The Sueves – Referred by Frankie Teardrop

America’s Most Underrated features local bands from across the country that deserve widespread recognition. Each band is handpicked by the previous column’s highlighted artist to create a collective of underrated bands chosen by underrated bands.

When a musician tells you their favorite band, salve by golly, there you listen to that suggestion. So when Frankie Teardrop told us their current favorite group, we couldn’t resist scooping up The Sueves for this week’s edition of America’s Most Underrated.

The Sueves, who came out with their debut 7” on HoZac Records just last week, are like a fusion of all of the great artists in the past decade making headway in the garage rock community. Think of all the glorious fuzz of Ty Segall combined with the straightforward rock and roll grit of Meatbodies.

The band might not have the discography depth of Segall, but they’ve still managed to make their mark in the Midwest in their four-year existence. They quietly released a live album on Bandcamp in 2013 and are constantly active in the Midwest show circuit, touring with artists like MAMA and The Lemons between their busy local show schedule.

Even a quick glance at the band’s Facebook page might strike your appeal; Their official website is listed as Lake George, NY’s Waterslide World and among their influences you’ll find things like “goblins in the jungle.” Naturally, we were excited to talk with the band’s Joe Shorgl to find out how the band got started, what they’re cooking up for 2015, and their favorite groups in Chicago right now.

Allston Pudding: How did The Sueves form?

JS: We started about four years ago. It was a different lineup. It was myself, my good friend Max, and Andy. Andy has always been our drummer and Max was playing bass. We sometimes switched and he’d play guitar. We were both kind of writing songs. We just started playing at a really shitty bar in Wrigleyville, which is where Wrigley Stadium is. Wrigley Field, rather. I’m obviously not a baseball person. There are mostly sports bars, and it was one of the few bars in the area that put on whatever bands could come play. We started playing there and kind of got our footing from doing that. We met some good people along the way and kept playing other bars.

Maybe about two years ago, our friend Rob joined the band. He started playing bass and Max was playing guitar, as well. We were doing a two guitar, bass, drums thing. Now it’s just me and Rob on bass and Andy on drums. Max is doing his own thing now called Cut Worms. They’re another great Chicago band right now.

AP: Frankie Teardrop referred you to us. Have you ever heard of them before?

JS: Yeah! We played a few shows with them. Really nice guys. We met them at a show with another band, Mean Jeans. It was a cool night at another bar in Chicago.

AP: What do you think of their music?

JS: It’s cool. It’s kind of like more of a hyper-realized bubblegum-y thing. It’s kind of a self-reflective knowledge of pop music.

AP: Back to you guys – I saw you recently released your debut 7” on HoZac. Outside of the 7”, you haven’t released anything for a couple of years. What should people expect from the 7”?

JS: It’s strange because it’s our first release, and it’s from when Max was still in the band so it has a different layer to it, which I really like. I’m glad that it’s coming out in the summer because we recorded it sometime in the fall in 2013. We were still a four-piece. It has this certain layer to it that I really like that I think are a good summer couple of songs. They’re not necessarily happy summer songs, but definitely warm sounding if that makes any sense. What we’re doing now is maybe a little bit different since we’re a three-piece at this point, but I think it still kind of represents why we make the songs we make.

AP: So you recorded this over a year ago. Is there a reason for that delay? Was it intentional?

JS: We’re just not very good at our own end of coordinating things and getting stuff done. I think it was mostly our own delay, just wrapping things up. When we recorded it, I got into an accident. I had to be on commission for a second. I was in a bike accident and messed up my shoulder. Then we hadn’t finished recording it, so we had to go back and do that. It was a weird time for all of us, I think. We were heading into the winter. The winters here are absolutely terrible and make everybody miserable, but it makes it a part of staying a band in Chicago in the winter. It just took forever. I don’t know. When it got to HoZac, too, it just takes a while for records to turn around. It’s all Jack White’s fault, we hear. Could be true. I don’t know. Yeah, we’re happy it’s finally out. We can rest a little easier.

AP: How’s the reception been so far?

JS: Pretty good, I think. I haven’t heard too much back yet. The release show was just last night, so I think our good friends and the happy faces we always see at shows are just now getting it. People are getting it, I think, so hopefully they like it. If they don’t, then we’ll just make something else.

