Post by tackhead311 on Sept 29, 2009 18:04:35 GMT -5
Hey guys i got to talk to Jim there guitar player what a nice guy!
Every now and then i get to listen to some music that jumps out and amazes and Sugar Red Drives cd did that for me ! freddys check them out! Then one day when there winning Grammys you can tell your kids you heard about them from Camp Freddy!
[glow=red,2,300]In the Fall of 2007, after five years of pavement pounding, Poughkeepsie, New York rock band Mercury Rising was creating a strong local buzz. In a sudden, surprising move, their singer joined the Army and left the group without a frontman. Frustrated, the remaining musicians – guitarist Jim Knauss, bassist Davey Alexander and drummer P.J. Gasperini -- started scouring MySpace for a new singer. It wasn’t long before they clicked on Archit Tripathi, a real belter with a broad vocal range and a near-encyclopedic knowledge of powerful rock.
“I was going to Vassar College, and I was getting really tired of the school’s music scene,” says Tripathi. “I was really into stuff like Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin, and finding other people who could play that and were into the same thing. That just wasn’t happening, so I got on MySpace and found these guys.” Having jammed together since high school, Knauss, Alexander and Gasperini weren’t sure at first how they’d vibe with Tripathi. But as soon as the singer sat down with an acoustic guitar, all skepticism was instantly erased. “He did some cover songs and totally nailed ‘em,” says Gasperini. “So we all started jamming and everything clicked.”
Inspired to start anew, the band changed their name to SUGAR RED DRIVE, a combination of powerful words that have come to mean more than they did when the name was chosen, and began writing new songs. The resulting tracks, an energized feast of blaring, infectious rock and earnest, sincere songcraft. “Wicked Sister” is propelled by chugging guitar salvos and a catchy, harmonized chorus, the first single “One More Time” features churning riffage and snarling lead vocals, “Red Machine” is all about good time, keg-tapping grooves and ecstatic guitar volleys and “Millers Child” strikes an emotional chord with delicate acoustic strumming and heartrendingly vulnerable vocals.
“We’re all huge music fans, and that’s our sole criteria for writing songs,” says Tripathi. “We go, ‘If this wasn’t written by us would this be something we would enjoy listening to as fans of music?’” “We write everything collectively,” adds Gasperini. “And we try to mix all of our individual influences into one song so everything’s very diverse. One song could have more of a grungier feel and the other could be more poppy. Our sound is modern, edgy rock .” Often, when rock bands operate as a democracy it takes a long time for everyone to agree on the elements and arrangements for individual songs. But for Sugar Red Drive, jamming as a unit is a cohesive and surprisingly productive process. Some of the first riffs they came up with immediately gelled into “One More Time,” and many other tracks came just as quickly. “When inspiration strikes, we’ve actually written entire songs in under an hour,” Tripathi says.
In addition to featuring music that’s immediate and hard-hitting, the band’s new material also includes thoughtful and evocative lyrics cultivated in part from Tripathi’s unique upbringing. The son of an Indian diplomat, the singer was born in Zambia, then moved to a new country every three years –India, Hungary, Sweden, India again and Venezuela, where he graduated from high school. Upon being accepted at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, he moved to the U.S. while his family went from Oman to Brazil. “I feel like my upbringing gave me some great opportunities to see a lot of things most people don’t get to see,” Tripathi says. “It has given me a global perspective, and one of the things I’ve noticed is that people everywhere are just trying to get by. All the differences between people are about language and maybe the foods we eat, but at the core of it we’re all the same.” This underlines the universal nature of the band’s music and lyrics – something new but soothingly familiar at the same time.
In the summer of 2007, Sugar Red Drive entered Applehead Studios (Coheed & Cambria, The Static Age) in Woodstock, New York with longtime songwriter and producer Pat Gasperini (drummer PJ’s father). And while the members suffered some initial studio jitters, they soon conquered their fears and had the time of their lives. From the moment they finished recording Sugar Red Drive has been on a skyward arc. They’ve received overwhelmingly positive receptions opening for Seether, Theory of a Deadman, Live and Fastball, and when they haven’t been playing out, they’ve been dedicatedly rehearsing to hone their craft.
