Softrocks singer-guitarist fondly recalls Valley debut

By John Benson

The band has left behind its experimental-noise phase.

As singer-guitarist of Minneapolis indie pop rock act The Softrocks, Mike Sapiro admits he wasn’t ready for what his trio experienced this past spring when the band made its Youngstown debut at Cedars Lounge.

“Not only was it was great, but it was probably one of the best shows we ever played outside of Minneapolis,” Sapiro said.

“We played two sets and the first set didn’t have that many people, but the second show a lot of people must have called their friends because more were in the audience and it picked up steam.”

Fans will get a chance to hear The Softrocks again when the trio plays Saturday at Cedars Lounge.

“I think that’s really unique,” Sapiro said. “I’ve never seen that, specifically not here in Minneapolis, where people would like a band and be willing to call people up and sit through a second set. I think that testifies to the fact they’re music fans. They generally like music. I think that’s exciting. So it’s a great city, and I’ve met a lot of nice people.”

A journey of self-discovery is what The Softrocks — Sapiro, Matt Lammers (bass, auxiliary percussion) and Elliot Hill (drums, microphone effects) — have been enjoying the past few years. While the outfit released a 2005 self-titled album, the act decided to venture off into esoteric noise land, often playing live with a revolving door of musicians.

“It was the three of us, but anybody who wanted to join us could do so on stage and make some improvisational noises,” Sapiro said.

“We all enjoyed it. It was kind of a good release for us as growing musicians, but I think we really like making songs and I personally like getting my songs out there. It means more that way.

“Plus, it would get exhausting having to go on stage and not knowing what’s going to go on and who was going to show up and sometimes the gigs were awful because there was no plan. So it’s good to be kind of consistent and to get my material out there.”

Having successfully left behind its experimental-noise phase, the threesome recorded its sophomore effort “Summer Apocalypse” with Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard).

The album, which is decidedly in the indie pop vein, was released this past March.

Among the band’s favorite tracks are the nonlinear “The Rose” and the poppy “Twilight Birds.”

Sapiro said the former track hints at the band’s adventurous past in the sense it doesn’t feature any choruses.

“As a songwriter, I think it’s more interesting to be how can I make this catchy and stick in your head without relying on the old pound-it-into-you-with-eight-choruses method,” Sapiro said. “It’s just fun to see if you can make it familiar but not repetitive.”

Considering Sapiro’s Minneapolis address, naturally he’s good friends with Prince, Bob Dylan and Soul Asylum, right?

“Actually, I used to work for the guitarist for Soul Asylum, Dan Murphy, at his house,” Sapiro said, laughing.

“He would sell artwork out of his basement, and I was doing that up until about eight months ago. He sells vintage prints and memorabilia on eBay.”

So did you ever seek his advice about musical stardom?

“He’s commented on stuff and said that sounded good, but it wasn’t too in depth,” Sapiro said. “I think he’s kind of burned out on the music industry. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”

Maybe he’s mad you kept humming “Runaway Train” over and over again?

“I never did that but I did tell him that Michael Scott was singing it on an episode of ‘The Office’ one night,” Sapiro said, laughing. “He didn’t know if that was good or bad.”