AP: How’d you connect with HoZac on that record?

JS: We knew Todd from playing shows a bunch. We’ve always been a band that likes to play a lot of shows and Todd goes to a lot of shows. He’s really active. If he’s going to run a record label in Chicago, he’s going to give a shit. He’s going to go see who’s making music. He’s going to be responsive to it and find stuff that he wants to turn into an artifact for time to hold onto. He came to one of our shows, introduced himself, and said HoZac. We were like, “Well, that’s fucking cool.” Growing up, I always had a lot of records that were on HoZac. So that was a recognizable name. It’s a good feeling to be a part of a collective group of people just trying to make music to share with the world. He introduced himself and was a nice guy so we were nice back.

AP: Do you have any other big plans for 2015?

JS: We’re doing an LP with HoZac, so we’re getting that wrapped up right now. It’s all recorded and mastered. We’re getting artwork all lined up for it right now. I’m not sure when it’s going to be out, but I’m really looking forward to that. We have the meat and bones there, but we just need the skin. That’s what Andy has to say.

So the skin is kind of coming to. I’m really happy about that. We recorded it with our good friend, Phil. He and Jessee are in a band called The Funs. We always shared a kindred desire to play shows for the sake of playing them rather than making records or something, even though I’m really glad we’re doing that now. We kind of found that bond with them early on. They live in a town called New Douglas, IL now in Philip’s grandpa’s funeral home. He used to run a funeral home. We were on tour with another band called MAMA, and we were coming back from tour with them. We stopped at the funeral home with Philip and Jessee and they took really good care of us. They helped feed us and we had a place to sleep. It was a nice few days to record a bunch of songs. We’re really looking forward to that. It was the best kind of operation we’ve ever been a part of. That’s what’s on the horizon.

AP: Since this LP was made with just the three of you, would you say it’s really different than the 7”?

JS: I wouldn’t say it’s really different. It just has a different sound. It was recorded differently. It was all recorded on 4-track cassette. I think it has kind of a more ghostly sound and artifact to it. The other thing was a lot cleaner and had this punch to it, which we really liked. It’s kind of a more powerful sound, and it makes you have to listen to the song a little bit more. Whether it was the three of us or the four of us, The Sueves are in it throughout.

AP: One of the previous bands featured in this column was Unmanned Ship out of Chicago. Are you familiar with those guys?

JS: Yeah, definitely! We played with them a few times and they’re really fucking good. Their bass player is in Oozing Wound, another really great band. Yeah, super good.

AP: When I interviewed them for the column, they described the Chicago music scene as “very varied artistically and mentally.” How would you describe the scene there?

JS: Yeah, I’d say that’s true. I’d say Chicago is a very neighborhood-oriented city. It kind of cultivates these different neighborhood genres, mentalities, subcultures, and approaches to doing things. It’s something I’ve always found a little strange and sometimes a little incestuous. It’s a positive thing, but there’s room for people to take more risks. I think people get comfortable in their neighborhood and don’t take the risk that might actually help them say what they really want to say. That’s just me being an asshole. It’s a really good, positive community. It’s definitely varied – that’s an accurate way to put it.

AP: What are some of your favorite bands in Chicago right now?

JS: Favorite bands? Okay. Definitely Negative Scanner. Today’s Hits. Turtle Club. Melkbelly. Cut Worms. MAMA are our good friends. We went on tour with them. Slushy is really great. We went on tour with The Lemons before. That’s the most positive band there is I think. One more band that I really like, and I don’t know if they’re really playing shows anymore, is ufux.

AP: What are some of your favorite underrated bands from outside of the Chicago area?

JS: Trampoline Team from New Orleans is really great. They’re really fucking good and they helped us out a bunch when we were in New Orleans. There are a lot of bands from Tulsa, OK. This was one of those things where a bunch of members are kind of in different bands together. One of them were in The Daddyo’s and they were really, really good. Definitely stuff we listen to all the time. Dr. Paul from Lexington, KY. He’s a wild dude – he’s a spaceman from another planet. Pizza Riot from Bowling Green, KY. Bad Noids from Cleveland – they’re actually really good friends of mine. Really good hardcore punk band. They just toured all over Europe. I don’t even understand how they did that, so I’m really proud of them. They definitely have something cool that I think is very unique to that city.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.