Suplecs

11.17.2006 -- Road Tips with Suplecs

by Alex Rawls. Original article in offbeat magazine.

Recently, Austin’s Reckless Kelly released Reckless Kelly Was Here, a live album that comes with a DVD that features band members explaining how they use rubber bands to tell their clean clothes from their dirty clothes, and how to keep from getting ripped off by hotel cleaning crews. New Orleans’ road warriors Suplecs have spent much of the last year trying to keep Powtin’ on the Inside, Pawty on the Outside from getting lost after Hurricane Katrina. Not surprisingly, they have a few tips for how to, ummm, have a good time while on tour.

“Since we’re a ‘stoner rock’ band we come across some killer herb,” guitarist Durel Yates says. “It’s a waste to smoke that good stuff with a paper so we make a tin foil disposable pipe. Tin foil can be obtained at any restaurant on the road. By simply rolling it around an ink pin and curling the end of it, it makes a good smoking pipe. When we’re done smoking, we simply crumple it up and throw it out the window. Then if we get pulled over by the police, our only problem is eating the weed, and that’s not really a problem.”

According to bassist Danny Nicks, “To save money on buying ‘real’ drinks, not the whale piss they give us backstage, we alternate everyone’s birthday on stage. We make the birthday announcement every night so every third night, one of us gets really loaded. People usually will buy us good drinks and shots for the whole band while we’re playing if it’s one of our birthdays. We’ll even give our merch person a birthday night, too.”

08.14.2006 -- SUPLECS TOUR DATES ADDED!

Check out the dates for the upcoming Suplecs' tour in support of Powtin on the Outside Pawty on the Inside in the Tours section! 

11.16.2005 -- Suplecs Interview with drummer Andrew Preen

November 15, 2005
Mike SOS – Skratch Magazine Interview
with Andy Preen (drums) of SUPLECS


1. How did you guys recruit Pepper from COC to produce your new disc?
1- Gene, the owner of Nocturnal Records has been good friends with Pepper for a long time, and asked if he would be part of the project. Pepper has been a fan of the band and was totally down with doing it. He was psyched to be part of the project and we were happy to have him contribute his time and ideas to the record.

2. What did you do differently on the new album compared to previous
Records?
2- We were finally able to take our time with the recording process. We were able to take our time getting the sounds and tones we wanted for every song. So we were really able to finish one song at a time, and not move on until we were completely satisfied with every aspect of the song. On this record we were really able to give attention to the details in the vocals and nuances in the music, much more so than on the two previous records.

3. What was the easiest song to record? hardest? one you feel came out the
best?
3- The easiest song was Four Legged Love song; it’s our “Punk Rock” song. Meatballs and Spaghetti was the most difficult because there’s so much space in the song. It’s a slow tempo and Danny and I had to leave lots of space in the song for all the atmospheric sounds that were added after we were done with our parts. I also tuned the drums to the bass tone which took a good amount of time. Tsunami is the song that the band thinks came out the best, because it captures the energy that comes across when we play live.

4. Where do you guys feel you fit in within the metal genre?
4- We fit in with different genres of Metal. We play with Death Metal or Sludge bands or Punk or Blues bands. Our music is diverse it incorporates many styles of music. And yes, Metal is very apparent in our songs but that’s just one facet of our sound, we don’t want to be labeled in any one category, because we really feel we have morphed many styles to create our own sound.

5. What's the hardest thing about being a band on your level?
5- It’s great to open for bigger acts and play to big crowds, but when you go back to the towns on your own, and end up playing to a handful of people; it’s rough sometimes. Especially when you have 50 or 60 people buy your record and say they can’t wait to see you play again. That also has a lot to with whether the clubs promote the show, or you have publicity. The other rough thing is not having the money to tour full time, the desire is there but realistically with bills, family etc. you can’t just go out on your own year after year.

6. Describe Suplecs to someone that never heard you guys before
6- Aggressive groove oriented blues, with metal under and overtones. We’ve been called metal, stoner rock, and sludge, and I’d say some of our songs fit each of those categories. We don’t really fit into one category.


7. When I'm not in Suplecs, I'm...?
7- I do construction, so at present; I’m helping rebuild our city. Gutting houses, rebuilding and mending homes. Usually when Suplecs isn’t on the road, I also play drums in local Jazz combos, and my fathers’ Big Band. Both Durel and Danny work in the film industry, doing set work. Durel also has an adorable little girl, so when he’s not on the road he’s with her as much as possible. Danny and his fiancé lost a lot due to the hurricane, so they’re working outside of New Orleans right now, until their house is repaired.

8. Hailing from New Orleans, give us your thoughts and view on Hurricane
Katrina
8- All the members of Suplecs are born and raised in New Orleans so we’re entirely affected by this disaster. It’s impossible to put into words how sad this devastation is and how far the span of the disaster spreads. But we’re all optimistic and will continue to do what we can to work towards the reconstruction of the city.

9. What do the next six months hold for you guys?
9- We’re going to do some regional touring, hopefully some showcases, and we’re hoping to get offered a support slot for a national act?

10. Who would you like to tour with that you haven't already?
10- Iron Maiden, Slayer. We’ve played with Mastodon and High on Fire, and toured with Clutch, and we’d like to again.

11. What can we expect from a Suplecs show?
11- 3 bearded dudes with “man tits” jamming.

12. What would you like Suplecs to accomplish this year?
12- For our record to go platinum and a world tour to start.

13. Any final words for the readers?
13- Suplecs 2006 buy our record “Powtin on the Outside Pawty on the Inside” at www.nocturnalrecords.com or www.suplecs.com