10447 - SUPERSUCKERS - HOLDIN' THE BAG (2015)
SUPERSUCKERS
''HOLDIN' THE BAG''
OCTOBER 16 2015
34:07
**********
1 Holdin' the Bag 04:00
2 This Life... With You 03:11
3 High & Outside 03:25
4 Man on a Mission 03:06
5 I Can't Cry 02:45
6 Let's Bounce 02:36
7 I Do What I Can 03:06
8 Jibber-Jabber 02:28
9 That's How It Gets Done 03:13
10 Shimmy & Shake 02:09
11 All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down) 04:01 (Hank Williams, Jr.)
Tracks By Supersuckers, Except 11
**********
Captain von Streicher/Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Hayes Carll/Duet, Featured Artist
Metal Marty Chandler/Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Jessie Daly/Vocals (Background)
Jesse Dayton/Guitar
Nathan Fleming/Pedal Steel
Adam Kowalski/Bass Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Lydia Loveless/Duet, Featured Artist
Jeff "J.D." Pinkus/Banjo
Quattro Daly/Vocals (Background)
Mickey Raphael/Harmonica
Jason Roberts/Fiddle, Mandolin
Eddie Spaghetti/Guitar (Acoustic), Bass Guitar, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
**********
REVIEW
Hal Horowitz, www.americansongwriter.com
Since the veteran Seattle-by-way-of-Tucson punk rocking Supersuckers never do things in a small way, they have been—with apologies to Donny and Marie– a lot country and a lot rock and roll for decades. For their first album since 2013’s roaring Get the Hell, the Eddie Spaghetti led three piece dons their C&W hats for this typically in your face offering that shows why they have been one of Americana’s most uncompromising acts for a quarter century. Like Motorhead, whose Lemmy is namechecked in the updated lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down),” the irrepressible Supersuckers have maintained a large enough cult following to keep them a working entity looking for that hit unlikely to arrive.
But if success doesn’t seem probable for this raggedy bunch, it also hasn’t stopped them from criss-crossing the country for over two decades while releasing a steady stream of studio albums, EPs (famously with Steve Earle), live discs and singles not to mention backing up Willie Nelson on the Tonight Show. Founder Spaghetti—the only original member—isn’t even letting stage-3 throat cancer get him down as the band’s fans have already raised close to $60,000 towards his medical fund.
After this long in the trenches, no one would blame the Supersuckers for coasting on an album or two. But that clearly is not this band’s MO because the strutting, gutsy twang of Holdin’ the Bag is one of their finest yet. They hit honky tonkers such as “I Do What I Can (To Get By)” and ballads like “I Can’t Cry” (with similarly no BS guest vocalist Lydia Loveless) like the scrappy punkers they are. And when they hit fifth gear on rockers “Let’s Bounce” and the Jerry Lee Lewis styled raucous put down “Jibber Jabber” (with the immortal lyrics “you’re like a public rest room woman/so hard to keep clean”), it’s clear they remain as feisty as when they were knocking out unhinged concert albums such as 2002’s immortal Must’ve Been Live.
Guitarist Marty Chandler’s leads shift from sweet to scorching. They are underpinned by bassist/vocalist/founder Spaghetti who doesn’t sing words so much as spit them out with the confidence of a guy who knows how to deliver the goods and has the catalog to prove it. The combination ranges from explosive to comparatively subtle but regardless of the song, is always riveting.
Both respectful to rustic tradition while energizing and expanding it, the Supersuckers semi-humorously declare themselves “the greatest rock and roll band in the world.” And, even in their less forceful country guise as here, few would dispute that claim.
