Plug Spark Sanjay is a band of mixed identities. Part Black Sabbath, part Built to Spill, part Archers of Loaf, these four New Jerseyites with their long hair and aggressive guitars don't fit neatly into any prescribed categories of alternative rock. Yet, there's no mistaking the band's appeal. Plug Spark Sanjay kicked off a 2001 spring tour in support of its 2000 debut CD, Regular Pinto, before going to Chicago in May to go into the recording studio with producers Bob Weston and Steve Albini to cut its 2001 CD, Fuse Time for the Working Force. In February 2001, the group introduced its song "Passenger in Distress" at its rehearsals in Jersey City, NJ. Another 2001 song, "The Working Force," detailed the band's life on the road. "Feeling Numb on the Second Shelf" described the feeling of being drunk as a metaphor for stumbling over troubling things in life, while "Neighbors" was heavy on sound effects and surreal poetry.
Plug Spark Sanjay derives its band name from an incident in guitarist Joe Centeno's childhood. From his hometown in Jersey City, he moved to North Bergen, where he met some Indian friends. He had acquired a nickname of spark plug, so his friend Sanjay gave him a spark plug as a gift one day just as a friendly joke. Years later, Centeno recalled the events and like wordplay from a James Joyce novel, there arose the band name Plug Spark Sanjay.
After Centeno's former band Half Hour to Go broke up, he and drummer Ernie Intorella teamed up with bassist Adam Niebergall to form the original lineup for Spark Plug Sanjay in 1997. As a trio, they played some shows locally in Jersey City and Hoboken, NJ, before Intorella decided to leave the band to go to school to learn his trade in refrigeration and auto repair. When the group finally decided to record its first CD at Sweetwood Studios in Parsippany, NJ, neither Intorella nor Niebergall remained in the band. John W. Fesken was added on guitar. Rich Guerzon became the band's bassist and Tim Meyers was the drummer. By late summer of 2000, Intorella rejoined the group for a short tour and finally decided he could make a full-time commitment to the band. Eventually, Guerzon and Meyers left the band. The 2001 lineup -- Joe Centeno (guitar, vocals), John W. Fesken (guitar, vocals), Michael Mixt (bass, vocals), and Ernie Intorella (drums) -- first came together in August of 2000.
Centeno's own musical vocabulary has been filtered through a variety of music. Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden provided his foundation in heavy metal, but he wanted to go beyond those basic guitar chords to do something different. He discovered jazz in musicians such as Al DiMeola and Frank Zappa. The group's use of noise and distortion derive from interests in Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and the Who. And Centeno feels the band's sense of melody comes from the Cars and Blondie. Plug Spark Sanjay released its Fuse Time for the Working Force in late 2001. ~ Robert Hicks, All Music Guide
Loading...
