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Sun Gods in Exile: Where the Boogie Meets the Rock, Plus Solos

The ol' walleye. (Photo by Matthew Robbins)Some things are always welcome here in the valley. Good friends with six packs, boxes of CDs, winning lottery tickets, anyone willing to clean up anything, ever, and so forth. Somewhere on that unwritten list is quality ’70s-style boogie rock — music that makes you feel good without being corny or overly emotionally trite — the kind of stuff in which?Portland, Maine‘s Sun Gods in Exile specialize. Their recently reviewed Small Stone debut, Black Light, White Lines, comes on like a wicked buzz, and though tunes like “The Gripper” and “Mexico” are bound to get up to some mischief, well, they’re just so darn lovable.

There’s beer and cocaine flowing freely, but the party never ends in tragedy and everyone’s the coolest guy in the room. Guitarist Tony D’Agostino (ex-Cortez)?rips solos so naturally it’s easy to imagine him doing it in his sleep, and vocalist/guitarist?Adam Hitchcock sounds road-tested and whiskey-drenched. Bassist JL‘s name will be familiar to anyone playing along at home from monolithic doomers Ocean, and though Sun Gods in Exile is quite a departure, he sounds perfectly at home in the rhythm section alongside drummer Johnny Kennedy. Together, they’re party rock sans douchebaggery, not looking to harsh your buzz or anything but hey would it be cool if they made out with your grandma for a while? It’s hard to say no.

In between shreds, D’Agostino took a couple minutes out of his busy day to let his fingers hammer out the answers to the email interview after the jump, discussing how the band got together, recording with Benny Grotto (Dixie Witch, Roadsaw, etc.) and of course the obligatory touring question. Click “Read more” and enjoy.

The perils of photographic overexposure (Photo also by Matthew Robbins)It’s 1974. Skynyrd, AC/DC and Sabbath are each drinking on a side of a bar (Sabbath are in the back) when you walk in. You can only party with one. Who do you party with and why?

Jesus that’s a tough question. I would have to say Skynyrd. Hanging with the Southern boys in their heyday would be awesome. Especially since the true Skynard died with Ronnie. And I could still party with AC/DC and Sabbath today. I would however try to sneak over and steal a quick drink with Bon Scott! Where is this awesome bar???

Coming out of Cortez, how did the idea for Sun Gods in Exile come about? Did you know JL just from being around Portland, or did you meet him before? How close is the band now to what you had originally envisioned?

I had a great time in Cortez! We played some good shows but mostly we had some good times. There were a couple problems though. First was the commute two hours from Portland, Maine, to Boston, Mass, and second I am much more into straight up ’70s style boogie rock as a guitarist then stoner/doom/sludge — but please don’t get me wrong I love the heavier stoner rock, I just feel more at home with blues-based classic rock.

JL and I have been friends for around 10 years we played in a short lived stoner rock band called Novadose and another rock and roll band called Redeemer. So we were very familiar with each other’s playing. He is also the guitarist for doom giants Ocean.

The band has been my ideal band from the start. I have been striving for a huge rock and roll band for years and finally the cards have fallen into place. We all very similar taste in music yet just off enough to give it a wide array of influences.

The band was originally known as Burnt Orange. Why the name change, and what does the name Sun Gods in Exile mean to you?

Burnt Orange is a very ’70s color so we felt like it was a name that should have been used for a ’70s band. Unfortunately there’s a teenage emo, screamo, pop punk (whatever they call it) band of the same name. To be fair they have released a CD using that name but mostly we were afraid of people doing an online search or whatever and finding them instead of us.

Sun Gods in Exile is a 1978 book about a tribe in Tibet whose ancestors are aliens. To be perfectly honest I have not read it but plan to soon. We loved the sound of it and it seemed pretty original and best, yet there is no other band of that name in any search we did online.

How did signing to Small Stone come about? Did you reach out to Scott or did he find you? Sun Gods in Exile seems like a perfect fit for the label, with that classic rock ’70s kind of sound.

