjoying them. It was a bit strange not having the band around me at first, but we’d also played other things that were a bit unusual, like those street-fairs, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable. It was just a bit weird because, suddenly, you have to fill-up all of the space by yourself.’
You’ve chosen to support various Causes over the years, such as Farm Aid and the West Memphis Three, despite the fact that a lot of people seem to be unwilling to take a band with the name ‘Supersuckers’ too seriously…
‘Well, it’s always been things that we felt were right. I’d never get involved with something that I didn’t feel comfortable with… The things that we have been involved with seem to have been nothing but positive. We got to meet Willy Nelson through doing the Farm Aid shows, and it’s kind of like rarefied air when things like that happen. It was something we wanted to do, anyway, and we had no idea we’d ever get to meet him, so that was very cool. And things like that does help to wash-out some of the stain of having called ourselves the Supersuckers ! I mean, perhaps we don’t take everything so seriously, but we do take our music seriously and we do take it seriously when we decide to support something. But, you know, how seriously do you expect people to take a band that call themselves the Supersuckers ? So it is what it is… it’s like, a comedy movie is never going to win an Academy Award, but it’ll still be the movie that everybody wants to watch over and over again ! So, fuck that ‘serious’ bullshit ! All you can do is make sure that you’re doing something good.’
Apart from the short period of time around the ‘Sacrilicious’ album when Ron was temporarily replaced by Rick Sims, the original four members of the band remained together up until Dancing Eagle left in 2004, after the ‘Motherfuckers Be Trippin’’ album. Since then, there’s been quite a few changes. Were you surprised when people started to leave such a solid line-up ?
‘Yeah, I was… although, the first one I actually kicked-out… the drummer had to go. I don’t want to go into all the reasons why, but things just escalated until he had to go. It was either he had to go or I’d stop wanting to make music, so something had to happen. At first, I thought that I was going to leave the band, but then the two other guys decided to come with me. That worked out for a while but then Ron decided to quit again, which was when we got Marty and that worked out great. We had Scott Churilla on drums for a while and that was good at first but then it started to get awful. Around the same time, Ron came back for a while and I was in band with Ron, Scott and Dan Bolton, which just became the most miserable band line-up that I’ve ever been a part of ! It was just awful… Then Ron decided to leave, once again, and Marty was back so we just had to deal with Scott and that wasn’t so bad. He eventually left and then, more recently, Dan left, so now there’s just the three of us, myself, Marty and Chris and it seems to be working real fine again.’
Moving right up to the latest album, ‘Suck It’, it seems to have a really hard rock sound to it. Was that what you were aiming for ?
‘Yeah, we wanted something pretty tough and that’s what we got. We even recorded a ZZ Top song on it, ‘Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers’, which I think Motorhead also covered. I love ZZ Top, they used to be so great. One of the top five American rock’n’roll bands as far as I’m concerned. I mean, they tend to be best known for the later stuff that got really popular, with all of those videos and whatever, but the early records are just so good. But, going back to out record, I can honestly say that I’ve never been more pleased with any record I’ve ever made. It’s really satisfying to hear the band sounding as vibrant and alive and as ass-kickin’ as this sounds. The song-writing is all top notch – of course ! But it’s the spirit of the recording that’s just so great. Everybody’s playing really well on it and the fact that we were able to make it so quickly is also very satisfying. To know that we can make something that sounds so great in just four days is obviously going to make you feel good ! I think there’s songs on this album that we’re going to be playing, and people are going to want to hear, for a long time. That can only be a good thing.’
As this tour is celebrating the bands’ 30th Anniversary, you’re playing ‘The Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll’ in its’ entirety, whilst on the American dates you were performing the first two Sub-Pop albums. Was there any particular reason for the different choices, or was it just to keep things more interesting for the band ?
‘Well, ‘Evil Powers’ did really well for us in Europe, while it did nothing in the States. So we figured that ‘Evil Powers’ would be more appreciated over here while the Sub-Pop albums would be more appreciated in the States. But it’s always difficult to make that kind of decision... What would be the most representative album that we’ve made ? At the moment, I would have to say the new record, because if you don’t like this then you’re not going to like us at all. But of course, as this is the Anniversary-year, people are going to expect to hear something from our past and we had to try and guess what would be most appropriate. I hope that the way we’ve decided to do it lets the fans enjoy the tour as much as we do.’
