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Sugarcult
September 2003
Tim Pagnotta (vocals / guitar)
Marko 72 (guitar)
Airin (bass / vocals)
Ben Davis (drums / vocals)
Formed in 1998 in Santa Barbara,
CA, Sugarcult set to work with the following
ingredients: 4 guys, 3 chords, 2 guitars and 1 van.
Armed with a batch of energized songs, the band toured
the west coast generating a healthy buzz, selling
their two indie records and homemade t-shirts out
of the back of
their van.
In Spring 2001, after signing with
Ultimatum Music, Sugarcult entered Rumbo Studios in
Los Angeles to record their debut album with producer
Matt Wallace (the Replacements, Faith No More). The
album, titled, "Start Static", was released
on August 21, 2001 (and was recorded in the same room
as Guns 'n' Roses "Appetite For Destruction"
and No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom"). As of
April 2003, "Start Static" has sold more
then 250,000 copies and climbing!!
Sugarcult have been on the road
since Summer 2001, doing what they love best, playing
lots and lots of shows. The band played the Vans Warped
Tour in 2001 and 2002, on the second stage on the
Blink 182 - New Found Glory Tour, and have done entire
US Tours with Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Good Charlotte,
Unwritten Law, Less Than Jake and The Ataris. The
band has also played a ton of radio station festivals
around the country, at the Decibel Music Conference
in Trinidad, West Indies and at the Lifebeat / MTV
Music Video Awards Pre-Party in New York City with
The Hives and Jimmy Eat World.
Sugarcult's sound subscribes to
the don't-bore-us-get-to-the-chorus approach of power-pop,
underlined with the don't-give-a-fuck spirit of late
70's punk. Standing out from the hordes of modern
rock bands, Sugarcult sticks close to the raw essentials
of all great rock 'n' roll: energy, attitude and style.
However it's the well-crafted songs and melodic hooks
that really set thisband apart.
"There's something about the
energy that's packed into those two and a half minute
songs, like Elvis Costello's 'Radio Radio' or Cheap
Trick's 'Surrender' that shoot like bullets compared
to a lot of today's popular
music," says singer/guitarist and chief songwriter
Tim Pagnotta. Guitarist Marko 72 adds, "We like
to merge the old with the new. We're not interested
in being retro. We thrive on updating that certain
common-denominator that has stood the test of time
from the Beatles to the Ramones to Nirvana."
Having lived in 13 different homes,
gone to four different elementary schools, two different
junior highs and three different high schools, Tim
(now 24 years old) found music and songwriting at
a young age as his only
source of stability. "He's a natural," says
Marko after seeing him perform live. "I see this
young guy up on stage in a ragged thrift-store suit
and tie, singing these really cool pop songs and flooring
the audience. I hadn't heard of him, but he seemed
like he'd probably been at it for years. It turned
out that was his first show ever, in his first band
ever!" Tim adds, "We all immediately clicked
and discovered mutual admiration for the elements
that made our favorite bands great. I asked Marko
to join before even hearing him play a note on guitar."
Bassist Airin Older and drummer Ben Davis, both of
whom handle the vocal harmonies, round out the band's
lineup.
Sugarcult's energized live shows
are packed with youthful adrenaline, loud guitars
and a visual style that culminates in an attractive
spectacle in touch with the original danger of rock
'n' roll, but with a healthy sense of humor about
it all.
With their third single and video
for "Pretty Girl (The Way)" climbing the
charts, Sugarcult are set to stick a safety pin through
the heart and put cavities in the smile of modern
rock.
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