I was planning on sending a copy of the record to Small Stone when we finished it but our engineer Benny Grotto liked it so much he ended up sending rough mixes for us. Scott [Hamilton, owner] liked what he heard and offered us a deal which we gladly accepted. I am a big fan of Small Stone and I actually tried to sell him on Cortez and some earlier bands I have been in with not much luck. I guess I finally got it right. We are very psyched to be on a label with so many great rock bands.

When it comes down to writing, what’s most important to you, the solos or the songs? Or is it a case of “you can’t have one without the other?” There are some serious ones on Black Light, White Lines.

That’s pretty funny we are coming across as a total guitar solo band, but I think it’s just the Southern rock influence. I guess I would say, “you can’t have one without the other.” My favorite bands are Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Skynyrd, James Gang, etc., which are all heavy in the guitar solos.

I do think it’s important to have driving verses and hooks in the choruses too.

Maine always struck me as being kind of isolated way up North, and it hardly is the kind of place you’d expect to hear Southern rock coming from. Is it strange for you to play music influenced by something so foreign from where you are, or are some things just universal?

Well, Maine has a huge biker and redneck community and maybe not so much now but growing up Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing everywhere! Even in high school when I was into punk rock and shit as soon as I got a buzz on all I wanted to hear was ’70s rock.

Stay healthy.For me it’s not so much a Mason/Dixon thing as a strong classic rock influence. I’d say Aerosmith influences us just as much as Molly Hatchet.

What’s the Portland scene like in general? There have been a couple bands coming out of there in the last couple years, but what are the shows like? Is there a consistent audience for heavy rock?

Portland is a great little city and lately has been rated one of the top places to live from national news magazines and shit.

Musically there is a few really good bands namely Ogre, Ocean and Pigboat. The shows here can be hit or miss but always seem to draw decent crowds. Drinking is a major pastime here so if everyone is at a show they really let loose and it is generally a damn good time.

You recorded Black Light, White Lines in Massachusetts at Mad Oak. How was it working with Benny Grotto, who’s done so many Small Stone records over the years? Did you know he was the guy you wanted to record with, or did the label set it up?

We knew there wasn’t any studios here in Portland we wanted to use. Almost all the stuff recorded up here sounds very similar and a little too sterile. I knew I wanted to go to Mad Oak and heard great stuff about Benny. Working with him was awesome, he has a great ear for rock and gave us great little tips and tricks. We become really good friends with Benny through this recording.

The production on the album sounds clean but not overdone. Were you conscious of keeping a natural sound but still making sure everything came through sounding professional? A lot of Southern rock can kind of go either way and be dirty as hell.

I am very happy with this recording, and yes we wanted a very natural sound. It is our Gibsons, Tele‘s and Marshalls, no fuzz or distortion pedals and very little effects except wah and phaser. We wanted it to sound big but without multiple layers. There is a single guitar rhythm track for each of us, the only overdubs are the solos.

How was your experience playing SXSW? I’ve been down to a couple of those Small Stone showcases and they’re always a great time. I heard about the whole Metallica thing, but sharing a stage at Room 710 with Dixie Witch sounds awesome to me no matter who is across the street. What was the highlight for you?

It was my third time at SXSW, but the first time I’ve played it. We had a horrible experience with our flight down due to missing gear, multiple missed connections, broken tubes and a missed gig the night before the SS showcase. It was awful, never fly American Airlines!

Other than getting there we had a great time. We played an early slot and spent the rest of the night drinking heavily. I was however happy with our time slot being sandwiched between Tia Carrera and Dixie Witch. Dixie Witch is the best band in this genre.

You’ve got a weekend run in June coming up and couple other shows before Stoner Hands of Doom X in Maryland. Any other plans coming up?

Yeah, due to our work schedules and other non-rock and roll responsibilities, we decided our best way to tour for now is to do weekend jaunts. We will do this one and another mini-tour during SHOD X and Boston Small Stone showcase. We also have a CD release party booked [for June 26] in Portland at The Space Gallery with our hometown brethren Ogre.

What you get is what you see.

Sun Gods in Exile on MySpace

Small Stone Records

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One Response to “Sun Gods in Exile: Where the Boogie Meets the Rock, Plus Solos”

  1. Woody says:

    The Sun Gods tape is totally mint. They really remind me of Tank, The Rods and Molly Hatchett all mixed together.

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