This is a little (maybe long) story how Sputterdoll got together and who we are now.
It started when Rio (bassist) and Bern (drummer) decided to continue playing music together after their band at the time (summer 2001), "Love,dAriA," had agreed to end. A painless search brought to them a nice gal named Maribel who had never been in a band but had a guitar and listened to a lot of rock music. Shortly after, a search for a lead vocalist brought them an experienced bandgal whom we'll refer to as "VB." In respect to her request we don't use her real name, VB is who she is to you all.
This was in August 2001 when the first lineup was completed. This was also some 2 months before our first show, a time we had learned 5 of Rio's songs. We lasted throughout 5 amazing shows playing 15 minute sets before Maribel left us for Seattle later that year. In her place, we found a young musician named Becca. We learned a few more songs which extended our set by 5 minutes, and played a few more shows before adding a fellow named Erik. Erik was Rio's classmate in college, and both met when he saw her band flyer hanging out of her binder. Small talk led to a friendship, and when he offered to play some shows with us on guitar, Rio decided she wanted him in the band.
At one point, we were a 5 piece early on, but we never got to practice or play shows altogether. There were times when VB couldn't make practice or Becca was unavailable, so there were also shows when we featured a lineup of VB, Erik, Rio and Bern; or Erik, Rio, Bern and Becca.
July 2002 found a major change in our lineup. Due to college, Becca parted ways to attend an out-of-state university. VB didn't work out, since she was busier than the rest of us. At this time, Brian came in to replace Becca. Brian and Rio were high school classmates, and had reconnected for the first time 4 years into college--both were attending same university. Rio found out that Brian had focused on playing guitar after high school, where he was a jazz drummer. There was an open spot for a guitarist in Sputterdoll, and Brian was interested. Without a lead vocalist, the duty was split between Bern and Rio, with Brian supporting on backup.
The first show with this lineup (Rio, Bern, Erik and Brian) didn't start out smoothly. As a result of creative differences and misunderstandings, Erik had quit the day of Brian's first Sputterdoll show while we were loading. We played as a 3-piece without practice, and did quite well.
We took a month off to recover and define our sound with Brian, whose musical background was a little more eclectic than Sputterdoll's fun punk tunes. We made it work that satisfied us all, and played shows intensely in the Bay Area. We had asked our good friend Edgar (of the defunct local metal band, HYBRID SOUL) to fill the void of the second guitar for the next few shows. For the first time, we felt stable as a band and invested in a tour van. That winter in early 2003, we took off on a small Southwest USA tour, featuring "Yohan" as our second guitarist, temporarily replacing Edgar specifically for the tour. For this tour, we recorded a demo EP. SF band MUD joined us on our first tour together, hitting Arizona, Nevada and the southern half of California. Somewhere along the way, an unspoken agreement left us Edgar-less permanently, and Yohan also fell into some cracks never to be seen again.
Shortly after the tour, we started booking a more extensive tour for the summer which would cover the entire West Coast. Still a 3-piece (Bern, Rio and Brian), we travelled with San Jose ska band THE OTHER LEFT through Oregon, Washington, Nevada and California.
By Fall 2003, we had wanted to strengthen what we already had by adding (or re-filling) a second guitarist. Dennis came into the band in November '03 and once again, we distanced ourselves from playing too many shows to write and re-define our sound, and record an EP. At this time, Brian had decided to move on and focus on the music he really wanted to write and play. He agreed to finish off the recording and play out the shows we had booked until we found a permanent replacement.
As the shows got booked heavily, Brian's commitment had shifted to his personal interests. In April 2004, we set out for a Northwest Tour as a 3-piece (Rio, Bern and Dennis), travelling through California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada. That summer, we would have the heaviest calendar as a band playing more shows than we were able to handle--they were enough shows up and down in California in 2-months' time to consider it a "California" tour. Amazingly, we never got fired from or quit our day jobs!
Another Fall season unfolded, and we found ourselves with a new bandmate, replacing Brian. Her name is Lizzie, who came from a band called THE AMPLIFIDELICS. When she expressed interest in joining, it wasn't long before we took her in. Recording a full-length album went underway soon after, as well as a few more new songs we wrote and learned together.
