The Supersuckers are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music ranges from alternative rocktocountry rocktocowpunk.[1]AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after being weaned on punk rock, unafraid of massive guitar riffs, outsized personalities, or pledging allegiance to sex, weed, and Satan with a wink and a nudge."[2]
Bassist/singer Eddie Spaghetti (real name Edward Daly) leads the band and is its only constant member. Their current lineup also includes guitarist Marty Chandler and drummer Christopher von Streicher. Their most recent album, Play That Rock N' Roll, was released in February 2020.
The Supersuckers were formed in late 1988 as The Black Supersuckers in Tucson, Arizona, first playing traditional punk rock.[2] The original line-up was Edward "Eddie Spaghetti" Daly on bass, Dan "Thunder" Bolton and Ron "Rontrose" Heathman on guitars, Dan Siegel (who later used the stage name Dancing Eagle) on drums, and Eric Martin on vocals. All had been high school friends in Tucson.[2] In 1989, they moved to Seattle, Washington because a friend told them there were a ton clubs to play and you could wear your leather jacket in the Summer.[3] Martin then left the band a year later and returned to Tucson, and Eddie Spaghetti took over on vocals.[4][5] They recorded numerous singles and cover songs for various small labels before being signed to Sub Pop.[2] Their early recordings are compiled on the 1992 release The Songs All Sound the Same.[6] Their first album with Sub Pop, The Smoke of Hell, was released in 1992, featuring a cover by graphic artist Dan Clowes.[7]
Supersuckers in Japan, 1994
In 1995, guitarist Heathman temporarily left the band and was replaced by Rick Sims, formerly of the Didjits (and later the Gaza Strippers), for the recording of their third album, The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers, which was produced by Paul Leary.[2][8] Also in 1995, the Supersuckers played at Farm Aid for the first time.[5] In 1997, Heathman returned for the recording of their fourth album, Must've Been High, which signaled a move into alternative country after the hard rock of the previous two albums. The album included a guest appearance by Willie Nelson,[9] with whom the band had performed onstage at Farm Aid.[5]
The band's final album with Sub-Pop was the compilation How the Supersuckers Became the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World in 1999.[10] The band had left Sub Pop to sign a major-label deal with Interscope and announced a new traditional rock album, but they were dropped from the label during corporate restructuring and the planned album was never released.[11] Some songs from the lost Interscope album appeared on the album The Evil Powers of Rock 'N' Roll in 1999, released on a small independent label.[12][13] They contributed two songs, including one in collaboration with Eddie Vedder, to the charity album Free the West Memphis 3 in 2000.[14] Disillusioned by the experience with Interscope, the band started their own label, Mid-Fi Recordings, in 2002.[11]
Their first self-released album was Motherfuckers Be Trippin' in 2003.[15] Drummer Dancing Eagle then left the band and was replaced by temporary drummers Mike "Murderburger" Musburger[2] and Dusty Watson,[16] followed by a six-year stint by Scott "Scottzilla" Churilla (who had previously played with Reverend Horton Heat).[17] After several live albums and archival compilations released on their Mid-Fi label, and then finally another full-length album after many years, Get It Together, in 2008.[18] The band then took an extended hiatus, during which Ron Heathman left the band for the second time and Eddie Spaghetti released two solo albums via Bloodshot Records.[2][19] The band discontinued its Mid-Fi label and signed with Acetate Records,[20] and Steamhammer Records in Europe, issuing the hard rock-oriented album Get the Hell in 2014. This album introduced new members "Metal" Marty Chandler on guitar and Christopher "Chango" von Streicher on drums.[21]
In 2015, Eddie Spaghetti recovered from a cancer diagnosis,[22] while the only other remaining original member of the band, Dan Bolton, departed and was not replaced.[2] Now a trio with Spaghetti, Chandler, and von Streicher, the Supersuckers experimented with country music again in the 2015 album Holdin' the Bag.[23][24] They returned to hard rock for the 2018 album Suck It.[25] The album Play That Rock N' Roll, recorded at Willie Nelson's home studio in Austin, Texas, was released by Acetate / Steamhammer in February 2020.[26] Founding guitarist Ron Heathman died in August 2020.[27]
