You wouldn't expect a band named for Dr. Kevorkian's death device to sing a cheery love song about a dog, but "Sometimes I Don't Mind," the first single from the Suicide Machines' self-titled third album, was inspired by Chewy, bassist Royce Nunley's pooch. In advance of the album, which hits stores today, the infectious, cloudless punk-pop tune has already become a favorite at influential college and alternative radio outlets.

Further early support of "Sometimes" on MTV's 120 Minutes has no doubt been helped by the humorous, Banana Splits-style vibe of the song's video, which was lensed by currently in-demand director Marcos Siega. The filmmaker -- who's also responsible for Blink 182's hilarious boy-band-spoofing clip, "All the Small Things," and who just shot Sevendust's "Waffle" -- was not above shenanigans on the set. According to singer Jason Navarro, "In the video, the reason I'm laughing is that Marco was standing in front of me naked."

The Suicide Machines is simultaneously tough and palatable. With fourteen songs touching on a variety of styles -- from orchestral jangle ("Extraordinary," "The Fade Away"), ska-core ("Sincerity"), breakneck punk ("Permanent Holiday") and shimmering power pop ("All Out") -- the album represents a newfound accessibility for the Detroit-based quartet. And so far, the diehards seem to be supportive of the new direction.

"The new material's gone over great," says Navarro, "but it's kind of scary for me. In Detroit, there were people in the crowds who were singing along with the songs way before the record was even out."

Describing the Machines' evolution in sound, the frontman offers, "It's kind of like how you deal with relationships. When you're young, you're stubborn; but as you get older, you adapt and change."

According to Navarro, much of the group's new direction is owed to guitarist Dan Lukacinsky. "Dan is a big Beatles freak," he says. In keeping with the Fab Four influence, Lukacinsky's instrument of choice on the album's poppier numbers is a Rickenbacker. However, for the harder numbers, he breaks out his Ventures model guitar, which Navarro describes as "just like the one Johnny Ramone uses."

Navarro and Lukacinsky formed the Suicide Machines in 1991 in their (and Kevorkian's) home state of Michigan. "Dan worked in a 7-Eleven by my house, and one day we started talking and I found out he was a music freak," says Navarro of the band's birth. Bassist Nunley joined the lineup -- which has since featured a veritable revolving door of drummers -- within a year of the group's inception.

After building a local and national following through self-released cassettes and singles, the band inked a deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records in 1996. That same year the lads issued their debut, Destruction by Definition, which sold close to 250,000 copies.

For their 1998 effort, Battle Hymns, the Machines moved in a decidedly harder direction, burying much of the previously dominant ska element, while churning out furious sociopolitical anthems like "Step One" and "Black and White World."

For the Suicide Machines, songwriting has always been a shared responsibility; however, it's recently become less of a collaborative effort. Now each member brings his own songs to the group, but as Navarro divulges, "We still pretty much split everything four ways."

The new album's "I Hate Everything" is a raging, middle-finger of a song that spoofs the current rap-metal scene propelled by the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit and Detroit's own Kid Rock. When asked if the song was a goof on these acts, Navarro replied, "It's definitely not a tribute."

Navarro's first ever album purchases were Blondie's Autoamerican and Rick James' Street Songs, "straight out of the bargain bin." The selections speak volumes of the Machines' stance on diversity. "We've played shows with all sorts of different bands -- hip-hop, punk, everything," Navarro says proudly. "We're trying to break down barriers through music."

JOHN D. LUERSSEN
(February 15, 2000)