Superdrag on Hiatus; Prepare Box Set, Solo Material, Find Jesus
Divinely inspired band promises only to dress superbutch from here on out

[Posted Wednesday, January 14th, 2004 02:20:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

Knoxville, TN's Superdrag have a whole mess of stuff going on right now-- which is impressive, considering they're officially on hiatus for the time being. After bassist Sam Powers announced back in May that he was departing to focus on starting a family with his wife, the band has been in a holding pattern (aside from a few shows back in the summer). They may've been quiet, but they certainly have been busy.

To begin with, Wrecked 'Em Wreckords has released the debut album by The Used To Be, entitled Shameless Self-Destruction. The release is long overdue, as the band, who was previously just called The Used, disbanded in the early '90s, and essentially reformed as Superdrag shortly thereafter. John Davis, drummer for The Used, formed Superdrag as an outlet for the songs he was writing that didn't fit the punk sound of The Used, and recruited the rest of the band (minus bassist Chris Hargrove) to fill out the remaining positions. Considering another band has come along since then using the name, adding To Be seemed like the logical way to avoid any legal issues that could ensue, as well as making it clear that they are no longer a band.

In addition, Superdrag has been preparing a box set that will include plenty of unreleased material, demos, and rarities. A book project has also been discussed, although it's unclear what the contents will be, but it's quite possible that the book will simply be absorbed by the box set. A release date has not been set, but the final tracklisting should be hammered out by the end of the month for a release sometime later in the year.

Finally, John Davis has been working on solo material of a slightly different nature after moving to Nashville. No, it's not what you think. He is working on his debut solo record, and is in talks to ink a deal, although the specifics of who the deal is with are unclear at press time. Of the record's content, Davis says the following: "I should let you know that if you are offended by spirituality in general, or the word 'Jesus' in particularÉ you may want to proceed with caution when the record comes out." Rumors have been floating around about his signing a deal as a Christian artist, but Davis assures the readers on Superdrag.com that these rumors have been "greatly exaggerated." He did quit smoking though, so that's pretty good I guess.

.: Pitchfork Review: Superdrag: Last Call for Vitriol

Superdrag: http://www.superdrag.com
Wrecked 'Em: http://www.wrecked-em.com