Supersuckers

Something of an anomaly on the Sub Pop roster, the Supersuckers bore a limited surface resemblance to grunge, but they were a party band at heart, donning cowboy hats and kicking out a gleefully trashy brand of throttling, rockabilly-flavored garage punk. Their lyrics were a raucous, over-the-top celebration of all the attendant evils of rock & roll -- sex, booze, drugs, Satan, and whatever other vices the band could think of, all glorified with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Save for an abrupt and temporary detour into hardcore honky tonk, their approach stayed relatively consistent through the '90s, as did their quality control.

The Supersuckers were formed in Tucson, AZ, in 1988 by high-school friends Eddie Spaghetti (born Edward Carlyle Daly III, bass, vocals), Ron Heathman (guitar), Dan "Thunder" Bolton (guitar), Dancing Eagle (born Dan Seigal, drums), and Eric Martin (lead vocals). After playing the local scene for about a year under the name the Black Supersuckers (taken from a pornographic novel), the band moved to Seattle, ostensibly in search of a climate more conducive to leather jackets. Martin left the band not long after, and Eddie Spaghetti took his place on lead vocals. Shortening their name to the Supersuckers, the band recorded singles for several indie labels, including eMpTy, Sympathy for the Record Industry, and Lucky; these were collected on the eMpTy compilation The Songs All Sound the Same, which became the band's first CD release in 1992. That year, they signed to Sub Pop and issued their proper debut album, The Smoke of Hell, which was produced by Jack Endino and featured cover art by renowned comic artist Daniel Clowes. Featuring one of the band's best-known songs in "Coattail Rider," the record also spun off the single "Hell City, Hell," whose B-side was a fan-favorite cover of Ice Cube's "Dead Homiez."

The Supersuckers came into their own with their second album, 1994's La Mano Cornuda, whose title translates as "the horned hand" (i.e., of Satan). It featured signature songs like "Creepy Jackalope Eye" and "She's My Bitch," and is still regarded by many fans as the band's best. Following its release, Ron Heathman temporarily left the group due to drug problems, and was replaced by onetime Didjits guitarist Rick Sims on their next album, 1995's The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers. Produced by the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary, the album was noticeably different from the Supersuckers' usual pedal-to-the-metal roar, owing to Heathman's absence, despite some worthy additions to the group's catalog (like "Born With a Tail"). Fortunately, Heathman made a full recovery and rejoined the band for 1997's Must've Been High, a full-fledged excursion into country music that even featured a guest appearance by Willie Nelson. It was released concurrently with a five-song EP that featured country maverick Steve Earle fronting the band.

After issuing their country project, the Supersuckers signed a major-label deal with Interscope. Unfortunately, in the wake of the massive label mergers at the time, Interscope underwent a restructuring and wound up dropping the band without ever releasing the straight-ahead rock & roll album they had recorded. Strongly disenchanted by the experience, the Supersuckers landed on the small Twenty14.com label and finally recorded the proper follow-up to Sacrilicious, recycling some of the material from their ill-fated Interscope debut. The result, The Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll, was released in late 1999, and featured the band's affectionate look back on their high-school days in Tucson, "Santa Rita High." The same year, Sub Pop issued a generous 27-track retrospective of the Supersuckers' stay on the label, How the Supersuckers Became the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. After contributing two songs (including a collaboration with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder) to the benefit album Free the West Memphis 3 in 2000, the group cut a split LP with Electric Frankenstein in 2001.

Burned by Interscope and seeking a permanent home, the Supersuckers formed their own label, Mid Fi, in 2002, and inaugurated it with a live document of their country phase, Must've Been Live. A new, hard-rocking studio album, Motherfuckers Be Trippin', followed in 2003; after its release, longtime drummer Dan Seigal left the group and was replaced by Mike Musburger. While tinkering with a new studio album, the Supersuckers kept the Mid Fi release schedule full with a pair of archival live albums and a collection of singles sides and non-album material, Devil's Food. The Paid EP and Live at Bart's CD Cellar and Record Shop followed in 2006.

from Wikipedia:

Supersuckers are an American rock band. They are the self-proclaimed "Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World". Following the relative success of their 1997 foray into country music with the release of Must've Been High, they have also been known to play country shows under various names, including, of course, the Supersuckers.

