SUITE 88

SUITE 88 is a North-American hard rock band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 2008. Its style is rooted in blues-based hard rock, but also incorporates elements of pop, heavy metal, and southern rock.
The band is most often compared to Aerosmith, Tesla, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, and Guns N’ Roses.
Lead singer Mike Gunns and drummer Jesse Clutch met in their hometown of Calgary, Alberta in 2002 while in junior high school. After performing in bands together and becoming good friends, they developed a vision of the ideal rock band they wanted to form, but struggled to find other members that fit until 2007, when Gunns moved to Arizona and found guitarist Kolton Lee. After hearing demos of Lee’s playing, Clutch was convinced and moved to Phoenix to form the band. In the meantime, they picked up guitarist/bassist Patrick Thompson to fill out the lineup. Clutch arrived in late 2007, and the band began jamming blues and classic rock covers, as well as reworking some old songs Clutch and Gunns had written.
The band played local shows during the first half of 2008 under the name Wanted, but took the summer off to record its first album together, consisting of ten songs. Only four songs were newly written for the album (Ten Shots, Ten Minutes; Soul Rider; Uptown; and Heartbreak City)—the rest were recycled songs from band members’ various catalogs, plus a cover of Bad Company’s “Can’t Get Enough.” During preproduction for the album, the band decided to part ways with Thompson, and completed the recording process as a trio.
By October of 2008, work on the album was complete, but the band decided to release the album and move forward under a new name in order to give itself a fresh start. Seeking a name that related to all members being born in 1988, many possibilities were tossed around using the number 8 or the number 88. It wasn’t until Gunns recalled the name of drummer Tommy Lee’s band before Mötley Crüe—Suite 19—that he proposed the name Suite 88.
The CD version of Suite 88 was officially released on November 1, 2008, available for purchase through the band’s website.
With a brand new album under its belt, Suite 88 planned to start performing again in early 2009—but before rehearsals could even begin, it once again needed a bassist. After a tedious hunt, the band met veteran bassist Max Wolf, and decided to bring him aboard.
In December of 2008, the band was contacted by MTV/VH1 cameraman Dana Pustetta, who had been passed along a copy of the album. Pustetta wanted to shoot a video for the song “Ten Shots, Ten Minutes,” and wanted to get to work immediately. At the time, Jesse Clutch was in Canada promoting the album, but abandoned plans and flew back to Phoenix for the shoot. At the time of production, the full band (including Wolf) had never before performed the song together. The video was shot primarily at the Buffalo Chip Saloon in Cave Creek, Arizona.
The band played its first show under the Suite 88 name on March 21, 2009 at Raptor Guitars’ 2nd Anniversary Bash, a festival-like all-day event. An All-Access Magazine review of that show called Suite 88 “A very solid unit that Arizona can expect to see a lot more of.”
“Ten Shots, Ten Minutes” was offered as the first radio single from the debut album, and played in April 2009 on CKJX (104.5FM “Rock 104”) in Olds, Alberta. After positive listener reaction, the song was put into regular rotation, and in early June the song entered the “Top Six at Six” on the station, peaking at #3 on June 2, 2009 behind bands Saving Abel and Cage the Elephant.
The digital version of Suite 88was released to iTunes and Amazon MP3 on June 16, 2009. On this version, the cover of Bad Company’s “Can’t Get Enough” is replaced with a cover of Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way”.
At the end of June 2009, the band once again replaced their bassist. This time, the band picked up young guitarist Vic Toon to fill the position of bass. The next few shows with Toon helped the band garner some local success, and Suite 88 began to develop a following in Phoenix.
The digital-only single Rock Star was released to iTunes and Amazon MP3 on September 6, 2009, and was premiered on radio that same day on 98 KUPD (97.9FM) in Phoenix. A music video for Rock Starwas released on October 30, 2009. The video features clips of the band’s live performances from shows at several Arizona venues.
In November 2009, the band was contacted by producers for a brand new NBC show—Parenthood. The first part of the song “Ten Shots, Ten Minutes” was used along with a small part of its music video in the first episode of the series, which premiered on March 2, 2010.
After several offers to tour had fallen through, the band agreed to set up its own tour for the summer of 2010. But after a December 2009 split with management, the band was forced to take the reins, planning and booking the entire summer tour on its own. With an ambitious tour itinerary in place, the band secured several sponsors to help manage the costs of such an enormous undertaking.
The band currently endorses products from Xcel Drumsticks, Anti-Celeb Clothing, Diril Cymbals, and Cave Creek Coffee Company.
The 2010 North American Tour was set to take the band all over the United States and a small part of Canada—over 10,000 miles of travel in all. However, the tour was cut short after eleven shows. The band completed the west coast portion of their tour, and then flew from Seattle to Calgary for their Canadian dates. After two incredibly successful shows in Calgary, the band was set to fly back into the United States to continue their tour when drummer Jesse Clutch was denied entry by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. After considering all feasible options, the band decided it best that the three members in the U.S. return to Arizona to work on their second full-length album.
On November 9, 2010, the music video for “Ten Shots, Ten Minutes” once again appeared on NBC’s Parenthood.
Jesse Clutch received a musician’s visa during December 2010, and rejoined the band in the U.S. to complete work on the album, titled Unsigned. The digital version of Unsignedwas released to iTunes on February 15, 2011.