Utter Trash--Sofa King Killer

Have a Seat

An interview with Chris Chiera and Brad Thorla of Sofa King Killer

By Bob Ignizio

“You can always tell that someone doesn't get it when they pluralize it, Sofa King KillerS. And that happens quite a lot to us,” says Sofa King Killer drummer Brad Thorla. If anyone reading this is still confused, let guitarist Chris Chiera explain. Chris says, “Its kind of like a double edged sword, you can either interpret it as SO FUCKING KILLER or SO FUCKING KILL HER. I always thought it was pretty funny and kinda catchy. I think people get it (and like it) about half of the time. Brad came up with it pretty much on the spot one day when we were desperately trying to name our band.” Chris and Brad recently took the time to correspond with me by email regarding their amusingly named band which also includes vocalist Ryan Burgy and bassist Paul Bartholet. Although the guys aren’t afraid to show a sense of humor, make no mistake – Sofa King Killer plays some serious rock.

The Akron area band started as a side project for Ryan, Brad, and Chris in 1999. For a while the band had two guitarists, but eventually settled on being a four piece with Chris as the sole axeman. Although the band is often labeled as “stoner rock” (and in fact their website is hosted by stonerrock.com) Chris says that’s a bit of a misnomer. “Anyone who actually listens to us knows we aren't "stoner rock" per se, even though we do have a little in us. In fact, I do like a lot of Stoner Rock I hear; just some of it has been overdone. But then again, that happens in every genre of music I have ever heard of.”

Chris’ musical preference leans mainly towards straightforward hard rock bands like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. The other members of the band all have very different tastes, though. Brad says, “I've been really into Bjork and Godspeed You Black Emperor lately, but I’ll always love bands like The Melvins, Sabbath, Spiritual Beggars (‘Mantra III’ era), Cavity, Floor, etc. I know Ryan's been on a jazz and blues kick lately and Paul likes studio musician music.” When the band writes, however, Chris says, “We come together like bread and butter even though we are pretty critical about song structure and riffage. Our sound is the sum of what we listen to, filtered through loud amplifiers and distortion.”

As is often the case with bands in the underground, touring is still the main way Sofa King Killer gets the word out. It’s not always easy, though. “Compared to other bands who have really hit the road, we haven't toured that much at all. We have done two short tours, both one year apart because of scheduling availability. In between, we have done a lot of "weekend warrior" tours, a lot of those have been out of state. Like any other band we have played our share of local shows, and still continue to do so on a regular basis,” says Chris. Brad says, “It's hard to do a lot of shows when you have three full time college students, along with the four of us having to have jobs for bills. Also, Paul and I both having other bands is yet another complication. Our window of opportunity is pretty small, but we do what we can.”

As for the local music scene, Chris and Brad have nothing but good things to say. Chris says, “A lot of my favorite bands I like to catch live come from the NE Ohio area. I really can't think of any problems I have with NE Ohio scene off hand, we always get a good bunch of people out to our shows in the Akron/Kent area. I guess there's always some kind of stupid bullshit you have to deal with wherever you go, if you know what I mean, and fuck those people.” Brad agrees adding, “I think that one thing in particular about NE Ohio bands is that they're all typically very supportive of other area bands. Despite different genres and all that, everyone seems to get along really well. Other than the shitty Godsmack/Creed wanna-be bands, and they all tend to group together on their own anyways.”

After 5 years the band has found an audience that likes what they do. They’ve also had good luck with finding record companies interested in helping them get their music heard by even more people. Chris says, “We sent out a bunch of demos and just waited to see who liked it and who didn't. Tee Pee was looking for another band to release with Leechmilk as a split, and At A Loss really enjoyed our ep. Both labels have been pretty cool with us and good about getting us a little more exposure. We are actually in the studio now recording some new material and it should be done within this next month. The LP will be released this July through Retribute Records (Beaten Back to Pure, Rwake) out of the UK.” I first became aware of the band through their ‘Lust, Crime, and Holiness’ EP on At a Loss Recordings. As good as that four song collection is, Chris says it’s only one aspect of what the band is like. “The songs on the EP were the ones we recorded back last November/December. Those were chosen out of a pile of songs because they have more of a metal sound to them than anything. The other tracks we have recorded are more mid tempo rock sounding.”

So what’s the ultimate goal? Brad waxes philosophical. “Heaven is: drugs, sex, small and trashy clubs, an '88 3/4 ton Dodge Ram van (grey and rusted) pulling a 5x8 trailer with map in hand, vomit, volume, books by Henry Miller, Bukowski and Kerouac, hang-overs, pornos, wounds created while playing our instruments, Carhart coats, 3am drives on roads previously unvisited with half of the people in the van passed out or announcing their dreams or fist-fighting but living without thought of dying, underage girls, trucker speed, middle-fingers-crowd-taunts-and-airborne-alcohol, screaming Sunn amps, Big Muff pedals, a 1961 20" Ludwig bass drum and big cymbals. All 8 cylinders of the engine pumping in angered harmony. Because after all, there's no other path to pursue.”

Sofa King Killer will be playing Annabells in Akron on Saturday May 24th, and the Emissions from the Monolith stoner rock fest at The Nyabinghi in Younstown that takes place May 23rd through the 25th.