Bite Me! Supagroup Interview

Supagroup

Ah, New Orleans…the world’s most unique city…the home of Southern Decadence. On any given night there is a party on every corner, the bars are always open, and the music is always flowin’.

Born in the seedy backrooms of the Big Easy, Supagroup embodies the city’s persona: lots of energy, big sound, and an attitude that says there is no shame in not taking yourself too seriously. On their latest release, Rules, Chris Lee (vocals/rhythm guitar), Benji Lee (lead guitar), Leif Swift (bass), and Michael Brueggen (drums) serve up a heaping does of raucous, high-energy rockers reminiscent of AC/DC and early Aerosmith. The album captures the visceral assault of the band’s live show and brings back fond memories of the glory days of rock n’ roll.

How did last night’s gig go?

Chris: It was good.

You guys played at Spaceland, right?

Yeah, it was a good show. It was interesting because we got to see the Hollywood Machine at work. There was a band at the beginning of the bill that all of the A& R dudes were out to see, so it was a feeding frenzy. It was kind of fun to watch.

Shouldn’t the feeding frenzy be for you guys?

That’s what I think. I’m always thinking that but no on else does; unfortunately.

I heard you guys actually turned down offers from three different record labels.

We did but that is not the same thing. That was us being stupid, stubborn, boneheaded, and dumb.

So what made you decide that Foodchain records were the one?

The deciding factor was that they were going to let us do what we wanted to do, and they weren’t going to change us. They weren’t going to mold us into something that was saleable. Because like I said, we’re stupid, boneheaded, and stubborn. They were cool enough to say, “Do what you want to do. We just want to help you,” and to their credit they have. They’ve just been awesome.

Is it true that you and your brother grew up in Alaska?

It’s true.

How is it that the Southern attitude just infused in you?

Well, our mom is from Missouri so we are half hillbilly.

I didn’t quite mean that.

(Laughs) We fit right in down there.

How big is the love for Supagroup in NOLA?

It’s okay. By the time the rest of the country knows what you are doing your hometown has seen you a hundred times. It’s like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever.” I love living there. It’s great. I have lots of great friends there. However, as far as the band goes, it’s not the best place to play.

What are some of the places you play at down there?

You name it, we’ve played there. We’ve played everywhere from Checkpoint Charlie’s to House of Blues, Howl Wolf, Patina’s, Mermaid, One Eyed Jack’s, Matador…we’ve even played used car lots. We did a radio promotion last summer where we played at a bar-b-que in the backyard of somebody’s home who had won a radio contest. So, you can see why they’d be sick of seeing us.

Well the rest of the U.S. is not that sick of seeing you guys. Is this your second tour?

We’ve been around for awhile. We’ve been all over, but this is our first tour with the new record, so we’re having fun with the new material.

I love the title of the new record because it’s “Rules”. So it’s like, “Supagroup Rules!” The review writes itself – “Supagroup totally Rules, especially on this record.”

Laughs.

Was there a central point of inspiration for this album?

I guess so. We just kind of wrote all the stuff while we were on the road. We were on the road for like eighteen months – close to two years. We were writing it as we were out on the road and partying and stuff, so a lot of the songs erupted from that mentality.

Are you guys pretty hardcore partiers?

Pretty much.

I think that is a ‘Southern Way’ as well.

Yeah, definitely. But, there are partiers all over the country. Some of the hardest partiers are in New York. I think a lot of it has to do with the closing times.

I think you are right about that.

In New Orleans they don’t have a closing time, which I think is a more civilized way to live. We don’t need the government acting like our nanny and telling us when to stop drinking.

I love New Orleans. The minute you wake up you can go to a bar and have a drink, party all day, be trashed by 7 p.m., take a nap, and drink some more and it’s okay.

That is right. I love living there. It definitely has the most European kind of attitude in the country.

That is true. Did you guys run into any problems while making this album?

Not really, but trying to keep it together in New York City was kind of tough because it is so much fun to go out at night there and, also, our producer Kevin parties just as hard as us. We were definitely in good company, but we were also bad influences on each other.

Do you do your best work when you are slightly inebriated or when you are sober?

I’d say two shots in.

That’s a good buzz. The Voodoo culture seems to dominate the city of New Orleans. Do you believe in it?

No, I’m not into that.

So no one has put a Voodoo curse on you?

I don’t know about that. I’m not sure if anyone has, but it is possible. Maybe that is why everybody ignores our band.

Oh no, it’s time to get that curse lifted.

Laughs.

Are you guys Saints’ fans?

Huge! In fact, I’m wearing a Saints’ jacket right now.

Right on. I’m probably the fourth Saints’ fan in L.A. I know three other people who are too.

Cool.

There has been some talk that the Saints’ might move to L.A. Will you still be a fan if that happens?

First of all, I don’t think they are, and if they did I don’t think I could forgive them to be honest.

I understand. I’m not sure if I’d still be a fan if they came here, but I wouldn’t feel as betrayed as you would.

I don’t think they’ll move. They’re gonna work it out. I predict they’re gonna go 12 and 4 this year, lose the NFC conference championship, and get a new stadium.

I’ll be happy as long as they make it to the Superbowl in my lifetime.