For Sugar Red Drive, playing music isn’t a pastime or a party outlet; it’s a full-on lifestyle, a passion to be pursued with every ounce of strength and energy. In other words, these guys are on a mission and nothing’s gonna stop ‘em. “We want to make people go to our shows and buy our records. It’s never gonna stop,” states P.J. “We want to be here for the next 25 to 30 years like Aerosmith. We’re here for the long haul.” [/glow]
source big machine media
[glow=red,2,300]www.sugarreddrive.com[/glow]
1 Sugar Red Drive is such a great name! How did you guys decide on the name?
Haha, Im glad you like it! Its kind of a long story, so brace yourself.. We used to have a band called "Mercury Rising" which Archit was not a part of. Our singer left but we were lucky enough to find Arch in a timely fashion. So we scrapped all the old songs and wrote new ones. With that we needed a new name -new band, new name. So Archit came to rehearsal one day with the name "Sugar Red Drive". My knee-jerk reaction was "What the hell is that?" So we decided to stick with it, for lack of better ideas, until a better name came around. It never did haha. But it actually comes from a friends' screen name, "sugared lemon".
2 So Jim how did you get into guitar playing? who are your influence's?
I actually started playing bass when I was 8. Around 13 I made the switch to guitar. I think doing it that way actually helped because I already knew my way around and had a feel for it. Many kids who just start playing get very easily discouraged, and that bothers me. What drew me to the guitar was the variety. I could be loud, peaceful, ridiculous..anything you wanted. You can play a "D" several different ways on a guitar, all with different vibes and feelings. It's a beautiful thing. I think it would be wrong if I made a list of influences without including Slash. I'm honored to be called a Slash rip off. Other guys would be Ross Childress, and of course, The Edge.
3 How would you describe your bands sound?
This is always a tough one for me since I don't normally listen to my own music - haha. I'd say loud and energetic feel-good music with something for everyone.
4 What are some of your favorite venues to play?
The Chance Theatre in Poughkeepsie, NY is a fantastic place to play. Hooligans in Jacksonville, NC is also an amazing place. Smaller places are generally more fun for me. Get up close and personal. But don't get me wrong, I do love those 5,000 plus seaters!
Ron: i love the chance heres what it looks like outside
heres the inside such a great place!
5 What are your feelings on music games like Rockband and guitar hero? Would you like your music in them?
I think those games are great! It's funny, being a guitar player and not actually being good at guitar hero.. I can tear it up on the drums though- haha. I think those games are the only reason younger kids today know about bands like Black Sabbath, or AC/DC and the other greats. It's funny, 5 years ago if you went into an elementary school and said "Who knows Black Dog?" The kids would be like "Oh I have one" haha. But now they're like "Oh that's a good song, but I like Dazed and Confused better." I'm like whoaaaa haha. Bringing real rock back. Some bands owe a certain amount of their success to those games as well, I'd love to see a Sugar Red Drive song in one of those games.
6 What music are you into?
To tell you the truth, my tastes are not very broad. I like rock, loud rock and things like it. Some metal, and a lot of acoustic based stuff. That's about it. I don't do country, or R&B or any of that stuff.
7 Any advice for young people starting out in the music industry?
Be careful, and be smart. Don't jump so quickly on the first opportunity anyone ever hands you. Be patient. Don't ever lose sight of your dream either. Everyone starts somewhere. Remember why you started playing in the first place, and don't let anything replace that. Don't get caught up in all the BS.
8 OK you going to plan a Sugar Red Drivepalooza who is on that bill with you guys?
Oh mannnnn..Collective Soul, BuckCherry, Stone Temple Pilots, 3 Doors Down, and Alice In Chains to wrap it up.
9 What kinda of gear do you like to use?
My current live rig starts with a Gibson Les Paul Custom on a normal night lol. Sometimes my ESP Eclipse II, or a Paul Reed Smith. From there I have a Sennheiser wireless system that shoots my signal from my rack back out front to the Dunlop 535 Q Wah. The Rack consists of 5 Different Boss effects, a Korg tuner, and a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier all controlled by a Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro. Then it makes its way to the Mesa cab which has Vintage 30's in it with a Sennheiser e609 in front of it. Taylor acoustics are my favorite, and Line 6 makes some very fun stuff.
10 What is coming up for Sugar Red Drive
Coming to a city near you!