Out alternative-rock icon, author, DJ and songwriter Bob Mould is celebrating the old and the new this fall, performing his classic Sugar album “Copper Blue” on tour to mark its 20th anniversary, and releasing his blistering new album, “Silver Age. ”
“I’m real happy with the record and it’s a really nice complement to ‘Copper Blue,’ start to finish,” Mould said. “It’s made for fun shows so far. We just got back from Europe. We had a great run of festivals over there. We’ve been starting the show playing ‘Copper Blue,’ start to finish. Then we have a number of things we can do after that. We’re excited about ‘Silver Age,’ so we usually concentrate on that. I have a pretty deep songbook to round it out, so the shows have been really fun.”
Mould said it had been a while since he listened to “Copper Blue” in its entirety and there’s at least one song on the album that was never played live until recently. He said listening to the album again brought him back to the transitional time in his career between the end of highly influential band Hüsker Dü and the launch of Sugar.
“I got reacquainted with the Sugar catalog as we were remastering the original versions to get them up to speed for the reissues,” he said. “That was fun. Those are some really good records, ‘Copper Blue’ especially. It reminded me of where I was when I was writing those records and the stories behind the songs. 1991 and 1992 were fun years for me, ’91 especially because it was one of those start-over-again years for me. I was doing a lot of solo acoustic and electric touring and trying out new songs. It led to 1992, which was the recording and releasing of ‘Copper Blue’ and all the Sugar recording and activities.”
The debut of Sugar came at a time when alternative rock was taking over the mainstream and many musicians were waving the banner of Mould’s influence and sound. Twenty years later, things have come full circle with today’s most successful rock artists singing his praises and Mould releasing a muscular new rock record.
“It’s really strange,” Mould said of the acclaim from his peers. “Things come and go in cycles and double back on themselves. It’s really nice to put ‘Copper Blue’ back out there. There are new people finding it. The old fans are enjoying it again. It’s one of those records that held up really well and remains very current. I think other people mentioning my work — like Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters, he’s been kind in his words toward me — helped remind people about the work. It’s funny how it’s come all around again.”
“Silver Age” hits the stores Sept. 4. Bob Mould performs 9 p.m. Sept. 11 at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St. For more information or tickets, call 215-232-2100.