(Laughs) I think we are a year away. It might be next year.

Okay. I just want you to know that I keep saying “It’s gonna be next year.”

(Laughs) Every one who loves the Saints says that. You have to. You gotta believe.

Exactly. You can’t stop believin’ (as Journey would say). What would you say are the essential ingredients for making a great album?

Rock and roll. (Laughs). In a nutshell, you have to have the songs and then you have to be able to pull them off.

Do fans do strange things just to get your attention or to get backstage?

We do get a lot of strange stuff, but not because of that. For some reason people get really excited and they think that spraying beer on us is a good thing. It just makes us mad, and they’ll say, “Oh I’m so sorry. I just got so excited.” They’re really trying to spray it on each other, but they end up getting it all over us. We’re like, “What the fuck are you doing man?”

They’re trying to give you a beer shower.

Exactly.

Aside from beer showers, what has been your most memorable run in with a fan?

Nothing I want my girlfriend to read.

Great.

I’m kidding. Um, I don’t know. You’re really stumping me today.

I’m sorry. I tried to avoid the Jeopardy questions.

(Laughs)

What has been your most memorable show experience good or bad?

We had a really bad one recently in New York. You know those clubs that most of the time they are discos and once in awhile they have a rock show and they’re not even satisfied with having a rock show once in awhile and they want to turn it back into a disco when your show is over. We played one of those places a couple of weeks ago, and instead of saying, “Alright you guys get off the stage we’re turning the club into a disco now,” they just turned on the disco music while we were playing.

How rude.

Yeah, they didn’t say anything to us. It was just, “Get the fuck off the stage.” It was the biggest “Fuck You” I’ve every experienced in my life.

I hope your fans gave them the finger back.

It was brutal afterwards. They went ape shit. It was a near riot.

I’m happy to hear they stuck up for you. So, is there one thing you can’t tour without?

Like Douglas Adam’s used to say, “You should always tour with a towel.”

That is true. It comes in handy for many reasons.

We tour with a Play Station and an Xbox in the van. Those are pretty indispensable.

What is your favorite game?

Madden is kind of the defacto game. I like a lot of the Star Wars games because I am a huge nerd.

Did you see the last episode?

Yeah.

What did you think of it?

I think it was really good. I found that it fit with the first three really well.

Do you ever party with Jimmy Bower or Pepper Keenan?

Oh yeah, we’re going to be on tour with COC in July.

Right on. That’s gonna be cool. Those guys are crazy.

Yeah, I love those dudes.

What about Trent Reznor? Have you ever partied with him?

You know, I’ve met him a few times but I have not partied with him. I don’t know, does he party?

A friend of mine, who live there, said that one time she was in a bar and he came in and bought everybody drinks and then said to whoever was in the bar, “Let’s go somewhere else”. So, I guess if you are lucky you’ll catch him.

That is cool.

Are you guys regulars at Mardi Gras?

Yeah, we are big fans. We try not to be out of town during Mardi Gras.

Any good Mardi Gras stories or you don’t want your girlfriend to know.

(Laughs) Last year everybody in the band dressed up like Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe. We were the Crüe of Crew.

That is too funny. Do you guy ever dress up like other bands for Halloween and play a show?

We did a Mötley Crüe thing once. It was Halloween and we had a mini tour with The Drive By Truckers. And they dressed up and played Alice Cooper songs and we dressed up and played one Mötley Crüe song. They played a whole record and we only played one song horribly. We had fun. Nobody wanted to be Vince Neil or Mick Mars. We had two Tommy Lees and two Nikki Sixxs.

That is too damn funny. Which one were you?

Nikki Sixx of course.

Of course he is the coolest of the bunch. What do you guys do for fun when you are not on the road?

We actually hang out a lot. We hang at the bar Saint. It’s kind of like out club house in New Orleans. We’re all into comedy stuff like Mr. Show and Tenacious D. We have a lot of comedy CDs and our fans also bring us cool underground DVDs like, “Heavy Metal Parking Lot,” “Dancing Outlaw,” and stuff like that.

At what point in your life did you decide to wanted to be in a band?

You know I never did do that. My first band experience happened because two of my friends started a band and they needed a bass player. They basically said, “Here, play this.” I played music but not an instrument like that. I played saxophone and piano as a kid, but it was pretty easy to pick up the bass and I got hooked on it and here I am years later a hobby gone ape shit.

Well, at least you are having fun.

Totally.

So does Supagroup have a collective goal?

We want to be able to do this for a living. That’s a pretty basic goal for us. We don’t have to be hugely rich or anything, but it would be nice to just do this. We still have day jobs. I’d like to not have a day job.

I hope this is the album that does it for you.

I think it will be.

Your last album was good, but this one is just so much better.

Thank you. I like it a lot better than the last one as well.

So tomorrow night you’ll be at the Viper Room. It’s a tiny place, but I’m sure you guys will tear it up. What should I expect?

Us to destroy the place. We’ve played the Viper Room before and it’s always a good time.

For more on Supagroup check out www.supagroup.com

*This interview was conducted before Hurricane Katrina. If you’d like to help the victims of this tragic event please visit www.networkforgood.org