Sulek
Songs From the Doctor's Office
Homemade eclecticity.
Sulek is a band. A band based on a man. Patrick Joseph Hoctor is not this man, but he is the man behind the guitar and mic stand. David Kelly is also not this man, but he is the man with piano and banjo in hand. Russell Scott McGowan is also not this man, but he is the bass man and founder of the olde 197 clan. And finally, Christopher Michael Winberg (that’s me) is not this man, but he is the man behind the band bringing the noise as loud as he can. Now for something completely different.
Sulek is a band that formed on January 15th, 2005 in Pat’s home. The band had started with Chris, Pat, and David about a month earlier due to David’s inability to play the drum part to The Beatles “In My Life”, but it was not until Russ joined for the first recording of a few cover songs that the band started to take shape. This was not your ordinary band however, nor were their instruments. None of the band members have ever had a single lesson on their primary instruments i.e. Pat has never had guitar or vocal lessons, Russ has never had bass lessons, David says, “What is a piano teacher”, and I (though it was not without a lack of trying from the rest of the band) have never had a drum lesson. Additionally, I did not drum on a drum set, but rather on a piano with drum kit settings for the first four months of the band. The first time I really sat behind a set was five days before our first concert. Within a month of inception, the first original song by the band, “Chocolate Hangover,” was being written and started to take shape. The band played concerts sporadically throughout the next couple of years and went from the Hoctor’s house to the Winberg’s house before returning to the doctor’s office.
In December of 2006, the band’s big “break” came in the form of the Fostex recording machine, with which the following recordings on this disc were produced from, given to them from Mr. and Mrs. Winberg. Within the next week, the band had produced their first recording, “Bazooka Tube,” and would continue recording over the next couple of years.
College was a big step into the unknown for the band and its future was hanging in the balance. However, the band decided to stick together throughout 2006 and 2007 and writing and recording continued. It is also because of college that Sulek has gotten its biggest break and exposure, all owed to the brilliant animations of Grey Gerling, Pat’s roommate for the past two years. Grey started to use Sulek’s music as the music for his animations and was putting them onto the Internet on sites like Youtube, Newgrounds, and his own production site called Barfquestion Films. He got the band exposed to the public and there has been a slight buzz and calling for Sulek’s music to be made public. Despite Sulek’s steadfast position to remain hidden and out of the loop, in the fall of 2007, Grey was given the opportunity to have his animations showcased in his very own On-Demand special and as a result Sulek’s music was being thrust into mainstream society. As a result, the band decided to copyright their material and release an album.
Finally, it is my privilege and the rest of Sulek’s privilege to present to you from the band that has brought you such unknown projects like “Anonymous Hoctors Incorporate I & II”, “Here We Go”, “Hit and Miss”, “Now for Something Completely Ridiculous”, and “The Funky Chair Caravan,” our first real album entitled “Songs from the Doctor’s Office”. Enjoy.
-Chris Winberg
Rock: Lo-Fi