Five Questions With….John Davis of Superdrag
When it was announced last year that the original lineup of Superdrag would be getting back together for the first time in over a decade, true rock n’ roll fans all over the country rejoiced. When the band decided to record a new record, it was set in stone: this would be the greatest thing since, well, the first go ’round of the ‘Drag. All signs point to the new LP being a continuation of the Nashville/Knoxville quartet’s signature melding of 60’s pop, 70s crunch, and 80s college rock. We caught up with Mr. John Davis in anticipation of Superdrag’s performance in Nashville this Friday night….
NZ: It’s been a year since the original lineup of Superdrag has been back together. How has everything been going, and are you guys all happy with the decision you made to give it another go?
JD: We’ve been working sporadically, extremely part-time, but it’s been great. We’ve done about 20 shows since September of last year. We’ve been slowly but steadily putting tracks together for a new album. I think it might wind up being our best album. We’re 10 songs deep right now, and there are 5 or 6 more in the tank waiting to be recorded.
NZ: Any definitive release plans that you can talk about?
JD: We plan to release the record in March. We’re doing everything ourselves, so it’s up to us, really. Nick Raskulinecz is back on-board to mix the album, so we’re pretty excited about that. Our music and his aesthetic go hand-in-glove, as a general rule.
NZ: You guys didn’t really miss a beat considering it had been ten years since you had played together: successful headlining East and West Coast tours, Bonnaroo, and now Red Rocks this week! Any hardcore tour plans for the next record, or do you plan on doing short stints so as not to get in a burnout situation again?
JD: Well, 3 out of 4 of us have small children at home, so going out for 3 months or even 3 weeks at a time is just off the table, basically. I think the touring will be extremely limited.
NZ: How was Bonnaroo, by the way?
J: It was fantastic. Totally positive. Based on past experiences at festivals, personally, I was mentally prepared for the worst-case-scenario. In fact, it wound up being the best-case-scenario, essentially. The whole thing is very well-done. Depending on who you talked to afterwards, I’d guess we got to play to anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 people down there. For us, that was huge. We just walked out there and had a great time playing the songs.
NZ: A lot of bands that we thought would never play together again, like Superdrag, have gotten back together in the past five years (Pixies, Dino Jr., and unfortunately, Poison). Who would you like to see get back together, and who would you hope would never, ever get back together again?
JD: Living: Husker Du. Deceased (except for McCoy Tyner):John Coltrane Quartet. I’ll leave it at that and keep it positive.
Superdrag performs at midnight on Friday, September 12th at the Cannery Ballroom as part of Next Big Nashville ‘08.
