Satisfied Superdrag Rocks 'Last Call' Is New Beginning for Band
By: WayneBledsoe - KnoxNews.com
August 26th 2002 8:08am
When the band launches into the sound check, "Hellbent" vibrates a nearly full beer bottle off of an aluminum bar, and the bottle shatters on the concrete floor. This is Superdrag, Knoxville's longest-surviving national rock act. The group has gone from an MTV buzz bin favorite to major label purgatory and has recently created the most vital album of the band's career - "Last Call for Vitriol." In a year when the media blitz over the Strokes, the Hives and the Vines heralds a return to rock 'n' roll, the nearly decade-old Superdrag has never stopped believing in it. "Every group starts out wanting to be bigger than the Beatles, and we did, too," says Superdrag drummer and co-founder Don Coffey Jr., 35, backstage before the show. "Now we're of the mindset that if we have good songs, good players and good equipment, that's all we need," says Coffey. "To sell 15,000 or 30,000 records is really all we need." John Davis, 28, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist, sits on the floor of the dressing room stringing a guitar and sipping a Coke. Bassist Sam Powers, 33, and guitarist Mike Harrison, 36, crack open beers. There isn't a hint of tension, only a sense of camaraderie. "With each passing year you enjoy it more," says Davis. Superdrag fan Kevin Mann of Atlanta waited at the entrance of the Echo for more than an hour to enjoy the band's sound. While he likes headliner Guided by Voices, he's here for Superdrag. "I like their honesty," says Mann. "And the fact that they rock without sounding stuck up about it, that, and the lead singer is totally hot!" Knoxville's Benny Smith was one of the first promoters to book the band when the group formed in 1993. "When I started putting them onstage at the Mercury Theatre, they would have the whole crowd dancing," says Smith, now director of promotions for WOKI-FM (The River). "People would just walk out of their shows exhausted." The group, which then consisted of Davis, Coffey, bassist Tom Pappas and guitarist Brandon Fisher, delivered edgy indie-rock influenced by an extensive knowledge of classic rock and pop from the 1960s-'80s. Along with a series of singles on independent labels, the group released "The Fabulous 8-Track Sound of Superdrag" on Darla Records in 1995. The following year, the group's "Regretfully Yours" appeared on Elektra Records. The disc's single "Sucked Out" became an MTV and college radio hit. However, the group's ambitious follow-up album, 1998's "Head Trip in Every Key," was not a commercial success. The months that followed were filled with sadness and frustration. Unhappy with some reviews of the adventurous disc, Elektra decided not to make a video to support the album and cancelled tour money to support the disc. Instead, the label suggested the band look to the next album. In December, 1998, Davis' beloved grandfather, John T. (J. T.) Davis, died. The Superdrag singer medicated his grief with a combination of art and alcohol - both to excess. "I think that was the worst day of my life, when my grandpop died," says Davis. "I was real sad. I wanted to make a record for him. He'd always supported us. He was 70 years old and coming to rock shows ..." However, Elektra executives were unhappy with every demo that the band submitted. "We submitted 30 to 40 songs, and they didn't like any of them," says Coffey. "They said they weren't 'emotionally direct' enough," says Davis, noting the irony. "Those songs were important to me. I think I had a purpose in writing that stuff - it was trying to create something good out of something bad that happened." The label had the band in a financial straightjacket. Both Pappas and Fisher quit the band. After 18 frustrating months, Davis and Coffey had had enough. "Everybody made a big deal about leaving Elektra," says Coffey, "but really what it came down to was: 'This isn't working out. Let us go.' And they did. Fifteen minutes later we were on Arena Rock." Greg Glover, president of the Brooklyn-based Arena Rock Recording Company, was thrilled to have the group. Just five years earlier, just as Superdrag signed with Elektra, the company had released the band's single "N. A. Kicker." "They've always been my favorite band," says Glover. "To tell the truth, I feel honored just to be working with them." The group enlisted Nashvillian Sam Powers to replace Pappas and later former V-Roy Mike Harrison to replace Fisher. The songs that Elektra had passed on made up the 2000 Arena Rock release "In the Valley of Dying Stars." The album landed excellent reviews and college radio play. And, the band toured incessantly to support the disc. When it was time to begin what would become "Last Call for Vitriol," Davis had a stack of impressive songs. Recording, however, was cut short. "The doctors I went to said I was liver toxic," says Davis. "I was just at the end of my rope. I was driving down the interstate and felt like I was hit by a cannon ball. People can laugh if they want, say what they want - but I feel like God spoke to my heart. I didn't hear a voice, but I just felt a voice somehow. I knew then and there that I just had to change. That hole that I had inside me was never going to fill up. I just had to change." There is an air of protectiveness when the other band members talk about Davis' recovery. However, Davis' songs from the period are uncharacteristically direct. The song "The Staggering Genius" pictures a sarcastic diatribe to a self-destructive artist and "Feeling Like I Do" pictures a man whose mate must take care of him after regular benders - a picture that obviously mirrors Davis' relationship with his wife, Wendy. "It's funny, at the time I wrote it I had no intention of making any changes," says Davis. "It's one thing to write about the celebrity, rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but it's another to look at the side-effects in real life. She had to deal with me at my worst." When Davis cleaned up, the band returned to recording with vigor. The finished product was the band's first disc created entirely at the group's Knoxville studio and one that included only the artists' own creative input. "We were just flying by the seat of our pants," says Powers. "It was a real struggle how we were going to pay for this or that." The disc, released in July, is currently selling approximately 1,000 copies per week - not big by major label standards, but excellent for an independent release with little money for promotional muscle. Major magazines and newspapers have checked in with glowing reviews. More varied than earlier discs, the album even includes the Davis and Powers-written country song "Safe and Warm," which is gaining airplay on Americana stations. When the band hits the stage at the Echo, the crowd is small. However, it begins to thicken as the set goes on. The band members seem to be playing as if this is the most important show of their careers. In 30-minutes the group's sport coats, bought from a secondhand store earlier that day, are drenched in sweat and their hair is plastered to their heads. Afterwards, they pack up and Coffey takes his place at the merchandise table at the entrance to the club. "Everybody has their own little jobs," says Coffey. "I drive the van and sell stuff. But everybody usually comes out to sign things and talk to people. This is the way it's supposed to be." "I can't think of another three guys I'd rather hang with," says Powers. "We're all each other's best friends - to be in a business with your best friends ... that's what you take home with you at the end of the day. This is a lifetime deal. As long as we can do it, we'll be doing it."
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