Jim Suptic lights up the stage
Published Oct. 12, 2007
Jim Suptic is the type of person who, no matter how bleak a situation appears, will never give up on his goals.
Hard times have plagued the Blackpool Lights' singer/guitarist, but he has found a way around each challenge with good spirits intact.
When his former band, The Get Up Kids, decided to call it quits in 2005, Suptic was faced with the choice of finding a new day job or taking what was originally planned to be a side project in a bigger direction.
Rather than take the solo route, Suptic opted to create a new group by lining up some fellow Kansas City musicians to complete the new band. In an ironic turn of events, it has been tough for Suptic, who adamantly resisted becoming a solo artist, to finalize his lineup.
He estimates that, since its inception, the band has gone through six different incarnations.
Three guitarists and drummer Billy Brimblecom have all come and gone, leaving bassist Brian Everard and Suptic as the only two original members and Chris Clark as the latest lead guitarist.
"It's kind of annoying because you kind of build up the band to a certain point and then, when people leave, it's like starting over and over and over again," Suptic said.
By starting over with Blackpool Lights, Suptic faced playing to tiny crowds once again.
"It kinda sucked, but that was our first tour," he said. "No one even knew who we were. It was complete word of mouth among Get Up Kids fans. I knew it wasn't going to be instant success. We played in Baltimore the first time to 10 people, and then the second time, there were like 130 people there. I'm seeing word of mouth spread. I played to less people in The Get Up Kids, so it wasn't something new to me."
Amid all the confusion of new beginnings and career changes, Suptic began to take control of his destiny. He started Curb Appeal Records to release Blackpool Lights' debut, This Town's Disaster. The album, released June 2006, showcases a different side of the former Get Up Kid.
The music is more mature upbeat power pop, while the lyrics are particularly darker, which all makes sense, considering the time when Suptic wrote them.
"I guess I don't like writing about cheery things," he said. "At the same time, there's hope in the bleakness where, just because things are down, there's (still) light at the end of the tunnel."
Get Up Kids fans know that one of the reasons the band broke up was frontman Matthew Pryor's desire to spend more time with his family.
Suptic has always been excited about touring relentlessly, but now he faces yet another complication: fatherhood.
"I'm going to be more picky about things we do," Suptic said. "Obviously, I can't tour nine months out of the year anymore. I still want to tour as much as I can, but you gotta think financially. How much does being in a rock band pay, and is it enough to support a family?"
But Suptic, who has been playing music professionally since high school, has learned what it takes to balance his life's passions.
"You gotta sacrifice," Suptic said. "I've been sacrificing my whole life, really. I've been with my wife long enough that she's used to this rock 'n' roll world and understands that it's my job, and sometimes you gotta do things that you don't want to do to hopefully reach your goals."
