Picture being in a punk rock band that sells out nearly every show, but still keeps a small enough ego to e-mail their fans every day. Believe it or not, bands with this level of dedication have not died out. When The Ataris and Sugarcult play Showplace Theater this Friday, Nov. 15, those lucky enough to be in attendance will see that rock, in its purest form, can be restored indeed.
Their music is catchy, loud and real. Both bands consist of the essential four members serving as vocals, guitar, bass and drums. Both are made of simple, laid-back guys from Santa Barbara, Ca. And not surprisingly, all the band members love their music and they love playing it live and loud.
"For us, making records is like an excuse to go on tour. The live music is what it is all about, the adventures, the people, the live shows," Sugarcult guitarist Marko 72 said. "The cool thing about a record is it is like a scar, it leaves something behind just like a photo album. But the most important element is playing live, because you can't download that. What we sound like in a show now may sound totally different five years from now."
In the past, it has been hard for punk bands like The Ataris and Sugarcult to please loyal fans without signing on to a major label or shooting a video, but both bands have intelligent outlooks on success in the record industry.
"I don't think we will ever be on anything like (MTV's Total Request Live) but where they put us is not up to our band," said Mike Davenport, bass player for The Ataris. "Our record is pretty serious and we are more of a radio band than a video band. It would be cool to be on TRL though, it wouldn't be selling out to us because selling out is letting people take over the band. We have been a band for five years and we are in control of every aspect."
Marko agreed that being on TRL would be great, but in the interest of upholding the face of punk rock's roots, their goal is not to become the new flavor of teenage eye candy.
"TRL may be about as cheesy as you can get, but as a band you can either complain about it, or sneak in the back door, and then get them to play more music like it," Marko said. "We don't say thanks to the radio or to MTV for playing our music, we say thanks to the fans because they are the only reason we are played."
The guitarist maintains Sugarcult would function as an antidote to mainstream music.
"We like to think we are part of the solution of rock, for bands like us and The Ataris to rule TRL would be like restoring dignity to rock and roll," he said. "If staying underground and obscure is not selling out, then you are preaching to the converted and not doing justice to your music. People do make a difference."
The Ataris and Sugarcult are no strangers to each other. To put it simply, they have a shared history.
"The tour is going great and we are having a blast because it is fun to tour with The Ataris," Marko said. "We are brother bands both from Santa Barbara and the SB music scene has always been very tight-knit."
Which makes it a close contradiction that a bunch of cool dudes from California are also intelligent businessmen. Both Marko and Davenport are careful to control every aspect of their careers as true rock stars.
"We have total control of our records and have been lucky enough to be on a label that lets us be creative," Marko said. "We are very hands on, even though we have all these lawyers and booking agents now. At the end of the day it is us making sure the job is getting done."
The business side of the industry is consuming. But he wouldn't have it any other way. For Marko, it's personal.
"A lot of bands are very na??ve, and then they complain when things don't work out their way," the guitarist said. "We call our label every week when we are on tour to check and see how sales are. We are very involved in who we play with, and what shows, and how we act. These albums are like our babies and we are not trusting any babysitter to raise our kids. We have a very defined vision for our band."
Davenport, whose band has established a permanent following within the punk community, shrugs off any rock star leanings: "We just love playing music... we've already come farther than expected, so we are just going to stick with the formula of doing it our way."