Finally, it seems that many of the States in America are currently legalising or at least relaxing the laws on marijuana. Over the bands’ career, you’ve made many references towards the positive-attributes of that particular herb substance… Do you think your efforts have helped towards this recent liberation ?
‘Ha ha, yeah, I’d like to think so ! I’d like to say that we’ve been part of the enlightening and part of the new consciousness. When you put it out there, then hopefully somebody will notice. But, whatever it was, I think it’s a great thing. To be able to walk into a proper store and buy just the amount of marijuana that you’re comfortable with taking into your body… you can learn that about yourself and it’s way-better than booze. Plus, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting. It’s all regulated and taxed, so the government’s making a mint and all the smokers are happy. I’ve really never known why they had such a problem with weed. Everybody should have an access to a supply if they want it. Alcohol causes way-more problems because it only takes one guy who’s drunk too much to cause serious trouble. But, who gets high and causes trouble ? It’s a much-more sociable way to pass your time !’
‘Yeah, we wanted something pretty tough and that’s what we got. We even recorded a ZZ Top song on it, ‘Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers’, which I think Motorhead also covered. I love ZZ Top, they used to be so great. One of the top five American rock’n’roll bands as far as I’m concerned. I mean, they tend to be best known for the later stuff that got really popular, with all of those videos and whatever, but the early records are just so good. But, going back to out record, I can honestly say that I’ve never been more pleased with any record I’ve ever made. It’s really satisfying to hear the band sounding as vibrant and alive and as ass-kickin’ as this sounds. The song-writing is all top notch – of course ! But it’s the spirit of the recording that’s just so great. Everybody’s playing really well on it and the fact that we were able to make it so quickly is also very satisfying. To know that we can make something that sounds so great in just four days is obviously going to make you feel good ! I think there’s songs on this album that we’re going to be playing, and people are going to want to hear, for a long time. That can only be a good thing.’
As this tour is celebrating the bands’ 30th Anniversary, you’re playing ‘The Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll’ in its’ entirety, whilst on the American dates you were performing the first two Sub-Pop albums. Was there any particular reason for the different choices, or was it just to keep things more interesting for the band ?
‘Well, ‘Evil Powers’ did really well for us in Europe, while it did nothing in the States. So we figured that ‘Evil Powers’ would be more appreciated over here while the Sub-Pop albums would be more appreciated in the States. But it’s always difficult to make that kind of decision... What would be the most representative album that we’ve made ? At the moment, I would have to say the new record, because if you don’t like this then you’re not going to like us at all. But of course, as this is the Anniversary-year, people are going to expect to hear something from our past and we had to try and guess what would be most appropriate. I hope that the way we’ve decided to do it lets the fans enjoy the tour as much as we do.’
Finally, it seems that many of the States in America are currently legalising or at least relaxing the laws on marijuana. Over the bands’ career, you’ve made many references towards the positive-attributes of that particular herb substance… Do you think your efforts have helped towards this recent liberation ?
‘Ha ha, yeah, I’d like to think so ! I’d like to say that we’ve been part of the enlightening and part of the new consciousness. When you put it out there, then hopefully somebody will notice. But, whatever it was, I think it’s a great thing. To be able to walk into a proper store and buy just the amount of marijuana that you’re comfortable with taking into your body… you can learn that about yourself and it’s way-better than booze. Plus, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting. It’s all regulated and taxed, so the government’s making a mint and all the smokers are happy. I’ve really never known why they had such a problem with weed. Everybody should have an access to a supply if they want it. Alcohol causes way-more problems because it only takes one guy who’s drunk too much to cause serious trouble. But, who gets high and causes trouble ? It’s a much-more sociable way to pass your time !’
So, ending on an appropriately high note (no pun intended) we finish the conversation and I leave Eddie to prepare for the rest of the evening.
