Bob Mould is a musical lifer. The 66-year-old singer and guitarist has written hundreds of songs over the last 47 years — initially as frontman for the iconic 1980s post-punk trio Husker Du and the last three decades as a prolific solo artist — and played thousands of live shows for crowds both large and small. Mould is a survivor, a guy whose sense of purpose has never wavered despite the inevitable highs and lows of a music career just below wide exposure.
But perhaps nothing Mould has done over the years is quite like the brief trajectory of Sugar, a band he formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1995. The trio, which also included bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcomb Travis, recorded two studio albums in that short run — 1992’s “Copper Blue” and 1994’s “File Under Easy Listening” — each a concise blast of transportive power pop marked by Mould’s ferocious guitar playing and an equally dexterous rhythm section. It’s a moment that seems frozen in amber, a time when “alternative” rock & roll was at its apex in the mainstream — post Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” a cultural dam-breaker that swept up an entire movement. And now, more the 30 years since Sugar dissolved, the trio is back for a reunion tour most thought would never come. They will stop in the Cincinnati for a show at MegaCorp Pavilion on Oct. 20.
“There were little sparks of interest here and there,” Mould says by phone from his home in California. “I personally was mindful of it, was watching it, and going, ‘Huh?’ And then David came to San Francisco, and we went out for breakfast, maybe two-and-a-half years ago, and I just said, ‘If I think people are interested, are you interested?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m interested.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s see if Malcolm’s interested.’ I could see that it would be really fun because those songs are great and I love playing with David and Malcolm. We got together and it still sounded good, so it was like, ‘Oh, I think we can do this.’ ”
The response to the reunion announcement was rabid. Three shows in May at Webster Hall in New York City sold out quickly. A full tour surfaced soon after.
“The crowds have been amazing,” Mould says. “We knew that people were interested. I knew there was going to be some excitement, but we didn’t foresee all of those tickets blowing out the door the way they did. We were like, ‘Uh, I think there’s more interest than we thought.’ ”
The response shouldn’t have been unexpected. Sugar’s brief 1990s run coincided with the rise of a particular wave of music that remains beloved, an era before the internet and social media would transform things forever. Sugar’s formation was also perfect timing for a guy who had inspired a new generation of bands through Husker Du, one of the landmark underground acts of the 1980s.
“In the fall of ’91, the whole landscape of music changed — (Nirvana’s) ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ off we go,” Mould says. “Now it’s not just (MTV’s) ‘120 Minutes,’ it’s not just college radio. It’s the mainstream music of the moment in America, of the UK and Europe. And now I know that the roads are highways and Sugar, the vibe of music, the work I do, sort of landed in the same place.”
Thirty years on, Mould understands why the Sugar records are the most popular of the 24 albums he’s been a part of since Husker Du roared out of Minneapolis, Minn. in the early ’80s.
“Right place, right time, would be another way to say it,” Mould says of Sugar’s success. “Personally, when those two records were written, recorded and mastered, I thought they were both really good records. I thought people would like them. I just didn’t foresee that kind of response. Nobody sees that coming. I mean, in ’83, when Husker Du wrote and recorded “Zen Arcade,” we knew we did something. We knew it was different, that it was going to freak people out. But “Copper Blue” — I knew it was really good, I just didn’t know the whole music world was going to be as accommodating.”
NME named “Copper Blue” Album of the Year, and it finished at No. 7 on The Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop critics’ poll. Mould appreciates the critical praise, but he remains most grateful that he can play live shows to engaged audiences.
“It’s the community,” he says. “It’s going to a town and gathering people who follow the work. It’s the site and the sound and the smell and the temperature of the venue. It’s sort of a primal need, you know, to get together with people and tell stories and sing and celebrate.”
Mould is a student of music history. He’s proud to be part of a tradition that continues to evolve and remain culturally relevant.
“What we do with Western pop music that got formalized a little bit with Big Band, and then with the traveling shows in the ’50s and ’60s, onto where we are now almost a century later is fascinating. This format of artists going from town to town for new audiences every night in rooms that are purpose-built or configured for a specific experience of live music, it’s a great thing. It’s got such great history. It’s a wonderful way to see the world. It’s a wonderful way to meet people. It’s a wonderful way to make a living. It’s pretty much the constant in my adult life for almost 50 years now.”
Sugar has released three new songs since reforming — each possessing that classic combination of buzzing guitars and ear-catching melodies — but Mould is non-committal when asked if we could see a new full-length album. For now, he is content to play shows to an audience of likeminded people in a time of chaos and uncertainty. And, of course, there’s a bit of nostalgia for a past that’s not coming back.
“I look out in the crowd, and I don’t see any phones,” Mould says. “People are in the show with us. You know what I mean? Like in the ’90s. There were no phones. People didn’t hold stuff up in front of the band like that all night. I haven’t seen a crowd like this in at least 15 years. Night after night, where people are just like, ‘I am here to watch every bit of this show. I’m here to be with the people I was here with decades ago.’ And a lot of these rooms that we’ve been doing are the same rooms we did in ’94. It’s pretty amazing.”