Brother’s Keeper

The Supernauts are young. In fact, the brothers Smith — Jason (guitar) and Jordan (bass and vocals) — are 22 and 18, respectively. But they rock like they’ve been playing since grade school. That’s because they have. Together with drummer John Whitaker and Tim Braun, the Smiths have been reintroducing Kansas City (and parts beyond) to the big-haired, big-guitar sounds of ’70s bands such as Led Zeppelin and T Rex; both of these influences are heaped under a slab of originality on their latest release, Medicine & Love. We caught up with Jason to harass him for playing in a band with his brother and for having big hair. He gave us the finger.

The Pitch: Do you feel self-conscious about having a lead singer who plays bass?

Jason Smith: I enjoy it. I think it’s great — it’s like the Police all over again.

How long have you been together?

My brother and I have been with the band nine years. He was 9 years old, and I was 13, and we were just totally in love with the Beatles, so we had a great foundation to start with. We learned, like, 110 Beatles songs that we could play verbatim. We learned the whole B-side of Abbey Road, which we perform now.

Did you play on miniature instruments?

No, we played with full-sized instruments.

Did your parents think you were cute or annoying?

Probably a little of both, but they heard something there because they let us practice in the living room.

What was the first song you performed for the adults?

It was an original called “Squirrel.” It was probably two minutes and 22 seconds long, and the only words were I don’t know where my squirrel’s gonna go. I think it was a hit. I think we should bring it back. It was kind of a Ramonesish-sounding thing. Is Ramonesish a word?

The big hair — is that part of getting away from the Beatles?

It’s just me. It wasn’t all planned, like, we’re going to grow our hair out and look like a bunch of heroin addicts, [or] we’re going to grow our hair out because everyone else has their hair cut short, [or] we want to do the exact opposite of what’s hot right now. If you’re going to be in a rock band, you’ve got to have your hair long. I’m sorry — except for our drummer, poor John [Whitaker]. Like ZZ Top — each of the guys has the beard, but the drummer doesn’t have the beard. That’s how it works.

What’s the strangest thing anyone has said to you after seeing one of your shows?

“That melted my face.” [After a recent gig at the Hurricane]

Was his face melted?

No, and that was what was weird about it.

What if his face really had been melted?

Yeah, I don’t know how he would have separated his lips to tell me that.

Speaking of brother bands, who do you think you could take in a fight: Nelson, the Gallagher brothers from Oasis or the Robinson brothers from the Black Crowes?

I’d like to fight the brothers from Hanson, because they wouldn’t pick a fight.

Think you could take ’em?

Yes, with a fine-executed plan. See, they’ve got long hair, but it’s not big. Then you’d chase them with a pair of scissors and a spork from Taco Bell. The spork is more creative, because with the scissors, you know what’s coming, but with the spork, it’s like, Is he going to scratch my face?

What’s your rock workout routine — what do you do physically before going onstage?

It’s kind of like hiding from people and humming. Just humming to yourself and not thinking about anything, then going out and playing. I’ll jog in one place for, like, a half-second, just to make sure my legs still work.

What’s the rocker’s most important body part?

Actually, I would have to say your middle finger.