This is the first time I’ve been to the ‘Oslo’ venue and, whilst the main downstairs bar doesn’t strike me as a particularly hospitable place, the upstairs room where the live music takes place is much more appropriate for a band like The Supersuckers. It’s a reasonable-sized room which quickly fills-up, although the stage is quite low and probably doesn’t allow the best view of the band unless you're right up at the front. But that being said, the PA sound is good, loud and clear, just the way a rock’n’roll show ought to be !
The band take to the stage and, I have to admit, it’s a bit odd seeing them play as a three piece, although from the very first song it’s clear that they’ve certainly not lost any of their power. Marty Chandler handles the six-strings perfectly, covering the whole gamut previously covered by two guitars. Latest drummer Chris Von Streicher ensures the backbeat is more than up to standards and looks set to make the drum-stool his own for many years to come. And Eddie, of course, commands the stage with his bass and vocals still sounding as instantly recognisable as ever.
As mentioned earlier, the band are scheduled to play the songs from ‘The Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll’ LP in their entirety tonight, but being The Supersuckers, they have to do things their way and start proceedings with the first four songs from the latest album, ‘All of The Time’, ‘The History of Rock’n’Roll’, ‘Dead Inside’ and ‘Breaking My Balls’, stressing that the band is still as much about their new music as their past. Then they launch into the ‘Evil Powers’ material, blastin’ through the songs with as much energy and enthusiasm as if it was brand new as well. As this part of the set comes to an end, they continue to entertain us with a selection of older tracks, including ‘On The Couch’ and ‘Pretty Fucked Up’, before they end with their patented ‘fake encore’ deal, not wasting any time in leaving the stage before bringing the night to an end with a truly exhilarating version of ‘Born With a Tail’. The audience were certainly left still wanting to hear more !
It may be thirty years down the line, but The Supersuckers are still delivering the goods and even after the recent changes in line-up, they look and sound as focused and entertaining as ever. We’ll have to wait and see if the band remain as a three-piece, but one thing we do know for sure, whatever happens next, The Supersuckers are going to remain The Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band in the World, whether the rest of the World recognises this or not. Be sure not to be one of those poor, lost souls that doesn’t know what they’re missing !
This is the first time I’ve been to the ‘Oslo’ venue and, whilst the main downstairs bar doesn’t strike me as a particularly hospitable place, the upstairs room where the live music takes place is much more appropriate for a band like The Supersuckers. It’s a reasonable-sized room which quickly fills-up, although the stage is quite low and probably doesn’t allow the best view of the band unless you're right up at the front. But that being said, the PA sound is good, loud and clear, just the way a rock’n’roll show ought to be !
The band take to the stage and, I have to admit, it’s a bit odd seeing them play as a three piece, although from the very first song it’s clear that they’ve certainly not lost any of their power. Marty Chandler handles the six-strings perfectly, covering the whole gamut previously covered by two guitars. Latest drummer Chris Von Streicher ensures the backbeat is more than up to standards and looks set to make the drum-stool his own for many years to come. And Eddie, of course, commands the stage with his bass and vocals still sounding as instantly recognisable as ever.
As mentioned earlier, the band are scheduled to play the songs from ‘The Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll’ LP in their entirety tonight, but being The Supersuckers, they have to do things their way and start proceedings with the first four songs from the latest album, ‘All of The Time’, ‘The History of Rock’n’Roll’, ‘Dead Inside’ and ‘Breaking My Balls’, stressing that the band is still as much about their new music as their past. Then they launch into the ‘Evil Powers’ material, blastin’ through the songs with as much energy and enthusiasm as if it was brand new as well. As this part of the set comes to an end, they continue to entertain us with a selection of older tracks, including ‘On The Couch’ and ‘Pretty Fucked Up’, before they end with their patented ‘fake encore’ deal, not wasting any time in leaving the stage before bringing the night to an end with a truly exhilarating version of ‘Born With a Tail’. The audience were certainly left still wanting to hear more !
It may be thirty years down the line, but The Supersuckers are still delivering the goods and even after the recent changes in line-up, they look and sound as focused and entertaining as ever. We’ll have to wait and see if the band remain as a three-piece, but one thing we do know for sure, whatever happens next, The Supersuckers are going to remain The Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band in the World, whether the rest of the World recognises this or not. Be sure not to be one of those poor, lost souls that doesn’t know what they’re missing !
