Cheap Time & Mark Sultan

CHEAP TIME

A combustive mix of glam rock riffs, power pop melodies, and lots of punk energy, Cheap Time are the brainchild of Jeffrey Novak, a Tennessee native who began playing in punk bands in his teens.

His groups include Jeffrey Novak’s One Man Band and the ultra-raw Rat Traps; when the Rat Traps retired in 2006, Novak formed Cheap Time with Be Your Own Pet’s Jemina Pearl on bass and Nathan Vasquez on drums. This version of the band was heavily influenced by the Runaways and early Redd Kross, and released its debut 7′ on Sweet Rot in 2007. Pearl and Vasquez left the band to concentrate on Be Your Own Pet, and were replaced by bassist Stephen Braren and drummer Jon Sewell. The band’s sound also shifted: Novak took some songs inspired by glam and power pop acts like the Quick, Sparks, and Milk ’n‘ Cookies — which were intended for another project, the Peoploids — and turned them into Cheap Time songs. Early in 2008, the revamped Cheap Time issued another 7′ on Douche Master in advance of their self-titled full-length on In the Red, which arrived that spring. Ryan Sweeney replaced Sewell on drums starting in 2009, when the band issued the Woodland Drive/Penny & Jenny single and toured with Yo La Tengo. Cheap Time returned with Fantastic Explanations (And Similar Situations), a slightly more structured and complex set of songs, in 2010. Novak and crew resurfaced in 2012 with Wallpaper Music, an attitude-heavy set of songs recorded in Novak’s home studio. ~ Heather Phares

MARK SULTAN

Mark Sultan has two new albums waiting to be released on vinyl in the US and beyond sometime in the fall on In The Red records out of Los Angeles, California. The two albums will be joined by a few 7′ releases in the US, including a split with the Black Lips. The names of the albums are ‚Whatever I Want‘ and ‚Whenever I Want‘, respectively, with a CD release entitled ‚Whatever/Whenever‘ following their heels containing 7 songs from each album, 14 of a total 26. The songs are in a similar vein that he has mined of late (and for years): early rock’n’roll, psych, avant garde, free jazz, doo wop, early r&b, garage punk, punk rock, etc… thrown in a pot and simmered over his incredible vocals. Covers of such artists as Ultravox, The Stains, The Four Lords and a couple more round out the collection. Collaborators include Choyce (Red Mass), Jared (Black Lips), Cole (Black Lips), Erin (Spits), Danny (The Gories), etc…

Mark Sultan has been a long-time fixture in the ‚garage rock‘ scene, having played in such bands as The King Khan & BBQ Show, The Almighty Defenders (Sultan, Khan, Black Lips), BBQ, The Ding-Dongs (with Bloodshot Bill), The Spaceshits, Les Sexareenos, etc… and has released a bunch of records on labels like In The Red, Last Gang, Crypt, Fat Possum, Goner, Sub Pop, Vice, Bomp!, Norton, Sympathy For The Record Industry, etc… He has toured North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Israel and everywhere in between. He will be touring Brazil, Peru, Chile, Europe, the USA again and beyond, by years end.