Call it bad luck or something else, but we found ourselves unable to tour the way we started out the year before. Jobs, school, having lives... all got in the way. At most, we were able to book a weeklong California/Nevada tour in spring 2005, and spent a couple of long weekends going to southern California and the Northwest. That summer (2005), we were picked to play the SHIRAGIRL STAGE on the San Francisco WARPED TOUR along with Fabulous Disaster, Shiragirl, The Shocker, All or Nothing and many others.
Fall season after Fall season, it seemed we kept losing or adding someone. This time, Fall 2005, Lizzie's school and work were in demand and she decided to attend to that without the distraction of being in a rock band. Before her leaving, we released our first full-length record. Once again a 3-piece, and while unable to tour, we took advantage of every show we could get to support the record.
Enter Matt.
Matt is a multi-instrumentalist who was half of the duo TENSEGRITY 9. Upon learning of Lizzie's decision to leave, he offered to fill-in until a replacement was found. Luckily for us, Rio's nephew, AJ, was around to help out as needed as well. Between AJ and Matt rotating on second guitar, we were covered and continued to play shows as a 4-piece.
Months and months into 2006, Matt told us he wanted to be permanent. And so it was.
At the end of 2006, a reunion between Sputterdoll and Lizzie took place. The hows, whens, wheres and whats are a blur now, but she decided to give it another go. Our first show in 2007 was our debut as a 5-piece, with the return of Lizzie and the adjustment of Matt tripling on guitars and introducing the keyboard into our music. We were then playing shows with the most energy we've ever had, giving the music a new vibe with the same punk rock foundation we've always had.
Towards the end of 2007, it was decided to pull the plug indefinitely. A marriage and pregnancy were on the horizon, and in a general sense, it was time to take a real break. Two final shows were quietly played, not going out with a big bang with the hopes they weren't the actual final shows. When we say "indefinitely" it doesn't mean the end of all Sputterdoll. It truly just meant a long break.
In short, during our 2001-2007 years, we participated in numerous compilations, and have done several short tours. We have played all kinds of venues and events, from small garages to reputable clubs and birthday parties to Warped Tour. During our best years, things fell in place as they did to accommodate our other interests. We knew our weaknesses as a band, which is why there was no point in us to quit our jobs and pursue music full-time. Instead of making music our lives, we used it as an escape from our everyday routine. We all know what happened to rock bands that made it big. They made their money, earned their fame, and they become nobodies again. With the exception of a few. Then you had us: simply happy in skipping all the glamour and kept music purely for enjoyment, and we've still got our dignities. Because at the least, if we were full-time rockstars, what in the hell would have had left to rock out for?
And since then........
Only after 14 months since the plug was pulled, we returned for a show. March 2009 marked Lizzie's twenty-something birthday, and all had agreed to get together for the event. Two more pregnancies and two more marriages had taken place by then, so we had to squeeze this hurrah while we could. It certainly wasn't the last hurrah, but we did think it would be the last for a real, long time.
Just how long of a time? Another year and a half later, we did another show. It could be a tradition, but we dubbed it "The Last Annual Sputterdoll Show" which will probably be the name of every show we play again from now on. We did our usual songs plus a punk rock cover of "Bad Romance" and another song from our last record that we had never played together as a 5-piece in the past.
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Where are they now?
Maribel is enjoying her life around the world. From living in Phoenix to the Bay Area to Seattle, the very city she left Sputterdoll for, she is currently in the East Coast. We keep in touch regularly if you consider Facebook a regular method of keeping in touch. VB has been low-key (she saw us play at Warped Tour), and we have rare or no contact with each other. Becca is probably done with college, and the last we heard from her was in 2005 when she dropped a very random but warm email congratulating us for getting on a Warped Tour show. Erik is....we have no idea. But we saw him at a local Trader Joe's sometime ago. Brian is in the Air Force, happily married, and has a son. Edgar is also happily married with 2 kids, and we still keep in touch regularly. Yohan was recently seen, in discreet, in San Ramon.
Bern and Rio recently formed a band writing songs for kids (and their parents), and can be found at www.thelittlebitsrock.com. Lizzie and Matt formed an 8-bit indie rock band and can be found at www.theglowingstars.com. Dennis is currently not working on any music, but he'll have his chops at it when he's ready to take it for a spin.
And Marsha the van, she's still alive. She's currently serving as a catering van in Northern California :)
