Wichita City Paper
Sugar Free Allstars sounds oh-so sweet
October 26, 2006

Chris Wiser and Rob "Dr. Rock" Martin have, in a little over half a decade developed a solid reputation as one of the most entertaining two-man bands in the bible belt buckle. As the Sugar Free Allstars Martin and Wiser blend a mixture of New Orleans music, soul, pop, jam music and maybe even a thinge or two of prog rock for audiences that are eager to hear touching songs peppered with bits and bobs of humor.

To date the band has released two albums - a 2001 self-titled affair with guitarist Mike Satawake and drummer Andy Moore and 2004's Dos Machos!, featuring classic Wiser and Martin lineup, though it's about to add a third outing to its oeuvre. New tunes such as "Jesus Christ Super Center," "Internet Porn," and "Gin Pickles" will quickly join ranks with "Cover Band Boyfriend," "Bender to Ender" and "Buddhist in a Beemer."

The as-yet-untitled album will also feature an appearance from legendary Little Feat guitarist Fred Tackett and is scheduled to appear by the dawn of 2007. Wiser and Martin recently took a few moments to reflect on life on the road, life on the stage and the awesome ability to give or receive a tatto with the blessing of Oklahoma lawmakers.

Catch SFA at Barleycorn's on Friday, Oct. 27.

Jedd Beaudoin: A few years back you both narrowly escaped the jaws of death in a fire when your touring vehicle burst into flames. Any other major mishaps since then?

Rob Martin: Other than elk, deer and sliding sideways down mountain passes in Colorado, not really.

Chris Wiser: No, luckily we have been fire-free for about two years now.

JB: Your live shows are notable for a number of reasons, but on certain nights you've been known to throw in covers of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day." There's a pretty wide gap between those two tunes, how do you go about choosing those?

CW: We have a few criteria for choosing covers. It has to be a song we really like that you don't hear bands cover very often, or there needs to be some humor behind it. It is very important that the tune is not a cover band staple, no matter how good it is. We have enought original material that we don't have to do covers to fill up a night, so it needs to be a song we have fun with that is not overdone.

JB: There are a number of SFA songs that really capture my imagination as a listener. One is "Cornbread." It's just one word. What gives?

CW: We really like Booker T and the MGs a lot, and this particular song is heavily influenced by them. Before they became Booker T and the MGs a couple of the guys were in a band called the Mar-Keys and they had a song called "Last Night" where each time they got through a chorus of the song they would stop and say, "Oooooooohhhhhh last night." So, being from Oklahoma and growing up with cornbread served at meals I thought that would be a funny name for the song.

JB: Rob is also known as Dr. Rock. Dr. Phil and Dr. Laura have duped us befoe. Just what is he a doctor of again?

RM: I am a Doctor of Rockology. I started my training in 1984. And I didn't go to eight years of evil rock school to be called Mr. Rock, thank you. I was offered a position at E.R.I.T. (Evil Rock Institute) but refused to go forth and corrupt the masses.

JB: There's also a pretty braod range of influences in your music, everything from tinges of progressive rock to soul, funk, classic rock, etc. How do you blend them so damn seamlessly?

RM: We do it seamlessly? News to me.

CW: I think what holds it all together is the instrumentation of the band. Since we're a Hammond B3/drum duo no matter what we play it's going to sound like the Sugar Free Allstars. We could do a whole set of 80's Journey tunes and it would still sound like us. Oooooo, now that's an idea.

JB: The last time you played up in Wichita, you jammed with the members of Moreland, Arbuckle and Floyd and the results were pretty damn cool. What's it like to jam with people you haven't played with before, mabye you're meeting for the first time?

CW: It's very cool. It adds a different spin to their tunes. We also enjoy people sitting in with us. that's one of the advantages of being a two-piece band is there is room, physically and musically, to have people sit in with us. It allows Dr. Rock and I to sit back and focus on being a rhythm section, which is a lot of fun. The biggest irony is that guitar players love to sit in with us.

JB: In October, 1971 the Democratic Republic of Zaire was renamed Congo. How did that event influence you as young musicians?

RM: I am glad you asked this question as it comes up often. When Lieutenant General Mobutu seized power and changed the name of the country it made me realize that I could get really wasted and rock 'n' roll the rest of my life. He is a true inspiration to all of us.

CW: Well I really love New Orleans music, and a lot of the basis for it came from the slaves gathering in Congo Square on Sunday afternoons and playing and singing their songs.

Toby Keith or Vince Gill?

RM: Jon Anderson

CW: Brooks and Dunn

Anything you want to say to readers coming to the show or teetering on the edge of coming to the show?

RM: Come see what life is like without guitars...it's pretty damn cool...plus excessive drinking is encouraged at all SFA shows so it's easier for us to convert you to our cult of rock.

CW: We're looking forward to seeing everyone again and if you hven't been to an SFA show please come and groove with us, we promise to be gentle if it's your first time. You'll not often see a Hammond B3 with a hot rod flame job, so come see and experience the spectacle that is the Sugar Free Allstars

-Jedd Beaudoin