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For a guy whose band had one of the biggest break-out singles of 1997 (and counting), Sugar Ray's bassist Murphy Karges seems pretty grounded. Back from a two-week mini-tour in Europe, Sugar Ray has returned stateside to begin their second US tour – their first as headliners. Quite a feat for a heavy-as-hell band in an age when "hard rock" seems more an insult than a compliment. NY ROCK:Generally, what's the European response been like? Has it mirrored what happened here in the States? KARGES:They actually like the hard stuff. We played "Fly" in Copenhagen, when we went over there, and they booed us. (Laughs) They just like the hard shit; they were like "Sell out!" [But] you can't blame all of Europe on two drunk fans. That's obvious [because] the song did good in Italy and France. For the most part, I think they just like [songs such as] "Mean Machine" and "RPM." NY ROCK:Why hasn't American radio picked up on some of your heavier stuff? Especially since "Fly" is played on the same stations that play Rage Against the Machine and The Beastie Boys, two bands your usual material is more attune with. KARGES:I don't really know. I guess "Fly" just hit a collective nerve among the people. I don't know if the song was just good or not, but I think I'm learning that lyrics really have so much to do with how powerful a song is to a listener. NY ROCK:When Sugar Ray initially did interviews – when Floored was first released – the band expressed some concern about "Fly" slightly misrepresenting you in terms of sound and musical direction. Six months later, do you feel those fears were ungrounded? KARGES:We put the song out; we love the song and we're not going to worry about it. We're not going to trip out, because that doesn't do you any good. It's kind of a unanimous thing. People dug the song, and when Super Cat came in, and the song was finished, we just went like, "yeah, there's something going on here, so lets just fuckin' put it out and suffer the consequences." "Fly" is a banging track. It's not like us; I don't know how we wrote it. We were just sitting around, and we just created it slowly. The song evolved over a period of time, I mean, [but] in terms of the final product, it was written in three minutes. We had a fight at practice in New York. [Lead singer] Mark [McGrath] bailed and everybody was in a bad mood. Stan, our drummer, wrote the chorus. We had writers' block and we were writing all these heavy songs, and all of a sudden it just happened. NY ROCK:With the rise in popularity of the hybrid L.A. street sound, are you ever concerned that the recording industry will sweep in and over-promote it like they did with the Seattle scene? KARGES:I'm not worried that they will because it's going to be dead in a year. Everything that comes up is dead soon because music keeps re-inventing itself. That's why, when we were writing songs for Floored, I was kinda bummin' out; I thought a lot of this stuff was going to be "out." I think you've got to be a step ahead when you're writing, not that you're thinking that, you know what I mean. You've just got to keep your head open to options and not get stale, try to keep your mind open to new ideas and new bands, listening, getting turned on by other things. I'm not saying listen to a Prodigy CD and write a techno song, [but] it's almost like, you've just got to be careful. NY ROCK:There are only a handful of bands in the world right now who are getting to play massive venues. What's your reaction to that? It's quite a testament to your popularity. There aren't many "event" concerts anymore. KARGES:It's not punk at all to do that, you know what I mean? I agree with you. We played with Kiss in Seattle and that was a gas, of course. And we played with 311, basically little sports arenas, to like three thousand [fans] and then we'd play to like eight thousand. Averaging like five to six thousand people a night. And that's a lot of people. It's fun to be in those big places but to tell you the truth, I dunno, I like the smaller places better. I mean, I'm not saying that I just like the clubs, but it's just way more intimate. I like to have the people a little closer. We're still learning to do the show. You can't just have a guy who runs around and you can't just be super energetic; you have to learn how to put on a big show like that. Going out with 311 kinda gave us that education. We saw what it takes to move to the next level of touring and putting on a gigantic concert. That's what we're doing; we're trying to bring that "eventness" back to it. NY ROCK:Being part of the Kiss reunion tour must have helped. What did you learn from the masters of the "event show"? KARGES:Kiss!? How can you? You just sit and watch in awe. There's nothing you can learn, it's too much. For us, we have to take baby steps and learn from 311, who in their own right, put on a hell of a show. With Kiss, of course, through the years, watching them, and loving them, you learn. NY ROCK:1997 was quite a year for you. What goals have you set for yourself in 1998? KARGES:I'm the internet guy, so I'm getting my Web site up. It's going to be www.murfdog.com. It's gonna be run by me, a band member, not a record label, or a crazy fan – everyday, making updates. I'm just sick for computers, man, I love them. And I love what the internet can do for fans and bands. I'm gonna have personal pictures nobody has ever seen. I'm keeping a tour journal every single day that I'll upload, so people can read what we did in Finland or Amsterdam. Just cool stuff like that. This is the best time right now. We're just trying to enjoy it. We know it's not going to last. I mean the highest of highs; these are them right now. So we've got to enjoy them. This year is a new year, it could take it higher, it could be the same, it could go a little lower, we don't know. There's a core fan base out there, really psycho Sugar Ray fans who really love what we're doing. And you can't go wrong with that. No matter what happens. I'm cool with that. February 1998 |