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L e t’s Stay Together n 2 0 0 9 K am F ra n k lin d ru n k e n ly tu m b le d off a bicycle n e a r R ice U n iv e rs ity a n d s h a tte r e d h e r ankle. A fte r sh e got o u t o f surgery, h e r d o c to r p re s c rib e d th r e e m o n th s b e d re s t. I f t h a t w e n t w ell, sh e w a s told, sh e co u ld look fo rw ard to a t le a s t as m a n y m o n th s h o b b lin g a ro u n d in a n o rth o p e d ic b o o t. A t th e tim e, F ra n k lin w a s 22 y e a rs old, m ak in g a n a m e fo r h e rs e lf as one o f H o u sto n ’s m o s t v e rs a tile back u p sin g e rs—sh e sa n g sw am p -p o p w ith N ick G a ita n & th e U m b re lla M an, ex p lo red L a tin p u n k w ith L os S k arn ales, a n d ev en did a s t in t as a d u b ste p MC. W h e n sh e got h u rt, sh e bow ed o u t o f everything, f “I sto p p ed doing m u sic com pletely. I w e n t in to th is w e ird d ep ressio n ,” says F ranklin. She b e g a n fo c u s in g o n h e r d ay jo b a t a H o u s to n in v e s tm e n t b a n k , w h e re sh e ro s e fro m
r e c e p tio n is t to full-fledged g a s-a n d -p o w e r tra d e analyst. “I got it in m y h ead th a t b ecau se I c o u ld n ’t m ove o n stag e th e w ay I u s e d to, it w a s over fo r m e. I c o n v in ce d m y s e lf nobody w a n te d to see m e. I ju s t c u t everybody off. I got b itter.” f Two y e a rs a fte r th e accid en t, P a t Kelly, Los S k a rn a le s’ k eyboard player, called to say th a t h e an d a n o th e r b a n d m a te , b a s s is t A d am C a sta n e d a , w e re p u ttin g to g e th e r an a ll-s ta r te a m o f H o u s to n ’s b e s t ska, reggae, a n d du b m u sician s. F ra n k lin ’s a n k le h a d h e a le d b y th e n , b u t sh e lik ed h e r day job, an d she figured h e r ca re e r in m u sic w as b e h in d her. Still, re lu c ta n tly sh e agreed to go to a rehearsal. “In itia lly i t w a s going to be a w ed d in g b an d ,” sh e says. “A b u n c h o f sk a k id s w e k n ew w ere g etting m arried. I figured it w ould be a w eekend th in g fo r easy m oney w ith frien d s an d som e
H O W T H E S U F F E R S - A L L T E N O F T H E M -P R O V E D THE NAYSAYERS W RONG TO BECOME THE HOTTEST R&B BAND IN TEXAS. B Y A N D Y L A N G E R
m u s ic ia n s I ’d alw ays w a n te d to play w ith .” T h e t e n - p i e c e g ro u p c a m e u p w i t h a
n am e, th e Suffers, in s p ire d b y th e c la s sic J a m a ic a n film R ockers (th e m ovie’s m a in c h a ra c te r re fe rs to h im s e lf a t one p o in t as "a s u ffe re r”), a n d w o rk e d u p a s e t lis t t h a t in c lu d e d s k a a n d reggae c o v ers heav y on classic a c ts like th e Specials an d T oots and th e M aytals an d reggaefied ta k e s o n songs by th e lik es o f Bobby Brow n, D avid Bowie, an d Selena. “A t th e first reh earsal, I h a d a n a h a m om ent,” F ran k lin says. “I d id n ’t know it w a s going to b e a re a l b a n d , b u t I knew , in stan tly , th a t th is w as th e th in g t h a t w as m issin g in m y life. A nd I k n ew th a t ru n n in g aw ay fro m i t w as dum b. A nd all m y fault.”
