Super Swan Song
by Andy Argyrakis
posted 02/21/05

When ska was at the peak of its revival in the mid-90s, The O.C. Supertones were among many acts jumping on the, ahem, band-wagon. But as the fad fizzled and other bands went on to other things, the Supertones simply transformed with the times. They became one of Tooth and Nail/BEC Recordings' figurehead acts and played over a thousand concerts—many of them sellouts—all across the globe. But all things must come to an end, and the band is calling it quits at the end of this year—but not before releasing the retrospective collection Unite, along with a forthcoming worship project. Veteran member and trombone player Dan Spencer shared what the ride's been like—including a very bumpy part of the ride with a manager who was stealing from the band—and how the gang plans to ride out with a bang.

To what degree did you hope the band would last when you first started out?

Dan Spencer: We didn't take it all that seriously in terms of making it a career, but we did want to go on the road, play and tell kids about Jesus. It was a hobby that was paying the bills and then turned into something we were doing for seven, then eight, then nine years.

What's it like being nearly a decade older than you were at the beginning and still playing the same songs?

Spencer: Part of me feels goofy but part of me loves it. I can be a total goofball in front of kids that may be between 15 and 20 years younger than me. Making music for a living, even if it's not all that much, is a total privilege and an incredible place to be. I see it as a privilege and an honor to still be doing it.

How were you able to deflect fads over the years?

Spencer: We always just did what we did, which was take a lot of ska, punk, reggae and hip-hop influences and write honest lyrics. We were never trying to emulate anybody, just be true to ourselves. Sometimes we tried to sort of steer in a different direction, though that never really seemed to work. Once we tried to have an AC hit and another time we had tobyMac sing a song with us, but little things like that never worked for us.

What would you classify as the band's peak period?

Spencer: I'd say it was somewhere in the late 90s following the release of Supertones Strike Back, which is when we went on tour with Jennifer Knapp and Audio Adrenaline. I'd also say after that when we did a tour with Switchfoot and Relient K was a pretty unstoppable time for us.

When did the pendulum shift and it become harder to keep that footing?

Spencer: As a band we went through an awful time right before the Switchfoot and Relient K tour. We found out our manager was stealing money from us and totally misusing it, which we came to find out resulted in us owing more than we could ever dream of. Unbeknownst to us, our manager was evading taxes and using our money to help pay for other bands' stuff he was managing. We found out he had taken our bankcard to Vegas and ran up thousands of dollars. Needless to say, because of our manager and us not looking at the books, it became really tough. Granted, we were on the road around 220 days out of the year—which was no excuse for not keeping track—but we came to find out we were in debt thousands of dollars. We knew we had to either give up and declare bankruptcy or fight it and make money to get out of debt. We kept going and we decided not to prosecute this guy, which we could have done.

Why didn't you go after legal action?

Spencer: A couple guys in the band really felt like it was wrong. I was iffy either way. We did audit him and came out to find there were absolutely no records kept and no paperwork. That would've nailed it right there.

Do you regret your decision?

Spencer: No, I don't. I regret more than anything our stupidity and not keeping an eye on the books because we could've found out way earlier and probably not been so far in debt. You know as a Christian you're supposed to forgive and that's hard. It took me two and a half years to get to that point.

Were you ever able to pay all the money back to the IRS?

Spencer: We made it back and paid our debts. I wouldn't say we're fully in the black still, but not anywhere close to before. We're not in danger anymore, which is a great feat in and of itself. I don't really want to tell the dollar amount, but I can't believe we dug out. People pulled a lot of favors for us when we told them our situation. The IRS contacted a couple of the guys who had houses at the time and were told they might put a lien on them. That never went through because we ended up contacting them immediately and tried to make things right. Other people we owed money to were lenient.

How have you been able to put all that behind the band?

Spencer: I have since gone up to this guy personally and told him I forgive him and I've moved on. I'm not bitter any more, even though it hurt us in more ways than one. But I know God uses things like this to sharpen us and give us wisdom and I wouldn't trade in the wisdom gained from it, that's for sure.

After you battled back from so much adversity, what made you guys decide to call it quits?

Spencer: I've been married for three and a half years, Matt ["Mojo" Morginsky] our singer just got married and so did [guitarist] Ethan [Luck] last November. Matt dreams of going back to seminary and working at a church in East Nashville. I have dreams of being a part of youth ministry in a city, maybe something similar to [the Christian club] Rocketown. Ethan has dreams of starting other bands.

Did Five Iron Frenzy provide any inspiration for you guys, breaking up over the course of a year rather than just saying goodbye?

Spencer: We actually asked them how it ended for them and wanted to do it like that. It felt like such a good model, not only for the band, but for families, fans, management, labels and booking agents. There are so many people involved you can't just call quits in a month.

Besides the greatest hits project, what else can fans expect before you say goodbye?

Spencer: We have a worship record on the way, which was first initiated a few years ago by our old bass player Tony [Terusa]. We had actually laid down tracks for it once before but were unhappy with the way it came out because it was like every other worship thing out there. We were bummed, but this time out we decided to re-record some of those old songs. The label really wanted us to do it, which we didn't have a ton of choice over, but I think we're really happy with the way it is now.

What's your relationship with Tooth and Nail/BEC at the moment?

Spencer: We're about to be not on the label. They're releasing us after these projects, so we won't be on the label after that.

Does it really matter since you guys will be broken up by year's end?

Spencer: I don't think so. We've had thoughts of maybe doing one more record and selling it on the road and the Internet.

What details can you share about the very last concert?

Spencer: It's gonna be in Orange County that's for sure. We want to do something very big that night, hopefully bringing out lots of guys we played with in the past since we've poured our hearts and souls into it for the last ten years.

For more about the Supertones and their decade-long legacy, visit our artist page for the band, where you'll find a review of their hits collection, Unite. Visit Christianbook.com to listen to sound clips and buy their music.

 

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