Born and raised in New Jersey, singer Scott Stoughton started his musical career as a percussionist. After relocating to Vail, CO, he joined a band called Short Term Memory. In no time at all, Short Term Memory was the toast of Vail. They sold out 700 and 800 person venues and were local celebrities. All the attention and popularity prompted them to move to Los Angeles where they were sure they would again quickly rise to the top. Unfortunately, it did not turn out the way they had planned.
'It was so discouraging,' Stoughton reflects. 'Within the first week my stereo was ripped out of my car, my tooth broke and I was sleeping with 5 people in one room. On the 4th week our bass player disappeared in the middle of the night - without saying goodbye - to this day we have never heard from him. After the 5th week the lead singer was packing his bags.' Times were rough and to support himself Scott got a job at a warehouse. 'It was in Compton and it was the size of 10 football fields. I spent every hellish day trying to locate tiny computer parts which were 'filed' in endless corridors, 20 or 30 feet in the air. I would spend hours up on high ladders searching, finally find the part and then spend the rest of the day walking back to the computer to enter the inventory number. I would go home every night with my take home pay of $4 an hour and scrape the coins out of the bottom of my pocket for food. I couldn't help but think, 'I am a sucker. I came here to make music and here I am, a sucker.'' And so, the name was born.
After toughing it out for 8 months, Scott picked up and moved back to Vail where he was again sitting in on great gigs with acts like Maceo Parker, HR from Bad Brains, and Galactic. Sucker's journey became serendipitous after that. They played it smart and took their time developing until the current band line-up clicked into place. Scott had known Dennis Valencia (drums) for years, and the two had often played together in the past. Dennis had a history of playing in hard core and punk cover bands in his native Southern California. When asked to play a benefit show, the two invited Rodney Coquia to sit in on guitar and the magic happened. Rodney hails from the San Diego area and had played in heavy metal bands, reggae bands, and jam bands. Sucker have now spent the last two years blowing up throughout the Rocky Mountain Region.
Through the hard times and sheer determination, sucker has become a highly polished non-stop vital force whose live show will win you over. The band is currently kicking ass all over Colorado where they sell out every show from Vail to Aspen to Crested Butte. Snowboarders, frat boys, and fly girls all agree: If you miss this band you will be the SUCKER.