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Ax facts & Stats vol. 38: Marko 72 (Sugarcult)

By Dave B. Roberts

Ever since their formation in 1998, the alt-rock posse better known as Sugarcult has taken the world by storm. Their debut album entitled Start Static has already sold in excess of 500,000 copies spawning the critically acclaimed singles “Pretty Girl (the Way,” Stuck in America” and “Bouncing Off The Walls” (featuring Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett).. This hard working band polished their awesome stage presence through a regimen of consistent touring sharing the stage with Greenday, Simple Plan, Sum 41, The Ataris, Blink 182, Good Charlotte among many others. Sugarcult’s latest release Palm Trees and Power Lines debuted April 2004 at number 46 on the billboard top 200 albums chart and remained there 20 weeks and has already sold over 250,000 copies in the United States. The recently released single and video from the band’s Palm Trees and Power lines’ album entitled “She’s the Blade”, the follow up to their “Memory” single, has already received the same strong presence on modern rock and mainstream top 40 radio rave reviews and heavy radio rotation as their In addition to their, the band’s “She’s The Blade” video has been added to MTV, MTV2, MTV-U and Fuse networks. Now let's get to know a little more about Sugarcult lead guitarist, Marko72

My name is: Marko 72

Describe yourself in 5 words Intelligent, determined, creative, sensitive & positive

My current job is: guitarist in Sugarcult.

My current Project is: "Palm Trees and Power Lines" which is our 2nd album.

My hometown: Santa Barbara, California.

Former bands: Popsicko, The Ataris, The Lapdancers, Nerf Herder, Lost Kittenz, etc.

My guitar influences growing up were: My friends, I also liked Angus Young/AC/DC, Mick Jones/the Clash, Slash/GnR, The Edge/U2.

The guitars I use are: My main guitar over the last 2 years has been a red Epiphone Elite Series '65 Dot; I also have one of their Casinos, a few Les Pauls, and 2 Gibson Les Paul juniors. I'm a one-guitar man mostly, the others are just to keep me company.

The strings and tunings I use are: Ernie Ball Power Slinkys; We tune down a half step across the board.

My current rig setup consists of: I play a Bogner 100 watt Shiva amp, through two 4X12" speaker cabs. My pedal board is pretty simple: Boss DD5 delay, MXR Phase 90 phaser, Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus, Cry Baby deluxe wah, a boost and a tuner.

The greatest invention for guitars is: Strap locks!

My normal songwriting process consists of: freestyle playing over the chords; I'd rather accidentally trip on something that sounds good than over think the part from a technical/theory standpoint; I'll find a cool idea then work backwards and edit it so as not to clash with the vocal melody, or the chord progression. !

The story behind the name "Sugarcult": you don't want to know!

My Favorite Sugarcult song is: Pretty Girl (the Way) off of our first album Start Static.

My favorite All-time song is: "Surrender" by Cheap Trick

My Career highlight thus far is: touring in Japan and Europe.

My most embarrassing moment on stage: Starting our first song "Stuck in America" in the wrong key! Hey, it was really dark and the drinks were strong!

Other than my guitar, the one piece of my gear that I cannot live without is: My....never mind, I won't go there!

The first song I ever mastered on guitar was: First riff was "Breakin the Law" by Judas Priest, first entire song is even more embarassing: "Talk Dirty to Me" by Poison, I learned it on a boring Thanksgiving day out of a guitar magazine.

My first guitar was: A shitty acoustic I found in the trash, which I was trying to play while jumping on my bed, I slipped, the guitar broke through the window glass, and my mom was pissed. I should have taken that as a hint, but instead I got an electric a few years later and the rest is history!

If I am only sure of one thing in life, It's: A teacher told me once, "the only thing you HAVE to do is die", morbid, yet true. That said you might as well make the most of your life and not piss it away bored on some couch watching TV or whatever.

The one ritual I always perform prior to going onstage is: I have a few basic stretches, one of them being a few swigs of vodka straight out of the bottle.

The exact moment I knew I would pursue a career in music was The first time I ever played a show.

The one thing most fans don't know about me is: before Sugarcult I was a bass player, the only other band I ever played guitar for was my first band ever when I was 14.

The best advice I could give beginning guitarists: Spend the extra money and get a good guitar that plays well and stays in tune. You'll learn faster because it will be more fun to play, when you get good you won't have to buy another one, if you decide it's not your thing you can always sell it. Our singer Tim, still plays the Epiphone Sheraton guitar he learned on 12 years ago, we've used it on our records and it sounds great.

The CD(s) I'm listening to right now are: The new Bright Eyes, Billy Talent (great guitar playing!), The Mars Volta, Razorlight, IMA Robot, Wilco.

My 3 all-time favorite albums are: "London Calling" the Clash, "Doolittle" the Pixies, Rolling Stones "Let it Bleed".

My favorite junk food is: Does New York City pizza count?

My biggest pet peeve is: When people wear their guitars super high.

The word or catch phrase I say too often is: "dude" and "like", I'm from California so I can't help it!

The hardest part of my job is: Dodging all the girls that throw themselves at me!

The first thing I do when I come home from touring is: sleep.

I knew I hit the "big time" When: I worked at a small record store before things happened for Sugarcult.

Right after this interview I'm going to: go inside the venue we're parked outside and brush my teeth.

I couldn't imagine being on the road without: My camera.

My favorite movie ever is: Musically speaking the Led Zep DVD is it!

My mission in life is: To keep learning, have fun, experience the world, and work hard.

My Guilty Pleasure is: record stores, pop-culture souvenirs and magazines.

My first band was: Illiterate, a 2 chord punk band that played 3 shows.

My next major step is to learn how to sing.

The greatest contribution guitars have brought into my life is an interesting career where I get to play music, travel and meet people.

Check out our Website at www.sugarcult.com

The one musician I would love to work with that I have not yet had the chance would be Fuck it, I'll aim high: Paul McCartney or Bob Dylan.

If I could have three wishes, they would be

Peace,

Love

Love, Understanding.

When it's all said and done, I want the world to remember me for being myself.

Copyright 2005 Dave B. Roberts & www.extremeguitars.com is the web home of articles and interviews written by Dave Roberts. All Dave Roberts interviews & articles are available for use or FREE reprint ONLY by Permission and proper credits. Permission can be obtained by contacting dave@extremeguitars.com. All materials are Copyright 2004 Dave Roberts and Oceanbreeze Ent., All Rights Reserved.

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