Band's guitarist reflects
on fame, upcoming show
By Ayall Sagi
Staff Writer
As he watches the sun set over La Crosse, Wis.,
Sugarcult guitarist Marko recalls how his youth brought him to the beginning
of an "amazing" career.
Marko remembers that his dreams of rock stardom
began when he was sent home from kindergarten because he jumped on a
table and started performing for the other students.
"I've either wanted to be a actor or a musician,"
Marko said. "I think kids always have a fascination of doing something
out of this world.
"Although the standard is an astronaut, I feel
that being an entertainer is as close as one can get to kind of exist
out of this world because you don't have to clock in 9 to 5 and you
get to defy the laws of social gravity."
From school plays to bands, Marko tried everything
to achieve his goal of being an entertainer. "I first signed up for
band in seventh grade where they ended up giving me an upright bass,"
Marko said. "It was such a drag."
Marko learned to play the bass and then switched
to guitar, which he learned how to play from friends.
In past bands, Marko mainly played bass and views
the two instruments as "totally different animals." Marko sees them
as languages; bass is his first and guitar is his second. Now playing
with Sugarcult, he said, "Guitar is my mistress, while the bass is my
wife."
Now opening for Reel Big Fish at 7:30 tonight at
Riehle Brothers in Lafayette, Sugarcult is building on the band's first
major tour, when it played the Van's Warped tour.
The Warped tour and the opportunity to open for
bands such as Blink-182 has given Sugarcult freedom to experiment with
different styles. Marko, who listed many musical influences, including
The Ramones, Nirvana and Elvis Costello, concluded that "Sugarcult is
basically power pop, but ends up sounding punk because none of us can
play our instruments that well."
Ultimatum Music representative Jeremy Cline describes
Sugarcult as a fun, energetic rock 'n' roll band.
Marko feels that playing live is the band's outlet;
it's what gives members such high energy. "So much leads up to a show
that you have so much adrenaline packed up, you just want to let it
out," said Marko, who compares the band's energy to a shaken soda can
bursting open.
The show is for all ages and is general admission;
tickets are available for $17.
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