Sweet Apple Has Pedigree

In some ways, Sweet Apple is just a good ’70s-style hard-rock band — the kind that puts naked girls on the CD cover but is clever enough to pose them in an homage to Roxy Music’s Country Life. It’s the kind of band that sings lines like, “I’m dying, so let’s fuck fuck fuck till we die.” But Sweet Apple is also a supergroup made up of alt-rock veterans J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr., Witch), John Petkovic (Cobra Verde, Guided by Voices, Death of Samantha), Tim Parnin (Cobra Verde), and Dave Sweetapple (Witch). Their pedigrees add something else to the experience of listening to Sweet Apple.

In fact, the backstory to this band is inspiring. A few years ago, guitarist-singer Petkovic was depressed over the death of his mother and decided he needed to get out of Cleveland. While driving aimlessly eastward, he received a call from his friend Sweetapple, who convinced him to drive straight to his house in Vermont. Sweetapple invited their mutual friend Mascis to come join them from his home in Massachusetts. Finding Petkovic in bad shape, Mascis convinced him that what he needed to pull himself together was a new band.

Petkovic decided to name the band after his friend. Mascis is most famous as a guitar hero in Dinosaur Jr., but he’s also a powerful drummer in the Black Sabbath–style band Witch. He decided to take a backseat in the new band, too, though you can hear his backing vocals and some of his guitar playing on the album. Petkovic pulled in Cobra Verde guitarist Parnin to complete the lineup. The result is testament to the healing powers of good old hard rock.

Dead Meadow and Makeup Sex also perform.

SWEET APPLE: The Casbah, Sunday, January 16, 8:30 p.m. 619-232-4355. $15.