T h a n k s la r g e ly to h e r en erg y , o n e gig tu r n e d in to m a n y gigs; suddenly, F ranklin, w ho h ad m ade h e r n a m e as ab ack u p singer, w a s f r o n t a n d c e n te r in a v e ry b u sy b an d . A nd before long, th e covers gave way to origi n a l m aterial, p a rtic u la rly a fte r early lineup c h a n g e s b ro u g h t d ru m m e r N ick Z a m o ra an d h is g u ita rist b ro th e r Alex in to th e fold, b o th ofw hom com posed tu n es th a t Franklin could s e t ly rics to. T h en , m o stly o u t o f fe a r th e y ’d fo rev er b e labeled a goofy ska band, F ran k lin p u sh e d fo r a h a rd left t u r n to w ard th e R & B -influenced m a te ria l th e Z am oras w e re w riting.
“W e w e re n ’t n e o -s o u l o r r e tro -s o u l—it w as th is w eird th in g in th e middle,” she says. “W e s ta r te d d e s c rib in g o u rse lv e s as G u lf C o a st soul.” F ra n k lin n o te s th e n a m e r e flects H ouston’s ethnic diversity—w hich th e
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Suffers’ m ak eu p m irro r s —an d th e gum bo o f m u sical in fluences th e y b ro u g h t to th e group, fro m L a tin p u n k to N ew O rlean s funk. T hey w e re n ’t th e first to la tc h o n to th e gen re label; a n o th e r T exan w ith a huge, sm oky voice, th e le g e n d a ry B a rb a ra L y nn, lo n g ago d u b b e d h e rs e lf th e “E m p re s s o f G u lf C o ast Soul.”
T he move paid off. L ast year, th e ban d played 155 show s, including gigs a t th e N ew p o rt Folk F e s tiv a l an d th e A u s tin C ity L im its M u s ic F e s tiv a l, a n d a p p e a r e d o n The L a te Show W ith David Letterm an. T h is year, Billboard n am ed th e group’s ju s t-o u t full-length debut, The Suffers, one o f th e te n m o s t a n tic ip a te d ro e k /a lte rn a tiv e alb u m s o f 2016, an d N PR ’s prestigious F ir s t L isten show case h o sted th e a lb u m ’s p re r e le a s e p re m ie re . “I t to o k m e a w hile to com e around to th e fact th a t no m a tte r w h a t you do to m y voice, n o m a tte r w h a t I ’m singing, I’m a soul singer,” F ran k lin says. “T he y ears I sp e n t ju m p in g b e tw e e n genres, try in g to p reten d I w asn ’t a soul singer, probably held m e b ack m o re th a n anything. T h e m o m e n t I sto p p e d tr y in g to be so m e th in g else, th in g s s ta rte d h a p p e n in g fo r m e a n d fo r all o f us.”
N o t m u c h h a p p e n e d q u ic k ly o r easily , though. T im e and tim e again, th e Suffers heard from bookers th a t th ere w as no way aten-piece b a n d co u ld a ffo rd to to u r—shave it dow n to five or six people, th e y w ere told, an d so m eth in g m ig h t happen. W orse, th e r e w a s body s h a m ing. “T hey’d say, ‘You’re n o t a tin y little thing,’ ” recalls F ranklin. “So now, fo r us, every day is a n ew v icto ry fo r th e b a n d th a t keeps gettin g to ld no. N o d o e s n ’t m e a n s h it to m e now. I t ju s t m e a n s I’m going to have to ask som ebody else. E very tim e som ebody told us w e couldn’t do som ething, it seem s to h a p p e n anyway.”
T h eb an d ’sin-the-face-of-impossible-odds su c c e ss is y e t a n o th e r in d ic a tio n t h a t w e ’re in th e m id s t o f a p e rp e tu a l R&B m o m e n t. A d e c a d e o r so a fte r S h a ro n J o n e s & th e D ap K ings’ an d A m y W in e h o u se ’s in itia l success, s e e m in g ly ev ery c ity h a s a t le a s t o n e b a n d th a t m erges soul, funk, an d tr a d itio n a l R&B. A u stin has T am eca Jones, th e N ightowls, and L a T a s h a L ee & th e B lack T ies. L.A. gave u s F itz a n d th e T a n tru m s . L a s t year, D e n v e r’s N ath an ie l R ateliff & th e N ight Sw eats p u t out “S.O.B,” an u n sto p p ab le radio hit. A nd m aybe you’ve h e a rd o f F o rt W o rth ’s L eon B ridges?
