Sugarmotor is a seven year old local rock band consisting of singer/guitarist Adam Saidel, bassist Justin Curtner and drummer Chris Moffat. Defined by loud, punchy grooves and philosophical lyrics, the band has been making Albuquerque dance and, occasionally, think for almost a decade.
The Daily Lobo sat down with Sugarmotor to see how the band came together and find out what lies ahead for them.
DL: How did you guys start out?
Saidel: “Sugarmotor began with our old drummer, Jim Miller, and I. We got in touch through online classified ads. Or was it MySpace?”
Curtner: “This was back in 2007 or 2008. Jim and I were roommates. He asked me if I wanted to play bass with him and Adam - I was already both a drummer and a guitarist. When we started jamming we hit it off instantly.”
Saidel: “The three of us played for years here in Albuquerque. Actually the first show we played was my wedding, in March 2009. My toast to my wife was playing an old verve song, Slide Away, off of A Storm in Heaven. We also threw in Everlong by Foo Fighters and played it as hard as we could. The whole family was rocking out at El Pinto.”
DL: What’s the songwriting process like?
Saidel: “The instrumental part of each song always comes first via jams in a little room at Justin's house. There's just enough space for the three of us and all the gear. We get into these jams, often started by Justin's amazing ability to come up with bass/guitar hooks - then each of us brings in whatever we want.
As for the lyrics, it’s a colorful side swiping of onomatopoeias with an undercurrent of politics, love, and inner discover, describing scenes and senses. I like to have listeners find vivid images and sensations in their minds that make them feel something personal. I never describe these images perfectly because I want them to form their own relationships with each image and emotion they conjure.”
Curtner: “We always refer to making things ‘Sugarmotor’. We don’t really have a definition for it. It's like over-complicating things and then making it digestible and fun for the audience. Personally, I’m interested in philosophical, intellectual evolution and growth. I think that’s expressed in my music.”
DL: Who are your influences?
Saidel: “Death from Above 1979, Pixies, Parliament, Modest Mouse, Queens of the Stone Age, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Tame Impala, Faith No More, Deftones, Mark Knopfler and Neil Young.”
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Curtner: “The first album I owned was Michael Jackon's Thriller and the first album I went and actually purchased was REM's Green. Peter Buck is a significant guitarist in my mind. Video game music, largely 8 and 16-bit era also plays a huge part.”
Saidel: “Local bands we love include Constant Harmony, the Lymbs, Beard/Talking Hours, anything Pablo Novelas is up to, Chicharra, Rawrr!, Get Action!, Port Alice, and Kimo.”
DL: Lastly, the name Sugarmotor. How'd you get it?
Saidel: “When it was Justin, Jim and I, we were called ‘Ache’. And that was a problem. Whenever we’d play a show people would be like ‘Eight? Who?’ Later, we added another member, Andy Taylor, not the guy from Duran Duran, mind you, but he was also a guitarist and singer. Andy and I traded off leading the band and our sound was evolving a lot around then.
Ultimately, we were kicking around all these name ideas. Styrofoam Nuns was a big contender there. Kung-fu Larry and the Ninja Honkeys, another good one. But it came out of nowhere; Andy said Sugarmotor and we all just kind of looked at each other. Why not, you know? I looked up Sugarmotor to make sure no one else had it, and apparently a sugar motor is the engine made from a glucose compound that powers model rockets. Pretty awesome if you ask me.”
Check out more of Sugarmotor at https://www.facebook.com/Sugarmotor/.
Audrin Baghaie is a culture reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
