Cop Problem is a great Hardcore band from Philadelphia. The play an awesome live set. They have only released some demo songs that are available on the internet, but they are working on a 7". They have stared the stage with some amazing bands and haved toured the southeast. I got the band to tell their story...
Introduce yourself…
Hello. My name is Josh Cohen and I play drums for Cop Problem. Donny does bass. Deb on vocals and lyrics. Randon on git and backing vocals/additional lyrics.
How did the band start?
Josh: I was itching to start a project like this in the summer of 2010 and a mutual friend and Philly artist (Kate Collins) introduced me to our guitarist Randon. I had been nagging her, saying “I really need to find a solid guitarist for a new project.” Randon and I had instant chemistry and shared enthusiasm. Vocals were originally split between Steve Hacket (Bible Thumper) and my sister Deb, our current singer. Deb and I have played in bands togther for 10+ years, so I knew she was itchin’ to do something new. By fall we landed Donny on Bass and the commute from North Jersey to Philly for practice was hard on Steve, so he dropped out amicably and Deb took over full time. Be sure to check out his band Bible Thumper, 2-piece d-beat and they shred hard.
Randon: Before meeting Josh, I had two complete songs, some riffs, and ideas that I was hoping to build a project with. I had “tried-out” these songs with a few different drummers, over the course of about a year, and none of them really fit musically with what I was trying to accomplish. In the meantime, I was going over riffs and song ideas with bassist, Klint, while waiting for the right people to come along and complete the band. Luckily, Josh and I were introduced, and hit it off immediately. Klint decided to further focus on his main project, Reign Supreme, so we took on his roommate, Donny (One Up, Quiet Arcs), on bass. Everything fell into place from there.
How did you come up with the name?
Josh: Steve Hackett came up with it. He always has a stockpile of awesome band names, and this one just fit.
Who would you say are your influences?
Josh: Musically, for me: His Hero is Gone, Look Back And Laugh, and all the off-shoots of those sounds.
Donny: The influences I draw from for Cop Problem are Left For Dead, Infest, Disfear and Chokehold.
Randon: Catharsis, Ekkaia, Requiem, Fall of Efrafa, Conflict, Pg. 99, and any band or person that had the courage to do, as well as say.
What is the punk scene like in Pennsylvania?
Josh: I can’t speak for all of Pennsylvania, but Philly shreds pretty hard. Tons of venues plus house shows are alive and well in even the most urban and congested areas, not something you see everywhere in the states. There are many different niches in the punk scene here, you can have fastcore, d-beat, hardcore, melodic- all-kinds of different punk shows going on on the same night. The craziest shows are when a promoter or band are able to bridge the divides and get everyone out to one show.
You released a demo, tell us about the demo...
Donny: Our demo tape has two songs on it. Those songs are Hope With Out Reasons and Answers To The Wrong Questions. The demo is available for free download on our music page at music.copproblem.com. We recently added a new song we just demoed to our music page called “Endless War,” which is also available for free download.
What else have you released?
Donny: As of right now we only have our demos available. We recently recorded with William Yip at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA for a 7”. We are working out the details to release the recording so that is in the works. Hopefully we will release that soon so everyone can hear it. I feel that this new recording is the strongest Cop Problem material we have to date.
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
Donny: A few bands that we have played shows with are Converge, Trap Them, Dropdead, Burning Love, Resistant Culture, Mother Of Mercy, Coke Bust, Freya, Surrender, Population Zero, Pink Coffins, Snake Road, Changes, We Were Skeletons, Black Kites, Less Life and Bible Thumper.
Have you toured?
Josh: Regionally. More states coming this fall/winter hopefully.
Randon: We’ve done a few weekends in the tristate area, but hope to plan an east coast tour soon.
Do you prefer small clubs or large venues?
Donny: I love and hate both equally. We play a lot of basement shows which are awesome because they are so intimate. In that setting you have a real connection with the audience who are watching your band. There is nothing more punk to me than a band going to their friends house and playing a show in their basement. The downside is usually a poor PA system and overhead pipes you hit your head on. On the other side of the coin when you play bigger venues there is plenty of room and a really nice PA. The downside is you lose the intimacy of a small house show and the connection you have with your audience.
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
Donny: Every member of Cop Problem has their favorite bands to play with. My personal favorites are Snake Road, Changes, Less Life, Black Kites and Bible Thumper just to name a few. Playing shows and hanging out with friends bands is one of my favorite parts of being in a band
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
Randon: Living rooms of our friends’ houses, and ABC No Rio.
What do you see is the future of Cop Problem?
Josh: Releases, shows, tours, fun, tofu, Randon’s farts, sleeping, not sleeping, reading, falafal, fresh veggies and the revolution.
How can people contact the band?
copproblem@gmail.com or copproblem.com for all links.
0 comments:
Post a Comment