Super 400: the song remains the same
*This interview originally appeared in our November 2024 issue*
November 2024 Issue cover photo by: Kiki Vassilakis
Every fall, hundreds of thousands of Upstate New Yorkers find themselves thinking, "How lucky am I to live here?" The vibrant spectrum of colors provided by the foliage, the relief from summer’s oppressive humidity, and the breathtaking vistas create a beauty that feels almost overwhelming. We don’t deserve this. The same sentiment applies to the music scene, especially when it comes to a band like
Super 400. We don’t deserve them, either.
The word “iconic” hardly captures their essence. Listening to them, it's hard to believe they live just down the road and perform there regularly, too. Meeting them reveals an astonishing level of kindness and humility that is equally impressive. Their accessibility stems, ironically, from their integrity. They have had labels and contract offers that encouraged them to conform to arbitrary styles, but the band has repeatedly and respectfully refused. While record labels wanted to make them more accessible to a larger audience, their commitment to authenticity has kept them accessible to their local fans.
Once again, I assert, we don’t deserve them.
One of the greatest things about this band is that they don’t fit into a mold. They don’t need to be the next Cream or Led Zeppelin; they can proudly be the first Super 400.
“When record labels have been involved in things, it has definitely been a hindrance to us to just sound like us. ‘You need to sound more like this. You need to sound more like that.’ We won't do it. It doesn't feel right,” says bassist Lori Friday.
Guitarist Kenny Hohman adds, “It can also be a hindrance that we're not a part of another obvious scene. There's folk rock, hardcore, rockabilly, alternative rock bands – we didn't fit with them. There were jam bands. We jam, but we don't fit in with them either. We developed our sound organically. We've never gone out of style because we never tried to be in style. We’re still us.”
High Hopes
For nearly 30 years, Super 400 has captivated the local scene and beyond with their unique sound. They’ve defied the odds that often cause other bands to fade into obscurity or spontaneously combust.
Bands featuring both male and female members often fall victim to the rock-and-roll clichés that come with romantic drama. While this can lead to some of the greatest music of our time, it can also disappoint fans. Notably, Super 400 is two-thirds a happily married couple, yet their personal and musical relationship almost never happened.
In the winter of 1996, Friday was actively looking for players to form a band. She frequented the open mics in Albany and, one night, walked into Pauly’s Hotel. Kenny and Joe were onstage, performing.
“I knew that was it,” Friday recalls. “I had found the sound I was looking for. Those guys were unlike anyone I had heard, and I was confident I belonged with them. I wrote my number on a matchbook and gave it to Kenny, hoping we’d get some music happening. But I didn’t hear back.’
Hohman admits it wasn’t until another friend and fellow musician, Steve Candlen, insisted they give Friday a chance, but he had thrown away her phone number. Admittedly, he found Friday attractive, and having a long-term serious girlfriend at the time, he knew it could be trouble
“He was right about that,” smirks Friday.
Instead, Joe Daley, drummer, was dispatched to find Friday, who was working at Last Vestige Records, and invited her to come and play at their Troy loft – no plan, no songs to learn.
“We had a bass amp there, and she plugged in and we didn't really talk much. We just started playing. We just started meandering around on something, and we jammed for 40 or 45 minutes straight without stopping,” Hohman describes. “We were just going up and down and sideways and quiet and loud and through all these different field changes and tempo changes and stuff. And when we stopped and the last note faded out, she was in the band. There was no ‘hey, do you want to join the band?’ She was in the band. All of us knew it. None of us said anything. We all were just sitting there silent, like, wow. It was just the three of us. And there was nobody else.”
The band believes they sound the same now as they did that day, and they say it with pride. Some might find that boring or complacent. But when you sound that good, you owe it to the music to keep it the way it is. The changes that did occur were all personal which, again, unlike many other great bands, could have completely changed the course of their relationship. Somehow it only made this group stronger.
Hohman and Daley have been friends since the ‘80s. Friday joined the trio in the ‘90s. In 2000, both Hohman and Friday had significant others and didn’t entertain the idea of any romantic involvement. At least none they admit to now. They will say that they found themselves bickering quite a bit. Daley was most confused by this. It didn’t seem to make sense.
“I was like, why are you guys fighting so much?” he recalls.
Then, Hohman and Friday decided to go on double dates and found themselves feeling like the only two in the room. The next step was obvious. Worried that Daley might feel left out, or that it would change the dynamic in the band, they approached it with the utmost sensitivity and had an open and honest discussion about it. On par with the drama-free band biography, and not wanting to stand in the way of his dear friends’ happiness, Daley gave his blessing.
Whatever stops the fighting, right?
All photos by: Kiki Vassilakis
The Mountain, The Stone and You
The cost of signing with a label was too high for their integrity, but they certainly had some amazing opportunities most musicians only dream about. Daley’s older brother, Jack, had been playing with Lenny Kravitz for years when he was asked to join for an appearance on Saturday Night Live. Trying to recreate the album sound from one of his hit singles, Kravitz wanted additional guitarists to appear with him. Jack Daley knew just the guy. Hohman got the call and spent the week in NYC rehearsing with the band.
