Straight-Up Suckers

Suckers is not a “the” band. The Brooklyn group chooses to omit the serious-sounding article in favor of just Suckers, which befits the jovial quartet comprised of friends and family members. But before taking on the name Suckers, the band went by the admittedly corny name Feelings, inspired by a friend of the band who “doesn’t have any,” says lead singer Quinn Walker. “I think we took it seriously for a week,”Walker says.The group soon changed to Suckers, as it was the first name that satisfied all members—though not everyone is a fan. “My mom doesn’t like it,” says multi-instrumentalist Austin Fisher.

Walker, 29, and Fisher, 28, are cousins who, along with the rest of the band, grew up outside of New Haven, Conn.The two began playing music together while still in high school, and they joined up with electronic music fan Pan, 30, a couple of years later. The three friends left Connecticut and moved into an apartment together in Williamsburg in 2003.The guys played for nearly four years before finding drummer Brian Aiken through mutual friends in 2007. Aiken, 25, was still in college at the time of his recruitment, studying abroad in Hungary— which is a phrase that produces a sly smile on Aiken’s face as he recalls, “Oh yes, I studied a broad.” Aiken soon moved to New York, but while Walker, Fisher and Pan all live in separate apartments now in Williamsburg, Aiken resides in Bed-Stuy.

The group did not have a well-defined plan for its sound, other than wanting to make something catchy and leaning toward pop. “It was more avoiding certain [sounds],”Walker says.Walker, Fisher and Pan wrote most of the songs that appear on the group’s debut, self-titled EP, released in April, before Aiken joined the band and had to rearrange them for a four-piece. In a space across from Death by Audio, the foursome crafted a sound that melded sing-a-long and anthemic choruses, Bowie-and-Byrne-infused vocals, brass, watery guitars and keyboards and thunking drums.

As Suckers began to turn the group project into something legit, the band called on some fellow Brooklynites for their expertise. Brooke Baxter, co-founder of Glasslands Gallery, and former CMJ Editor-In-Chief Kenny Herzog came on as the band’s managers, and Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder hit the studio with the group as co-producer with Chris Moore, who also produced albums for TV on the Radio and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.The band met Wilder and Yeasayer, whose members Fisher refers to as “kindred spirits” of Suckers, on the local music circuit after Yeasayer saw the group play at a friend’s art opening.The group only had a few days to knock out the recording of the album, and Fisher says that they did “as best we could on limited means.” But despite the time restriction, the EP still garnered blog praise.

The group carries with the album a punchy live show, complete with a variety of instruments strewn about the stage and the band’s colorful getups—but only when the guys feel like dressing up. “It depends on the mood,” Aiken says. Walker explains that the face paint and the metallic capes come out as a fun bonus to stepping outside of the norm as a performer on stage. “It’s nice to get into character,”Walker says. Listeners will have four chances to catch the band this month as Suckers swipes up a Thursday-night residency at Piano’s. The group played the Lower East Side venue last year during CMJ, but the group’s show happened to coincide with some sort of sewage system leak at the venue. “They had to light a bunch of incense,”Walker recalls.The band hopes for a rosier experience this time around.

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Suckers
July 9, Piano’s, 158 Ludlow St. (at Stanton St.), 212-505-3733; 8, $8. Also July 16, 23 & 30.