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
"It ain't about what happened here/No, it ain't about what just went down/ The only thing, let me make this clear/Is that we pick ourselves off of the ground." With these words, Eddie Spaghetti begins the tenth album from his band the Supersuckers, 2015's Holdin' the Bag, and the lyrics have particular resonance if you know Spaghetti was battling a rare form of throat cancer in the months that preceded the recording of the album. These days, Spaghetti sounds like a thick-skinned survivor in more ways than one, and while Holdin' the Bag is ostensibly a country album (much as 1997's Must've Been High sounded like some bonged-out variation on Lone Star country), most of the songs recall the Supersuckers' usual brand of high attitude, middle-finger rock, only performed with a less aggressive approach, as acoustic guitars, fiddles, banjos, and steel guitars make their way into the arrangements alongside the usual Les Pauls and Marshall amps. The humor and snark of Spaghetti's songwriting hasn't changed much, but the lyrics sound tougher and more determined here, and in a time when it's harder for a band like the Supersuckers to make a living, Spaghetti sounds all too aware of the odds stacked against him in his life and career, and it certainly seems to be getting under his skin on numbers like "That's How It Gets Done" and "Man on a Mission." (In the liner notes, Spaghetti pointed pledges "to keep the quality coming [...] even if it's only for a few good fans out there," and cryptically thanks three former bandmates "for no longer being in the band.") But despite the added grain in the edges of Spaghetti's voice, his vocals sound remarkably good given the circumstances under which this album was made, and guitarist "Mountain" Marty Chandler and drummer Captain "All-Nighter" Von Streicher are certainly up to this band's strong standards, attacking this music with the right degree of force that lurks somewhere between old-school twang, arena-sized crunch, and punk rock ferocity. Holdin' the Bag isn't quite the country album Spaghetti had in mind, but it's very much the work of the Supersuckers (even if Spaghetti is now the only original member), and it sounds street smart and thoughtful as it acknowledges past glories and the slowly narrowing road that lies ahead.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Steve Huey
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, Arizona, 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.
How the Supersuckers Became the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World
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 Siegel 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 & Record Shop followed in 2006. 2008 saw the release of Get It Together, one of the band's strongest and most thoughtful releases to date, which also returned Dan Siegel to the lineup. the Supersuckers took a breather as Eddie Spaghetti released a pair of solo albums though Bloodshot Records, and didn't return until 2014, when Steamhammer Records released the tough, hard rock set Get the Hell, which featured Spaghetti and Bolton joined by new members Metal Marty Chandler on guitar and Captain Von Streicher on drums. In June 2015, it was announced the Spaghetti had been diagnosed with stage 3 oropharynx cancer, which impacts the back of the throat, close to the tongue and tonsils. Undaunted, Spaghetti underwent surgery and radiation treatments, and the Supersuckers were back with a new album in October 2015, the country-leaning Holdin' the Bag.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''HOLDIN' THE BAG''
OCTOBER 16 2015
34:07
**********
1 Holdin' the Bag 04:00
2 This Life... With You 03:11
3 High & Outside 03:25
4 Man on a Mission 03:06
5 I Can't Cry 02:45
6 Let's Bounce 02:36
7 I Do What I Can 03:06
8 Jibber-Jabber 02:28
9 That's How It Gets Done 03:13
10 Shimmy & Shake 02:09
11 All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down) 04:01 (Hank Williams, Jr.)
Tracks By Supersuckers, Except 11
**********
Captain von Streicher/Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Hayes Carll/Duet, Featured Artist
Metal Marty Chandler/Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Jessie Daly/Vocals (Background)
Jesse Dayton/Guitar
Nathan Fleming/Pedal Steel
Adam Kowalski/Bass Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Lydia Loveless/Duet, Featured Artist
Jeff "J.D." Pinkus/Banjo
Quattro Daly/Vocals (Background)
Mickey Raphael/Harmonica
Jason Roberts/Fiddle, Mandolin
Eddie Spaghetti/Guitar (Acoustic), Bass Guitar, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
**********
REVIEW
Hal Horowitz, www.americansongwriter.com
Since the veteran Seattle-by-way-of-Tucson punk rocking Supersuckers never do things in a small way, they have been—with apologies to Donny and Marie– a lot country and a lot rock and roll for decades. For their first album since 2013’s roaring Get the Hell, the Eddie Spaghetti led three piece dons their C&W hats for this typically in your face offering that shows why they have been one of Americana’s most uncompromising acts for a quarter century. Like Motorhead, whose Lemmy is namechecked in the updated lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down),” the irrepressible Supersuckers have maintained a large enough cult following to keep them a working entity looking for that hit unlikely to arrive.
But if success doesn’t seem probable for this raggedy bunch, it also hasn’t stopped them from criss-crossing the country for over two decades while releasing a steady stream of studio albums, EPs (famously with Steve Earle), live discs and singles not to mention backing up Willie Nelson on the Tonight Show. Founder Spaghetti—the only original member—isn’t even letting stage-3 throat cancer get him down as the band’s fans have already raised close to $60,000 towards his medical fund.