Super 400 has also had the opportunity to travel internationally for several years, and tour with some amazing acts. One of their most notable national tours was with Stockholm Syndrome (which featured members of Widespread Panic and Gov't Mule) in 2011. Friday developed a head cold while on that tour and between the flight from Denver and the altitude therein, she was not well. After returning to New York, she drove to the store for some soup ingredients. It was the first of March and the promise of Spring that had melted the snow during the day set the stage for a frozen road at night. Friday hit a patch of ice and collided head on with an oncoming truck. She awoke to EMTs telling her that her arm was broken. They gave her morphine; she did not react well to it, so they stopped the drip and took her to the hospital. Despite several internal injuries, her neck bothered her the most. It was hard to rest, especially with interns coming in at all hours of the night. Hohman decided to stand guard, insisting they let her sleep. The couple became increasingly concerned about Friday’s neck. A doctor passing by recognized them from the band and offered extra medical assistance through his practice.
After Friday was discharged, she called that doctor, and finally got the attention she needed. It was determined she was missing her fifth and sixth cervical discs. The doctor scheduled a surgery and told Hohman to bring Friday home and be as careful as possible. She was relieved to finally have some answers and a solution to the neck pain.
The surgery found the missing discs behind her occipital bone in her skull. They were removed and her spine was fused. She was going to be alright, but there was to be no touring for a while. At the time of the accident, Super 400 was signed to a label and since they couldn’t deliver on what is expected of a touring band, the label released them. Friday says, in a way, this was the best thing that could have happened to them.
“It kind of gave me what I needed. It brought the band closer. It also resulted in us becoming independent. We weren’t really much good to [the label] if we couldn’t be out on the road, trying to support an album. I certainly don’t hold any weird feelings about that.”
Rather than let it slow her down, Friday used this time as productively as possible. Most importantly, she and Hohman decided to marry – an event they hadn't had time for previously. Daley became ordained to officiate the ceremony, naturally. Equally noteworthy, the pair then decided to open a school for musicians, The Troy Music Academy. They had already been providing lessons but now they had a proper space to do it in. Also, Friday, Hohman and “Uncle Joe” welcomed their daughter Ellie in 2013. This period brought the band closer together. Without the support of a label, they were forced to figure out how to make things work for themselves: on their terms, with their sound. Independent and original – the way it should be.
Spirit in the Sound
In January of 2024, the beloved local triumvirate planned a show at The Hangar on the Hudson in Troy (one of their favorite places to play) at which they had hoped to get footage for social media content. Hohman had recently signed up for a Facebook account after watching Friday doing all the backend work. The game has changed; this is usually a begrudging move for a band who has everything else going for them. They have the talent, the sound, the look and the attitude necessary to make it in this business. They’ve had it for nearly 30 years. They haven’t changed. The industry has.
Navigating this new path of social media content creation, they had cameras and audio recording set for that evening. Sound engineer Troy Pohl insisted they do a multitrack recording instead of an ambient room mic. The band didn’t care too much as they only wanted audio to pair with some video for promotion. Lucky for them, Pohl insisted. Lucky for us, they relented.
The video ended up being a bust due to some equipment failure, so they didn’t give the audio much thought. When they later listened to it, Hohman said, “we might have a live record here.” Since the room hadn’t been set up with the usual sophistication that it would require to produce a quality live album, it was going to take a lot of work to make it sound solid in the mix. Pohl was up to the task and the result is what is now the band’s latest release: Live From Troy, NY.
“One of the songs on the digital release is the first time we ever played it,” Hohman admits. “It was the most fun record to make because we didn't know we were making it.
Not knowing they were making an album is likely what attributes to the greatness of it. At the risk of sounding like a poseur, listening to this album on vinyl is a MUST. It truly captures that vintage sound that embodies Super 400’s evergreen/timeless/classic sound. “You Are My Light” is the obvious opener, as it sets the bar for a glorious tempest. The eight tracks on vinyl flow so seamlessly into one another that you forget there were parts reserved for extended release (available digitally and just as aurally pleasing).
The digital album opens with “It’s Gonna Burst”, which is an equally fitting forecast for the album. The heart racing, overwhelming energy of “High Hopes” and “Emergency” somehow oscillates so organically into the much needed respite of gentler, but equally exhilarating tracks like “Spirit in the Sound” and “Green Grass End”. Most notably was “The Mountain” which was unbelievably played live for the first time that night.
“That song’s a lot of fun to play; and it makes us feel like we still have something to give!” says Friday after, with a modesty that’s almost insulting at this point.
The band is having a party at the scene of the crime on release day (Saturday, November 2nd) to celebrate. They joke that they may record this one as well and release it after, continuing again and again like a snake biting its own tail.
“When you come, you’re guaranteed to join with old friends and you’ll surely make some new friends. Super 400 Troy shows are truly a joyful event and their performances touch hands with the ghosts of those kids, jamming in that loft, many years ago,” says Friday.
Unlike a snake, there is no finite amount of tail to be consumed when it comes to Super 400. With that said, there was no way we could have fit enough history into one article. And that will be our excuse to speak with them again (and again).
Consistently raising the bar while staying true to themselves, and elevating the local scene in innumerable ways, it’s worth iterating one last time that we don’t deserve them. But we’re sure as hell lucky to have them.
The band will be celebrating this release at The Hangar in Troy Saturday, November 2nd. It will also serve as an unofficial launch party for Metroland Now!