Interview: SuperLung

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What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Growing up I would fall asleep to the radio, I can remember listening to Casey Kasem and America’s Top 40 all the time. I think I developed the love of music that way, also, when MTV came out and I saw the bands and their videos it added to my desire to do music even more.

What do you like to do when you're not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I love the outdoors, I will go hunting and fishing as much as I can. It allows me to get my head right and the serenity is amazing and much needed at times.

How long has your band been around?

SuperLung formed in late 2018 so for almost 2 years. All of us have played in bands together before so the transition was an easy one.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

Mankato, MN – we all grew up in the working middle class – I think watching our parents work hard to get what they want has influenced us to stay grounded and work hard to achieve our goals and dreams.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you.

Forrest and Zimmy met while serving in the US Navy in the early 90’s. They were stationed in Italy and played in a band called Pushrod over there. A lot of their friends were smokers, when a friend would take a big drag of a cigarette they would say 44 Slackjaw SuperLung, no idea why they started saying that but they did. They vowed to start a band after they got out, now, 25 years later here we are. We shortened the name to SuperLung cause it is easier and rolls off the tongue.

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

Best show hands down was at First Avenue Mainroom in Minneapolis, 1000 people, and it was owned by Minnesota’s own Prince which gave it that extra special feeling. Worst show, we had just set up the merch table, and within 15 minutes of doing so, there were 2 fights and a domestic spat. We were like, damn, what did we get ourselves into, the show, however, was amazing!

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?

My favorite venue to play in Mankato’s The What’s Up Lounge. It is upstairs and 200 people is a sell out, very intimate and fun. I have always wanted to play The Whiskey in Los Angeles, CA because of the history of the place and all the great bands that got their start there.

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?

Man, that is tough, I would say that we would play with Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Dreams got to have them!

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?

Enjoy the process, when your first starting there will be a lot of things that can bring you down and deter you from being in a band. Push through it, get out and know other musicians, and keep moving forward, enjoy it all.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Take the leap to get to the next level, it is scary, do it when your young so you won’t regret anything when you get older.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

We just wrote a new song called “Destined to Rise” which is about my father who passed a few years ago. The void left from his passing will never be filled up, the song talks about how, in dreams, I still see him and remember all the love that he gave to me as his son, it also reminds me how much I miss him.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

I enjoy playing all our songs, however, if I was to pick a few, I love to play the song “Alone” because we wrote that back in 1993 and now it is finally getting played a ton. The other song “Sweet Sue” is a fun song about a stripper with a good groove and that gets requested a lot at shows.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Our writing process is simple, you come to rehearsal with a riff, and we all build on it. We will share files via text and email as well to work on stuff at home, that is when lyrics are written mostly is at our homes after the musical structure of the song is down. Inspiration is simple, Life, we write about our life experiences and try to tell the stories that a lot of people can relate to.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Positivity, compassion, love, we want people to relate and feel.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

I think every band has disagreements, I refer to it as having multiple girlfriends, no one is ever satisfied or happy all the time. We sit down and vent if we need to and we talk it out. Most of the time we will air the dirty laundry before rehearsal so we can have a productive one once we start playing. You know, never go to bed angry, that type of thing.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?

With the COVID Crisis happening, shows are not in our future until 2021 at the earliest, so, we are looking to record a new album in late 2020 for release in early 2021. After that, we want to play out as much as we can, for us, we love to play live, there is nothing better!