Bomb Pop: A Conversation with Mike Savage of Fudge

Discography:

Bomb Pop 7" (Brilliant Records, 1992)

The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness... (Caroline, 1993)

Southside Speedway (Caroline, 1994)

For a brief period in the ‘90s, the Richmond, VA music scene underwent a bit of a psychedelic shift. Indie bands such as The Technical Jed and others began experimenting with their sounds and blended together their influences. One such band, Fudge, made two records of blissed out psych indie rock. Though the band didn’t last very long, their legacy is still strong. I had the privilege of speaking with drummer Mike Savage about the band’s career.

Pete Crigler: How did you get interested in music?

Mike Savage: I've loved music for as long as I can remember. My parents played music around the house when I was just a toddler and I can remember listening to Elvis and Johnny Mathis and several other records that were played often. I have a pretty clear memory of two that I felt strongly about, one that I loved and one that I really didn't care for. That was Engelbert Humperdinck and Carole King. I imagine it's obvious which was which. As I got older my older brother got really into country music and we'd listen to records together. There was always music playing in our house in at least one room. As far as playing music goes, I was given a drum kit for Christmas when I was 3 years old or so. One of the children’s kits with paper drum heads that you couldn't tune. I think there was a barbershop quartet or something along those lines on the bass drum head. I played that until all of the heads were torn and then didn't play again until I was 18. I went to college and met a guitar player who wanted to start a band. I figured I could play drums - I was always walking around listening to rhythm everywhere around me - so I thought, "Sure!" I took a chunk of my financial aid money and bought a drum set. And playing has been a part of my life since.

Pete: How did Fudge come together and how would you define the band's sound?

Mike: I was introduced to Tony and Dave through a friend (the guitar player mentioned above) when they had all moved to Richmond to attend college. They shared an apartment in the fan and I started hanging out over there. They had been writing and recording music on a 4-track and they had a small drum machine kicking around so we started playing together, they through small amps and me tapping out patterns on the machine. Not ideal by any means, but it was enough for us to realize that we could probably give it a more proper go. I no longer had that college drum kit but I had a station wagon that I didn't really need in the city so I traded it for a really great 60's Ludwig kit and we started to practice more seriously. I think our earliest music could easily be compared to the jangly Sarah Records sound and also the more shoe-gazey records that were coming out at the time. My Bloody Valentine and Ride. But we all listened to a lot of different styles of music and once we brought Steve in to play bass it started to evolve a bit. We had pop backgrounds and punk backgrounds and dub backgrounds and metal backgrounds. I think we just tried to find a way to make music that sort of touched on a bit of all of these. We definitely became a little noisier and faster near the end there.

Pete: What was your opinion on the RVA music scene at the time? Do you think Fudge fit in?

Mike: I LOVED the music scene in Richmond. It was so diverse. Did Fudge fit in? I don't know... I hope so. We cared a lot about the music we were making and we worked hard. That's what it seemed most other bands I admired were doing. So yes! There were so many bands that were quite different from each other and that was great. Honor Role, The Technical Jed, Burma Jam, Coral, Alter Natives, Purple Ivy Shadows. Digging into the Richmond music scene when I did completely shaped the rest of my life.

Pete: How did the band come to sign with Caroline and do you feel it was a good move?

Mike: I'm not sure how that came about. I think we had a few labels that were interested in the band. I can't speak for the other guys in the band but I thought that with the success of Smashing Pumpkins Gish, the Dwarves record cover being so shocking and the new Bad Brains Quickness record (totally underrated in my opinion), it had to be the right move. I was young! We certainly would have had a different experience had we signed with a smaller label. I'm not sure if that would've been better or worse. 

Pete: What was the process like recording Ferocious Rhythm?

Mike: Those sessions were certainly unlike any we had done prior. We made that record at Sound of Music which was the biggest studio with the most gear that we had recorded in at the time. We had a lot of time and a lot to play around with. John Morand was great. We were able to experiment with different recording techniques and really had a lot of fun working on that record.

Pete: What was the songwriting process like within the band?