B ut though th e re ’s now an audience prim ed fo r so u l m u s ic a n d its v a ria n ts , th e g e n re ’s su ccess can also be a b u rd e n o n new com ers; so m a n y people are d o in g it th a t it’s to u g h to sta n d out. L uckily fo r th e Suffers, m o s t R&B revivalists do n ’t fe a tu re afo cal p o in t as co m m an d in g o r v e rsa tile as F ranklin. W atc h th e Suffers’ ap p e a ra n c e la s t y e a r o n N PR ’s T iny D esk c o n c e r t s e r ie s a n d y o u ’ll n o tic e t h a t sh e ’s c o n s ta n tly c irclin g th e m ike, n o t sin g
in g d ire c tly in to it, fo r fe a r o f b lo w in g i t out. Yet e v en w h e n s h e ’s cooing, as so u l sin g e rs s o m e tim e s do to b rin g it dow n a n o tch , sh e ’s no less authoritative. P a ir th a t pow erful voice w ith a reg io n ally d is tin c tiv e s tr a n d o f R&B th a t’s flavored w ith p in c h e s o f sk a a n d p u n k swagger and infused w ith heavy doses ofL atin m usic an d you’ve got a b a n d th a t fits p erfectly b e tw e e n th e gaps o f th e m o d e rn so u l revival.
E ven so, n o th in g b e a ts abigbreak. T h e Suf fe rs’ h a p p e n e d in la te 2014, w h e n th e y w ere o n e o f m o re t h a n 1,300 b a n d s play in g N ew York’s C M J M u s ic M a ra th o n . O n th e th i r d n ig h t o f th e festival, R o m an Palylyk, a m u sic booker fo r David L etterm an , random ly found h im se lf a t th e Texas T akeover show case and caught th e ta il en d o f a se t by a ban d h e ’d never h e a rd of. H e vow ed to se e th e S uffers ag ain a t a n o th e r sh o w case th e n e x t n ig h t a n d w as k n o c k e d o u t b y w h a t h e saw. F iv e m o n th s la te r th e Suffers m ad e th e i r telev isio n d e b u t in fro n t o f m o re th a n tw o m illio n view ers.
H ow h a rd w as it to convince h is b o sses to give a slo t to a n u n sig n ed b a n d w ith ju s t a few singles to its nam e? “Very hard,” Palylyk says. “B utw eknew K am coulddeliver.H erpresence o nstage, h e r cool, is th e stu ff yo u c a n ’t fake. A nd t h a t ’s th e s tu ff th a t w o rk s o n T V ”
T h e S uffers m a d e th e i r Late Show d e b u t la s t M arch, playing a song, “G wan,” th a t w as u n fa m ilia r to v irtu a lly every v iew er o u tsid e a h a n d fu l o f H o u sto n zip codes. M o st b a n d s h i t L e tt e r m a n ’s sta g e w ith a b ig r a d io h it, b u t fo r th e Suffers, p r e s e n c e a n d d y n am ics w ould have to tr u m p fam iliarity. A t th e s ta r t o f t h e i r p e rfo rm a n c e , th e c a m e ra lin g e re d o n th e th re e -p ie c e h o rn se c tio n b efo re fully c o m m ittin g to tr a c k in g F ra n k lin , w ho, t i p p in g h e r h a t to h e r h o m e sta te , w as w e a rin g cow boy b o o ts an d a w ild flo w e r-p rin t dress. O n th e v erses she p u rre d each suggestive line w ith a n accom panying sh im m y th a t s e n t h e r b ack an d fo rth across enough o f th e stage th a t th e m ove a lm o st a m o u n te d to a n o p tic a l il lu s io n —L e tte rm a n ’s fam o u sly sm all s e t felt im plausibly expansive, a n especially im p re s sive feat w h en you consider th a t F ran k lin w as s h a rin g it w ith n in e o th e r m u sician s. O n th e ch o ru se s sh e w a s o u trig h t ferocious b u t also playfully seductive. A nd th e n , j u s t a fte r th e halfw aypoint, Franklin, w ho had th e audience in th e p a lm o f h e r h an d , ced ed th e sp o tlig h t to p e rc u s sio n ist Jo s e “C hapy” Luna, w ho ra n aw ay w ith a n ear-2 5 -se c o n d conga solo (yet an o th er rem in d er th a t th is b an d is from Texas a n d t h a t m o re th a n h a lf o f its m e m b e rs are L atino). W h o s e ts aside 25 seconds, a te le v i s io n e te rn ity , fo r a p e rc u s s io n b re a k d o w n ? A pparently, th e Suffers.
