MANCHESTER, NH – For over 30 years, The Supersuckers have been one of the flag bearers for modern rock’n’roll. With a stylistic range that goes from alternative rock to punk rock to country, the band led by Eddie Spaghetti on bass and vocals have been electrifying audiences all over the world.
Rounding out the lineup these days is guitarist “Metal” Marty Chandler and drummer Christopher “Chango” von Streicher and together this trio can really bring the amplification. People around Manchester will get the chance to see what these guys are all about when they take the stage at Jewel Music Venue for a Saturday night special on August 19. Local punks WarGraves, Providence old school rock’n’roll rippers Sasquatch & The Sickabillys and The Rumours from Waterloo, Iowa are also going to be taking part in the festivities with it all starting at 9 p.m. (Tickets are $15).
Spaghetti and I had a talk ahead of the show about the band making their latest album in a country music icon’s home studio, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic shortly afterward, getting into the Seattle music scene during the late ‘80s and working on some new music in the coming weeks.
Rob Duguay: The Supersuckers’ most recent album “Play That Rock’n’Roll” which came out in February of 2020 was recorded at Willie Nelson’s home studio in Austin, Texas. How were you guys able to get into that space and what was the experience like making the album there? Did Willie ever stop by to see how you guys were doing?
Eddie Spaghetti: He wasn’t there. In fact, the last couple days we were there, there was a moderate Willie watch that was in effect. It was a yellow threat that he was going to show up, but it never really got into the red. We’ve met Willie a couple times in the past and that’s how we kind of got hooked up with that place. We recorded some of the album, “Must’ve Been High,” that we put out in the ‘90s at his studio, it was that country record that we did. Willie was there during that which was real, real cool.
RD: It sounds like it. How much of a major impact did COVID-19 have on the promotion and marketing of the album when it changed everything a month after its release?
ES: It really f**ked it. (laughs) We couldn’t imagine anything harder or worse, we were on tour to support the record but then we had to turn around and come home. That’s kind of a process for us, we make a record and then we go out to play those songs. We get tired of those songs and then we make up new ones. We never really had a chance to go out, play those songs and get tired of them, so now we feel like we’re a little bit behind schedule of where we ought to be with new material but we do have a whole new record worth of stuff that we’re going to record in September so we’re back.
RD: The Supersuckers originally started out in Tucson, Arizona, during the late ’80s but you guys really became involved in the Seattle music scene shortly afterward along with eventually being part of the roster for the legendary record label Sub Pop. What was that time like for you as a musician when the music coming out of that city was really blowing up and you were right in the thick of it?
ES: It was really exciting. To move from Tucson where there was nothing going on and to go to Seattle where there was this whole scene happening was incredible. I liken it to The Wizard of Oz where the beginning of the movie is in all black and white with a sepia tone and when Dorothy lands in Oz it’s all in color, that’s how I felt when we moved up to Seattle.
RD: How did you guys initially land on moving up there? Was it through a friend or was it just through touring while wanting to get out of Tucson?
ES: It wasn’t on our radar of places to go at first, but a friend of ours had moved up there from Phoenix. He’s still a good friend of mine to this day and when he moved to Seattle he told us that it was a cool place and we should come check it out. We could wear our leather jackets all the way into June, the weather was so appealing from living in Arizona my whole life and he was right. The choices were Seattle or New Orleans; for some reason we thought that New Orleans would be a cool place to go to, but I’m really glad we chose Seattle.
RD: It seems like going there really benefited you guys. Being from the Southwestern United States, what are your opinions on coming up North to play around the New England region and coming up to Manchester to play at Jewel? Do you guys experience different crowd reactions around these parts than you do in other parts of the country?
ES: Well, Boston is good and Providence has been ok, but for the most part the whole East Coast has not been as receptive to what we do as the West Coast. With that being said, there are pockets that are great for us everywhere so we’re lucky to be in the position we’re in.
RD: That’s a good perspective to have on it. You mentioned that The Supersuckers have a new album that they’re going to be working on in September, so what are the plans for that going forward? Do you guys have a home studio or will you be going to a studio in another location? What’s the whole approach you’re going to be taking on with this record?
ES: We’re going to be making this record in Atlanta, which we’ve never done before. It’s going to be at a studio that’s run by an old friend of mine from back in the Tucson days and he’s going to record it with us. He and I were in a band together in the ‘80s and we’ve stayed in touch. He’s kept with the business and I’ve kept with the business, we’re going to make this record together and it’s going to be great. It’s going to be a little bit of a mishmash, there’s going to be some country songs and it’s full of hits. It’s all about good songs with this record.
