Confusatron history infused with local roots

The band Confusatron, playing tomorrow at the Kave in Bucksport, might be the culmination of a long and, yes, confusing, run of bands in Bangor and Portland.

A brief history lesson: Spork, a Bangor hardcore band that broke up in the late ’90s, at one point featured all three members of what is now Confusatron – Adam Cogswell on drums, Doug Porter on guitar and Jason LaFrance on bass. Cogswell hails from Glenburn, Porter grew up in Veazie and LaFrance is from just over the border in St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

In addition to Spork, Cogswell and Porter formed the political punk band Frosted Porn Flakes. Both Spork and FPF played the first show ever at the Kave, back when it was the Cadillac Ranch.

Confusatron formed out of both these bands, when Cogswell and LaFrance started jamming in Cogswell’s apartment on Sanford Street in Bangor. Porter jumped in on the action, all three decided to move to Portland to take advantage of the bigger club scene, and voila – Confusatron.

Their debut album “Chewbaccalypse Now,” came out last year. Cogswell lists everything and everyone from Dick Dale to Nintendo video games, from Mr. Bungle to a hefty amount of Pabst Blue Ribbon, as influences on Confusatron.

“We all heard a band called Estradasphere, a multi-genre five piece that is based around jazz and Romanian Gypsy music,” Cogswell said. “Yet they play some of the most brutal death metal I’ve heard. They were what initially got us to start a band that reflected everything that we listened to. And we listened to a lot of different styles.”

Confusatron’s fourth member, a sequencer named “Mr. Tickles”, provides the bloops and bleeps that accompany the band’s live show. Mr. Tickles is hooked up to an old Nintendo controller that’s Velcro-ed to LaFrance’s bass, which he manipulates in the show.

“It’s not just there for looks,” Cogswell said. “We also have an old Power Pad and an Advantage to trigger samples as well on stage,” referring to the now ancient and kitschy Nintendo controllers.

Confusatron’s live experience isn’t like a typical punk or metal show, according to Cogswell.

“We’re definitely a ‘band’s band’,” he said. “You can’t really mosh or anything to us. We just get up there and do our thing. The crowd usually just sits there with their mouths open, trying not to miss anything, since we jump around musically all the time.”

Not only is Confusatron made up of parts of Spork and Frosted Porn Flakes, but also the opening bands for Saturday’s show are made up of parts of Confusatron. Covered in Bees has Porter on guitar, and the Hi-Fivin’ White Guys features Cogswell on drums. Confusatron does things a little differently, though.

“Our sets are usually two to three big songs,” said Cogswell. “We go from part of one song into part of another, into a Wham! song, into another song, and so on. If you know our songs, then it’s pretty interesting to watch on a different level. You never know what to expect during our sets. We never know either.”

Confusatron will play at the Kave in Bucksport on Saturday night with Covered in Bees, the Hi-Fivin’ White Guys, Stalk the Ground, Seal Man Investigation, the Second Ground and Samudra on Saturday, May 21. Doors open at 6 p.m. and there’s a $5 cover charge. More info on Confusatron can be found at www.pageofterror.com. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.