To call Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster “Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster,” while true, is a bit limiting. He also keeps time full-time (and tours constantly) with Bob Mould and the Mountain Goats, contributes hilarity to The Best Show On WFMU With Tom Scharpling and maintains one of the most reliably funny Twitter feeds. Superchunk is on the road supporting its 10th LP, I Hate Music (Merge); while traveling from gigs to home and to more gigs, Wurster filled some rare empty space in his hectic schedule by guest editing magnetmagazine.com this week. Read our brand-new Q&A with him.
Wurster: The new Superchunk album, I Hate Music, was released on August 20, one day short of the 32nd anniversary of what young Jon noted on his 1981 calendar as “the best two days of my life.” In July of that year, I was excited to be drumming in my first real band. We were called Hair Club For Men, and we played a mix of peppy originals (think the Ramones meets ? & The Mysterians by way of X-Ray Spex) mixed with Clash and Plasmatics covers. It was enough for me just to practice with my older bandmates (I was 14, and they ranged from 17 to 28), and I never expected to play an actual show. But one day, our bassist/saxophonist Steve informed us he’d gotten Hair Club a gig on August 21 at a backyard party thrown by one of his friends. My excitement level went through the roof when it was announced that a massive festival featuring the Police, the Specials, the Go-Go’s and Oingo Boingo would take place at a horseracing track on the 22nd in nearby Philadelphia. (The same lineup played the next day in Oakville, Ontario.)
I honestly don’t remember much about performing at the party other than it cementing the idea that playing in a band was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The next morning, I was very surprised to hear that my parents had parked down the street and listened to us play.
The festival at Brandywine Racetrack was equally life-affirming. Every band on the bill left an indelible mark on my young mind and made me more excited about a career in music. But the first thing that always pops into my head about that concert is the opening set by ’50s R&B legends the Coasters. It would be another 15 years before I’d discover the reason for their appearance on the bill: Turns out they played Police manager Miles Copeland’s wedding the day before, and he added them to the festival at the last minute.
The scent of marijuana was everywhere that day and at one point one of the leisure-suited Coasters spotted a hip new-waver in the crowd blazing a joint and exclaimed, “Hey, gimme some of that stuff you’re smokin’!” They say smell is the strongest memory trigger, and I believe it. To this day, every time I get a whiff of pot, I flash back to that life-changing August weekend. And I love it.
