Atlanta Trio Subsonics Receive Recognition with Tribute Album from International Artists

The Subsonics are an Atlanta trio long known and loved for their “gutter glam” rock-and-roll style and stripped-down songs, often only one or two punchy and provocative minutes long. They’ve achieved international recognition and cult acclaim over their thirty-year career. Now, Brazilian label Mandinga Records has released the second iteration of a compilation of Subsonics covers, recorded by artists worldwide, called “You Didn’t Think We Could Take It Vol. 2.” “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes was joined by the Subsonics members Clay Reed, Buffi Aguero, and Rob Delbueno via Zoom to talk about their wild journey.

Asked about the secret to their longevity, the band responded with their characteristic enigmatic, winking rhetoric. “Disturbance, I guess?” offered Reed. “We’re all getting deafer, so we can’t fight as much,” said Aguero. But she quickly followed up, “Well, and we love what we do, and we love each other. That’s a big part of it.”

Reed described the humble origins of the Subsonics, meeting for the first time in the most rock-and-roll of sites, a dentist’s office. “The story is, I had broken a tooth on a microphone because I have all these little things I do, you know? And some of them involve breaking teeth on microphones. I was at the waiting room at the dentist’s office. Buffi was in the waiting room to get her teeth cleaned. As you do, you’re bored, and you strike up a conversation. One thing leads to another,” said Reed. “Buffy had, I guess, ‘quote-unquote an audition, sort of like a job interview, I guess and got the job. And it was April 1st we initially had the job interview; May 1st was our first show.”