After this long in the trenches, no one would blame the Supersuckers for coasting on an album or two. But that clearly is not this band’s MO because the strutting, gutsy twang of Holdin’ the Bag is one of their finest yet. They hit honky tonkers such as “I Do What I Can (To Get By)” and ballads like “I Can’t Cry” (with similarly no BS guest vocalist Lydia Loveless) like the scrappy punkers they are. And when they hit fifth gear on rockers “Let’s Bounce” and the Jerry Lee Lewis styled raucous put down “Jibber Jabber” (with the immortal lyrics “you’re like a public rest room woman/so hard to keep clean”), it’s clear they remain as feisty as when they were knocking out unhinged concert albums such as 2002’s immortal Must’ve Been Live.
Guitarist Marty Chandler’s leads shift from sweet to scorching. They are underpinned by bassist/vocalist/founder Spaghetti who doesn’t sing words so much as spit them out with the confidence of a guy who knows how to deliver the goods and has the catalog to prove it. The combination ranges from explosive to comparatively subtle but regardless of the song, is always riveting.
Both respectful to rustic tradition while energizing and expanding it, the Supersuckers semi-humorously declare themselves “the greatest rock and roll band in the world.” And, even in their less forceful country guise as here, few would dispute that claim.
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
"It ain't about what happened here/No, it ain't about what just went down/ The only thing, let me make this clear/Is that we pick ourselves off of the ground." With these words, Eddie Spaghetti begins the tenth album from his band the Supersuckers, 2015's Holdin' the Bag, and the lyrics have particular resonance if you know Spaghetti was battling a rare form of throat cancer in the months that preceded the recording of the album. These days, Spaghetti sounds like a thick-skinned survivor in more ways than one, and while Holdin' the Bag is ostensibly a country album (much as 1997's Must've Been High sounded like some bonged-out variation on Lone Star country), most of the songs recall the Supersuckers' usual brand of high attitude, middle-finger rock, only performed with a less aggressive approach, as acoustic guitars, fiddles, banjos, and steel guitars make their way into the arrangements alongside the usual Les Pauls and Marshall amps. The humor and snark of Spaghetti's songwriting hasn't changed much, but the lyrics sound tougher and more determined here, and in a time when it's harder for a band like the Supersuckers to make a living, Spaghetti sounds all too aware of the odds stacked against him in his life and career, and it certainly seems to be getting under his skin on numbers like "That's How It Gets Done" and "Man on a Mission." (In the liner notes, Spaghetti pointed pledges "to keep the quality coming [...] even if it's only for a few good fans out there," and cryptically thanks three former bandmates "for no longer being in the band.") But despite the added grain in the edges of Spaghetti's voice, his vocals sound remarkably good given the circumstances under which this album was made, and guitarist "Mountain" Marty Chandler and drummer Captain "All-Nighter" Von Streicher are certainly up to this band's strong standards, attacking this music with the right degree of force that lurks somewhere between old-school twang, arena-sized crunch, and punk rock ferocity. Holdin' the Bag isn't quite the country album Spaghetti had in mind, but it's very much the work of the Supersuckers (even if Spaghetti is now the only original member), and it sounds street smart and thoughtful as it acknowledges past glories and the slowly narrowing road that lies ahead.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Steve Huey
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, Arizona, 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.
How the Supersuckers Became the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World
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 Siegel 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 & Record Shop followed in 2006. 2008 saw the release of Get It Together, one of the band's strongest and most thoughtful releases to date, which also returned Dan Siegel to the lineup. the Supersuckers took a breather as Eddie Spaghetti released a pair of solo albums though Bloodshot Records, and didn't return until 2014, when Steamhammer Records released the tough, hard rock set Get the Hell, which featured Spaghetti and Bolton joined by new members Metal Marty Chandler on guitar and Captain Von Streicher on drums. In June 2015, it was announced the Spaghetti had been diagnosed with stage 3 oropharynx cancer, which impacts the back of the throat, close to the tongue and tonsils. Undaunted, Spaghetti underwent surgery and radiation treatments, and the Supersuckers were back with a new album in October 2015, the country-leaning Holdin' the Bag.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
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