‘Check Engine’ by SugarSpell

  Today I’m going to turn my eye to one of my favorite local acts, SugarSpell. The solo project of poet Jeffree Paul St. John, one of the coolest names ever, released out of Plymouth, MI. I met Jeffree the same way a lot of people meet Jeffree. I played the open mic at The Plymouth Coffee Bean that Jeffree host each and every Monday. You can’t miss him if you head out there. He’s the host with the long, red dreads. He’s a wonderful host and always keeps the crowd interested.

  After a few weeks of playing open mic, Jeffree and I struck up a friendship and I’ve played a show or two at The Bean. Every couple of weeks, Jeffree would start open mic himself. That was usually my favorite part. He would do this acoustic cover of ‘Institutionalized’ by Suicidal Tendencies that captured the core of the song so well while completely changing everything else about it. He has a knack for that even with his own songs.

  Needless to say, when he self released an album one December I had to pick it up. The first thing that captures you about SugarSpell, live or recorded, is Jeffree’s voice. The way it shakes out each word, trembling in between melancholy and anger. After a particularly intense performance you almost want to ask him if he’s ok. He doesn’t sing from the throat, but instead really deep down. Somewhere inside of him where emotions are pure. 

  Because he has this ability to sing from deep down, SugarSpell has a very special way of describing certain situations to the T. It amazes me how well Jeffree’s words can put you in one of your own memories. He’s another one of those songwriters that seem to write to me and about me. Sometimes I hear the words coming from my speakers and am smacked across the face with a time, place and person I’ve long forgot. Because of this, SugarSpell is often on mixes I make for special girls. 

  This album, ‘Check Engine’, is the latest from SugarSpell and definitely his most polished and straight forward work. If I have any complait at all it’s that, even with such a heart felt performance, these are all just pop songs. That isn’t such a bad thing, but I know from previous releases, Jeffree can be more experimental and I would love to hear more of that. All in all this album is still amazing and I am proud to be friends with the man behind it. 

  If you’re interested in hearing more, or would like to buy some of this SugarSpell magic, check out his bandcamp site here: sugarspell.bandcamp.com

Song: ‘Sunday’