Sodajerk is a band formed on one guiding principle: despite what may be coming out of the current “Nashville” scene, country music doesn’t have to suck! Sodajerk was began in 1999 with longtime friends Bucky Goldstein and “Poppa” John Tucker as an outlet for their shared love of old school country, 50’s rockabilly, 70’s rock, 80’s metal and early 90’s college rock. They found when they mashed the booze filled swagger of The Replacements with the tear in my beer twang of Hank Williams, something special happened....the Sodajerk sound was born. Whether it’s the country rock blast of “I Know You Will” or the trip hop country masterpiece “Cow Hop”, Sodajerk is a band that lives to challenge the stereotypes of all music. One Pittsburgh writer put it best, “It’s all you need for a night on the town.....or the end of the world”!

Our extended bio

Sodajerk is a band formed on one guiding principle: despite what may be coming out of the current “Nashville” scene, country music doesn’t have to suck! Sodajerk was began in 1999 with longtime friends Bucky Goldstein and “Poppa” John Tucker as an outlet for their shared love of old school country, 50’s rockabilly, 70’s rock, 80’s metal and early 90’s college rock. They found when they mashed the booze filled swagger of The Replacements with the tear in my beer twang of Hank Williams, something special happened....the Sodajerk sound was born. The first record (the now out of print “Can’t Put You Down”) was almost entirely recorded by just the duo, and was greeted by warm reviews and high critical praise in their hometown of Pittsburgh, ultimately winning a spot on the “Top Five Releases of 1999” by local press. They followed with 2001’s “Unhappy Hour”, which continued the tradition, ending up on yet another top releases of the year list in Pittsburgh’s press and leading to the band’s involvement with festivals such as the Nashville New Music conference and North By Northeast in Toronto. The end of 2001 brought them the honor of being chosen by Jim Beam as one of their five finalists in the “Jim Beam National Backroom Band Search” held in Nashville, of which Sodajerk ultimately placed second (not bad for some yanks!) The winning streak continued in early 2002, as Sodajerk took top honors in the “Grafitti Rock Challenge” in Pittsburgh, a long running, yearly band competition, that in the past has seen the participation of such bands as Pittsburgh’s own Rusted Root and The Clarks. This led to the recording of the band’s third record (2003’s “Brand New Low”) which landed the band in regular rotation on such AAA stations as 91.3 WYEP. It even found it’s way onto celebrated singer songwriter Jesse Malin’s website under the heading “Fine Art: Top 25 Albums”, alongside legends such as Wilco and Neil Young (we’re blushing now!) The constant gigging and opportunities to share the stage with bands as diverse as The Jayhawks, Charlie Daniels, The Drive By Truckers, Reverend Horton Heat, John Mellencamp, Robbie Fulks, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Sarah Harmar, Caitlin Carey, The Red Elvises, Montgomery Gentry, and even heavy hitters such as Nashville Pussy and Static X, led to Bucky and “Poppa” John’s desire to capture more of their live sound on the next record, which ended up being a self titled disc released in 2005. It’s a raw rock n roll blast that immediately has found it’s way into regular rotation again on 91.3 WYEP and to the top of critic’s lists! The addition of Blake Parris on bass and Ben Drankin on guitar, and the move to Atlanta in late 2005 has renergized the Jerk, and “Poppa” John and Bucky intend to hit the gravel more and spread the Sodajerk gospel around to as many American cities as they can. Whether it’s the country rock blast of “I Know You Will” or the trip hop country masterpiece “Cow Hop”, Sodajerk is a band that lives to challenge the stereotypes of all music. One Pittsburgh writer put it best, “It’s all you need for a night on the town.....or the end of the world”!

Albums

This Artist has 4 Albums
Clean Clean

Clean Clean

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