Since November 2009, the members are Eddie Spaghetti on bass guitar and lead vocals, "Metal" Marty Chandler and Dan "Thunder" Bolton on guitars, and Scott Churilla on drums.

History

Supersuckers was formed in 1988 as The Black Supersuckers in Tucson, Arizona. The original line-up was Eddie Spaghetti on bass gutiar, Dan "Thunder" Bolton and Rontrose Heathman on guitars, Dancing Eagle on drums, and Eric Martin as the lead singer. In 1989, they moved to Seattle, Washington. Here, Martin left the band. The song "Marie" was allegedly dedicated to Martin's mother after his death. The remaining members decided to continue as a four piece with Spaghetti taking over the vocalist role. They recorded numerous singles for various small labels before being signed to Sub Pop. A sampling of these are collected on the 1992 release The Songs All Sound the Same. Their first album with Sub Pop, The Smoke of Hell, was released in 1992.

In 1995, guitarist Heathman temporarily left the band. He was replaced by Rick Sims, formerly of the band the Didjits (and later the Gaza Strippers), for the recording of their third album, The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers, and the subsequent tour. Heathman returned for the recording of their fourth album, Must've Been High, which, as their first alternative country album, was a major turning point for the band. Their fifth and final album with Sub-Pop was their greatest hits release, 1999's How the Supersuckers Became the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. In the same year, they released their fifth studio album, The Evil Powers of Rock 'N' Roll. In 2001, the band formed its own record label, Mid-Fi Recordings. In addition to numerous singles and several live recordings, the band released its sixth studio album, Motherfuckers Be Trippin' on this label. Dancing Eagle then left the group and was replaced by Mike "Murderburger" Musburger, who was in turn later replaced by Scott "Scottzilla" Churilla. Their most recent studio release is Get It Together in 2008. On tour, the Supersuckers always close their show with a "fake encore", where the band and the audience go through a 15 second pretend exit and stage entrance.

Recent years have found The Supersuckers in disarray as both their long time manager Chris Neal and Rontrose Heathman left the band for undisclosed reasons. The band officially announced a hiatus, during which Spaghetti continued to tour and record solo. He eventually abandoned The Supersucker's own Mid-Fi Records label and signed with Bloodshot Records in November 2010. His new solo album, Sundowner, was released on February 15, 2011. In the meantime, Supersuckers have been touring with Thin Lizzy in Europe. The Supersucker's official website has been inactive and directs visitors to their Facebook page.

Associations

Supersuckers have recorded with many artists including Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Kelley Deal of The Breeders, and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. They have appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno backing Willie Nelson. They have toured with numerous bands such as Mudhoney, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Ramones, Motörhead, Flogging Molly, Toadies, Supagroup, the Butthole Surfers, The Reverend Horton Heat, The New York Dolls, The Dwarves, White Zombie and Nashville Pussy.

The Murder City Devils name check Eddie Spaghetti in their song "Lemuria Rising".

Causes

The band has been involved in several charitable causes during its career, notably playing a few Farm Aid shows. But the cause they seem to promote above all others, apart from themselves, is that of the West Memphis 3. They have held a number of eBay auctions and concerts to benefit the three's legal defense fund, in addition to being involved in a benefit album entitled Free the West Memphis 3, of which Eddie Spaghetti was one of the producers.

The band also played at the VladiROCKstok '96 Music Festival in Vladivostok, Russia. According to a CBS News report, Russian fans enjoyed their hard-driving style and cowboy hats, while the festival supported Friends of the Earth and a local children's fund. According to lore, the heavy police presence and temporary stage barriers inspired their song "Barricade".

In the late 1990s, a "Supersuckers fan collective" organized a pair of tribute CDs (covers of Supersuckers songs performed by underground bands from around the globe) benefiting the West Memphis 3. These titles were "The Fans All Sound Insane" and "Song in the Key of E-vil".

The band has also played the ongoing BurghSTOCK(kinda like the Pittsburgh area's version of Woodstock)Concert Series twice. Proceeds go to local non-profit organisations that help homeless military veterans to reclaim their lives.