Mike: We worked on almost everything together in one room collectively. We had a very strict rehearsal schedule. When I think back sometimes about that specifically I almost can't believe it. We rehearsed Monday through Friday every single week. At least a couple of hours a night but many times more. That seems insane to me now but it really did work well at the time. We recorded most of our rehearsals. We would play for a while and then listen back to things and figure out what we thought was worth working on some more, then we'd hit record and work on those things, and so on and so on, until we were eventually working on songs. It felt like we were living in the practice space for a while, but I think it was worth it. We were a tight band that played well together as a result.

Pete: How was it touring nationally?

Mike: Touring was great! It wasn't the easiest, as I think just about any band who toured in a van would agree with, but it was a lot of fun. We played some really great shows and met tons of dynamite people. There was (and I'm sure still is) a great community among bands trying to make their way around the country and get by as best they could with minimal resources. Once we signed with Caroline it became a little more comfortable, in that we were able to rent a larger van that was more reliable and we weren't getting locked into clubs overnight and sleeping on pool tables.

Pete: What do you think of the amount of success the band achieved? Do you think the band could have been bigger?

Mike: We all had a great time playing. We were able to make a few records and do quite a bit of traveling. We met lots of great people, many of which are our friends today. That's a fine amount of success for me. I don't think I ever expected too much of anything at the time really, so to accomplish what we did together was really great.

Pete: How did the band come to work with Eric from the Dambuilders on Southside?

Mike: We played a bunch of shows with the Dambuilders and they were our friends so once we decided to make our record in Boston it made perfect sense that we would work with Eric. 

Pete: Was the band dropped by Caroline or had the split already happened?

Mike: I hope I'm answering this correctly. (I left the band shortly before the end.) I believe the band split rather than being dropped by the label. Although I THINK we were only obligated to two records for Caroline so we had fulfilled that contract. Or maybe it was three. I guess I don't quite remember.

Pete: What ultimately ended up causing the split?

Mike: I think it was the reason that most bands split up. We all had different personalities and responded to successes and failures differently, and that can really take its toll on people after a lot of time in a very close relationship. I had my sights on leaving Richmond and touring was becoming tiring and I decided to leave. In hindsight I would've done so on different terms but you can't change the past. Fudge did continue to play and record for some time after.

Pete: Tell me about some of your projects after the split.

Mike: I moved to Boston and began to play in bands almost immediately. I was in a rock band called Cherry 2000 that made a record and did a bit of east coast touring. I played with Tom Leach who is an incredible country singer/songwriter. I made a record and toured with Hilken Mancini and Chris Colbourn (Hilken founded Punk Rock Aerobics and Chris is in Buffalo Tom) I played in an instrumental surf/spy/jazz trio called Ray Corvair Trio for years. I also played drums in a noisy punk band called The Count-Me-Outs (one of my favorite projects I've been a part of) and I toured with Death Vessel from 2008-2010. I did some session jobs recording music for commercials. I stayed pretty busy.

Pete: What are you currently up to and do you keep in touch with your bandmates?

Mike: I moved from Boston to NYC in 2010 and have been playing less music since. At least in a full-time setting. I worked for Blue Man Group for years until Coronavirus shut down all theatre and I now spend most of my time taking photos around NYC and wherever else I travel, until I find my next move. I am in touch with everyone from the band. I try to see Steve whenever I'm in Boston and I pop in to see Tony at his brewing company in Richmond whenever I am in town. Dave has been around the last few times I've been through so we've all had a chance to hang out in recent years. And we all stay in touch via social media.

Pete: Have the band played any shows or considered a reunion?

Mike: We haven't played any shows since the split. I went to see the Technical Jed/Dynamic Truths/Eccentrics show in Richmond four or five years ago. Seeing so many old friends really did make me want to take part in something similar with Fudge but I don't think that will happen. And that's ok!

Pete: What do you think of the band's place in the spectrum of Virginia music?

What do you hope the band's overall legacy will be?

Mike: I think we were fortunate enough to be part of a very exciting time in Richmond where art and music is concerned and I'm thankful for that. Something about legacy sits uneasy with me. I hope that many of the people who we played with and those that came to see us found something about the band to enjoy. We had a blast.