INTERVIEW: Cog
- Posted on July 1, 2008 3:14 PM
- 0 comments
Interview by Katie Spain
If there's one band you need to experience this week, it's Cog. Pure, slap in the face Rock from Australia has never sounded so good. The band support New Zealand power-house Shihad at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and there won't be a dry pit in the venue. It's sweat inducing stuff.
We didn't quite get hot and flustered with Cog's bassist Luke Gower, but we did grab him for a quick chat between gigs in Queensland, Australia. As his voice hit the London phone line, we discovered a man passionate about Cog, their music and spreading their second album around the world. A more humble, easygoing chap you'd be pushed to find. Get Luke, his brother Flynn and Lucius Borich on stage however, and they'll rip the eardrums from your head. We can't wait... bring on the aural abuse.
Set the scene for me... where are you right now?
I’m actually in Rockhampton about to play a show in a ballroom. It’s pretty ‘out there’ isn’t it. It’s up in north Queensland. It just so happens to be the place that you play at up here.
That will go down as one of those special gigs for you then.
Yeah, well, I left my hat here last time. As we were sound checking, someone came out with it on. He saved it for me. They treat the bands really well up here.
You are touring now aren’t you?
It has been a long time coming for us, trying to get over to Europe and the UK. It will be right off the back end of our tour which is coming to an end this week. We’re looking forward to coming on the road over there.
Is it your first time in London?
It is yeah. It should be good.
Is there anything that you want to particularly do while you are here? Cog could play for the Queen.
Yeah, well we only have a couple of days off while we are they so anything really, I just want to take it in.
I see that you played in my home town in Adelaide last week. Was it a good gig?
Yeah, it was. We actually played two nights there. It went down a treat mate, so that was cool.
I chatted to John from Shihad yesterday and he had so many good things to say about you guys. Are you pretty good mates now?
Yeah, they have been a band that I have looked up to for years now. They are one of my favourite bands in Australia… or in the world actually. We get a long really well. It’s going to be awesome.
He was telling me that his mum is a bit of a dude. Apparently she has a Shihad tattoo on his arm. Are your folk’s big fans of the music?
Yeah, my dad used to come to a lot of shows back in the day. He would just stand in front of the speakers with his beer in the air and get right in there. In a way I suppose we are kind of living out his dream. They are definitely proud. They used to take out all of the clippings and stuff. It would be like; ‘mum’s got the scrap book out now…’
Did you ever imagine that you could make a living out of it?
Yeah, there is not a day when I don’t wake up and feel thankful that we are where we are at the moment. Everything else is a bonus. It is a slow and steady progress for us. It’s great. It’s awesome you know, to be able to play the music, hopefully for the rest of my life. It’s great, it’s unbelievable. There are a lot of bands out there that never get to that stage. I feel very lucky and very fortunate that we still have fans that keep on coming back to the shows.
I have been listening to Bird of a Feather all morning. I heard that there was difficulty and conflict over the sharing space.
Yeah there was. I think that it ended up longer than we thought it was going to be. During that time, there was a whole load of other things going on. Out of the hardships of going through that and some of the personal things that was going on, being away from our families and what not, the positive that came out of it was what we ended up with. I don’t think that the album would sound like it does if we hadn’t have been through that stuff. I like to think that a positive can always come out of a negative situation. I am really proud of the album.
Have you decided on the set list for your Shepherds Bush gig?
No, not yet. We will know when we get up there I’m sure. I don’t know how long we are playing for, maybe an hour and a half? I don’t think we will play for that long in London though. Whatever it is though, I am sure that we will try and make the most of it.
You have got plenty of time on the plane to think about it though.
Yeah, well, I’ll be doing my leg stretches.
I went to Download this year. In your opinion, what is the best bass line in history?
That is a hard question. There will be so many from the Funk era. Another One Bites The Dust is so simple but everyone knows it. No-one will ever forget it. Rage Against The Machine… it is too hard a question for me.
What bands out there at the moment make your heart skip a beat?
Well, at the moment, I think it would be a band from New Zealand called Jacob. They are a three piece instrumental band. I really love it. It is music that speaks for itself and doesn’t need vocals. This is a breath of fresh air. A lot of the time, bands sound the same. It is refreshing when guys get up there and just fucking play their instruments and don’t even have to sing.
What is the most memorable gig that you have ever been to as an audience member?
Um… what would that be? Probably Rage Against The Machine. I got knocked out cold, and then I got dragged out of the gig, and then woke up, and got straight back in there. That was a long time ago though.
Catch Cog's UK gigs:
5 Jul 2008 - Shepherds Bush London
6 Jul 2008 - Guildfest, Surrey
Related links:
Cog on MySpace
Cog's official site.
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