Darlings of San Francisco’s indie music scene, on the strength of their sparkling 2009 self-titled debut EP, first full-length I Better Better the following year, and a relentless schedule of enthusiastically received live shows around the Bay Area, Sugar Ponies take a giant step forward with the release of It’s A Sign.

Helmed by multi-platinum and Grammy-winning producer Ed Stasium (Ramones, Talking Heads, Smithereens, Living Colour and many more), It’s A Sign is a brilliant expression of Sugar Ponies’ irresistible sound: a sexy, sassy, rocking, unfailingly melodic blend of country, rock, classic pop, folk, and whatever else these fearless songsmiths feel like tossing into the mix.

At the core of the band are vocalist Suzanne Kramer, who draws inspiration from Lucinda Williams, Patty Loveless, Patti Cathcart, Kenny Loggins, and Paul Simon; and guitarist Michael McGovern, who tips his hat to XTC’s Andy Partridge, Pete Townshend of The Who and Tom Petty guitar slinger Mike Campbell.

In this interview spotlight, we chat with Sugar Ponies about their new project, influences, and more.

Full Q&A, links, and streams can be found below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

We’re not sure which genre or style you’re referring to… Is it the alt, the pop, the country, folk or rock? 🙂 We don’t really pay attention to the style or the genre, we just make music that feels and sounds good to us. For instance if you listen to Give This Girl a Break (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRz1JdbDYnI), and then listen to Find Your Own Railroad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVQ0TI3oBD8), you might hear two very different styles and genres, but hopefully you’ll find a common thread that tells you you’re listening to the Sugar Ponies.

We have 3 new songs in the hopper. We’d classify them (if we must) as alt rock, pop, and dance rock. Three very different styled songs, all Sugar Ponies.

How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?

We put out an 8 song EP in 2010, but we weren’t performing live much (mainly due to the presence of a 3 year old in Suzanne’s house!). In 2012 we formed a band with some folks and starting playing clubs around the San Francisco Bay Area. In late 2015 we released It’s a Sign, our full length album produced by the legendary Ed Stasium. Since then we’ve been playing around SF, LA, NY, and NJ. Our music is being spun on various radio stations across the country, SiriusXM’s theLoft, as well as internet radio stations in the US, Italy, and England!

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?

I think what you’re asking is what keeps us trying to get our songs heard. Success. We’re not talking about gobs of money or awards. We mean each successful moment we experience encourages us to aim higher.

For example, when people write to us telling us how a song has affected their lives and they share their own story that relates to the song … that is success and it’s both rewarding and encouraging.

Our influences are wide and varied. We tend to write about our feelings, our friends and loved ones. There is so much in all of our everyday lives to think about and write about. The most important thing to do is to put the phone down and live, interact, listen, think and then create.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this project (It’s A Sign)? Creatively or otherwise?

Very much so. By choosing to work with one of the most renown, accomplished, masters of their trade producers: Ed Stasium, we set out to create an album that has our distinct sound, holds a story for almost anyone to consider their own, and music that is purely enjoyable and accessible. We want people to feel really good when they play It’s A Sign. We want them to sing along to the songs, or even better, cover them!!!

What was the last song you listened to?

Not by choice it was Rockin’ Robin by the Jackson 5. By choice it was Drift Off To Dream by Travis Tritt.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I prefer live performances but I guess in order: Vinyl, CD, MP3.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I prefer to BUY the music and play it on any platform. Because when I PURCHASE a song, I know the artist is getting a zillion times more money for it, then if I stream it. Maybe not a zillion, but when I stream a song, the artist gets about $0.005. If I purchase the song, they get about $.60. I know how much it costs to create and market music, so I support those also doing it.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

Well, it’s not about us the Sugar Ponies, it’s about the songs. We try and write songs that people can relate to and call “their song”. But it’s inevitable that our songs will get lost in the haystack. So we try to market the songs to get them some temporary attention. As with Give This Girl a Break, the fans have taken over sharing it with each other. That’s the best thing that can happen for a song.

Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?

We haven’t started streaming live yet.

We do perform pretty regularly. Our next shows are in NYC. On 11/15 we will be at the Rockwood Music Hall, stage 3 in the evening. We’ll have some more shows lined up, but we’re not sure yet what they are. Also on December 23rd, we’ll be performing at the amazing Great American Music Hall in San Francisco!

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

You can connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We answer every direct message we receive! We have movies up on YouTube, with more to come soon! If you subscribe to our channel, we’ll let you know when our next video is posted.

• Website www.sugarponies.com
• Our YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/c/thesugarponies
• Facebook www.facebook.com/thesugarponies
• Twitter https://twitter.com/sugarponies
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesugarponies/

All the places you can buy or stream our music:

• SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/sugarponies/sets/its-a-sign
• CD Baby http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sugarponies2
• iTunes https://itun.es/us/rtNl–

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

We wanted to thank you for taking the time to interview us!

Words of wisdom… I guess the ones we try and live by are; it’s never too late, be persistent, be consistent, practice practice practice, stay away from people who bring you down, stay away from jealousy since it’s bad for your health and well being, and most of all work. Work hard!! But also, enjoy your life!