Superdrag

MARCH 2009

Harder Beat Magazine Online

Superdrag
Back in a big way

By Jason Janik

Superdrag

Plenty of bands from the nineties have reunited in recent years, but most have been unable assemble their original line-up- thanks to irreconcilable differences, new projects or a million other reasons. Superdrag is one of the rare few that’s managed to legitimately and literally reunites. Since all four members from its breakout album Regretfully Yours are offering a new disc and tour, fans can again enjoy the Superdrag they fell in love with.

Why did guitarist/frontman John Davis bother tracking down his original band mates – Tom Pappas (bass), Don Coffee Jr. (drums) and Brandon Fisher (guitar) - instead of bringing back one of the band’s later/alternate incarnations?

“I’d been thinking for quite a while,” John comments. “I felt if the band did anything further, it ought to be with the four original members. It was just kind of a gut feeling.”

But, it takes more than just ideas and gut feelings to restart a band. After years of being apart, it can be a long, hard road rebuilding. Luckily, things went surprisingly well for the Knoxville, Tennessee group.

“Apart from dealing with everyone’s schedules, getting the music itself back together was no problem at all. “Even the very first practice was solid, considering,” John admits. “The first song we played was “Slot Machine.” It felt a lot like we’d never stopped playing.”

This isn’t saying everything picked up right where it left off. The original band was very much Davis’ baby. Through the years and various line-up changes, he evolved the band’s sound and opened up the creative process. Industry Giants, their new disc due out March 17, sees a combination of styles - from Beatlesesque pop to straight up hard rock.
“This is in part to shared writing duties,” John states. “Brandon and Tom both contributed songs to this album. That was a first.”

Luckily, Superdrag plans to tour in support of the new tunes. “We’re going to play as much as we can,” John reports. “I imagine we’ll continue to tour steadily throughout the year, just not for months on end. There are limits on the touring end of things, but for the best possible reasons - all of us have small kids at home.”

One of their stops is Austin’s SXSW. “We got a good slot for our official showcase,” he exclaims, “and we’re also playing at a bunch of the parties. We’re going to play as hard as we can, as many times as we can, to as many people as we can, and hopefully turn some people on to our new record.”

The original Superdrag crew did the same thing. It’s quite obvious the band is in top form and eager to do it again!

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