Satin Gum is an American power pop/alternative rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania consisting of songwriter Brian Spekis (Vocals, Guitar), Jonathan Gunnell (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Travis Craig (Bass, Boxcat), and Dan Vavro (Drums, Backing Vocals). The band, originally a trio consisting of Spekis, Craig, and Vavro, formed in the spring of 2008 and quickly released their debut, ‘EP’, on June 17, 2008. ‘EP’ was completed in do-it-yourself fashion with the members tackling all duties themselves (writing, recording, and releasing), their only background education coming from the school of trial-and-error. In the spring of 2009, Satin Gum added a fourth member, Jonathan Gunnell, on lead guitar and keyboards. Gunnell was a long-time friend of the band and had attended many of their early shows. He was somewhat reluctant to join at first due to an already busy work/school schedule, but he was bribed by The Gum with external hard drives, a troll doll collection, and unlimited cold beers. Satin Gum digitally released their debut album, ‘LP’, on August 27, 2009. A CD release followed in September. This effort was recorded & engineered by lead Gum dude Spekis with Gunnell handling mixing & mastering. On July 22, 2010, Satin Gum digitally released ‘EP2’ which was regarded as the “most underrated local release of the year” by Andy Mulkerin of Pittsburgh’s City Paper. This was the first Satin Gum release where the mastering job was assigned to someone outside of the band, one Garrett Haines (of TreeLady Studios) who declared, “This album screams “HIT ME HARD!” Since their inception, Satin Gum has shared the stage with prominent musical artists such as Jesse Malin, We Are Scientists, French Kicks, and Frightened Rabbit. The Gum’s songs have been placed in major television shows such as The Good Wife on CBS. No strangers to a delectable chow, the band members are often seen in their downtime enjoying a sandwich known as the “Leroy Brown”, a half-pound of Angus topped off with homemade BBQ sauce, sugar-glazed peppercorn bacon, and cheddar cheese. |
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