W h e n th e so n g cam e to a c ra s h in g end, a clearly w ow ed L e tte rm a n jogged o v e rto e m b ra c e F ra n k lin a n d d eliv er h is v erd ict: “Oh,
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come on!” he said to th e cam era. “I’m tellin ’ you! Ifyou can’t do this, get out ofthe business! You know w h at I mean?!” T hen, arm slung around Franklin’s shoulder, he delivered a big, audible kiss to th e top o f h er head.
It w a s th e k ind o f break any unsigned band hopes for, and th e Suffers w ere ready for it. T hey knew th e only way they could capital ize on th a t m om ent was to to u r behind it, so a few m onths before th e show, they took aleap: every mem ber ofthe band quit his dayjob. By all accounts, th e m eeting to decide w hether to go all-in w asn’t easy.
"It was a tough talk,” says Castaneda, who w as w orking as a co n stru ctio n m anager for ExxonMobil’sgiantnewcampus in The Wood lands. “We’re adults, n o t kids. T here’s wives, children, and financial stability on th e line. And it was all te n or nothing. If nine said yes and one didn’t, we w eren’t going to do it.”
Some m em bers were m ore apprehensive th a n o th e rs—th e re w as some arguing—b u t ultim ately they all agreed and soon after em barked on th eir m arathon 2015 tour. Between gigs, they decided to finally release th e ir al bum, m o st o f w h ich th e y ’d reco rd ed a year earlier in A ustin. W hile th e buzz o f playing Letterman as an unsigned band led to some lab els sn iffin g around, th e offers w e re n ’t great, so th e band tu rn ed to self-funding th e album’s release via Kickstarter. Franklin sees th e band’s full ownership ofthe record as the c o n tin u atio n o f its all-for-one, one-for-all ethos. “That’s w hat the Superman represents,” she says. “Every night.”
The Superm an? I t’s w h at th e Suffers call their preshow ritual Every gig starts the same way: Standing in place, in stru m e n ts on and ready, each m em ber o f th e b an d counts off. Kelly is first: “One!”N iekZam ora always goes second. Afew moments later, w hen Lunayells, “Ten!” th e bandm ates raise th e ir arm s over th e ir heads, wave th e ir hands, an d let o u t a long shout. Sometimes, w hen they’re sardined on a small stage, it’s easy to h ear one another count. O ther tim es, like w hen they recently headlined a New Year’s Eve gig at H ouston’s House o f Blues, th e cu rtain opens to a wall of ch eers so th ic k th ey can ’t h ea r them selves count at all. If th e re’s ju s t a handful o f those kinds of nights in th e m onths ahead, Franklin says, she’ll be happy.
“W hatever we fought about before, w h at ever stress th ere is from being packed into a tin y van, once we sta rt yelling and th e hands are in the air, everything falls away,” she says. “W hen we Superman, it’s a rem in d er you’re not alone here—there’s nine other people th a t sh a re th e sam e dream , and som etim es th e same struggle. W hen we count it off, I feel like we’re going to win. I know we will.” -V
7 8 te x a s m o n t fily . c o m
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