"MKOTC" or Simply Just "The Cobras"
By: Lisa Booth
Previously featured in september 2010 punk globe,.
Their Facebook describes them as "It’s only Bad Ass Rock n Roll. You know you like it! Stand and face of the undeniable. The year of the Cobra is upon us. - There is no end.
The unusual sounds from The cobra family consists of many members such as: Baby Cobra, Lady Cobra, Crystal, Gyptron, Chinatown Meatloaf, Hotel Trell, Call Me Donny, Night Moves, Big Chief, Ghostown, College Prep, Call Me Donna, Lockdown, Cakes, Hot Lips, El Leche, Sexual, Alcatraz, Hey Puto, Cup Cake, Lu-Lu, Ki-Ki, Soda Pop, Hebrew National and Dirty Nasty the Filthy Gentleman, All Currently residing on The East Bay of California Also being good friends with Green Day, They firstly got known to me whilst Gigging with The "Foxboro Hot Tubs" - aka,"Green Day" (alongside other Green Day friends "Prima Donna") on a mini tour of small town clubs in the USA.
So of course with myself being a Green Day fan, reading All the new news about The Foxboro Hot Tubs & their mini Tour - it also invited us to learn about the likes of the other bands such as "Mystic Knights of the Cobra, & Prima Donna" & after listening to their album i was as you could say a Tad "mystified" by them, and have been intrigued by them for months!
They recently took some time out of their busy schedule to answer some questions, and tell me all about Their New exciting plans, along with past news, fan information, and how they dealt with their recent tragic loss of a band member of their cobra family. So, Here's what They Had to say!
Punk Globe: How long you have been together as a band and how many of you is there in the band?
MKOTC: We have been together as a band for Six years this fall, we have 23 active members of the live band, with 8 core band members that play every show.
Punk Globe: The Band Name, "Mystic Knight of the Cobra" is so legend - How did you come up with The name for the band ?
MKOTC: It was the lodge that Vinton Harper went to on Mamas Family.
Punk Globe: "I am so very sad and sorry to hear of your recent band member loss, and I present you my condolences. I would like to ask, however how has the band coped with this.. and how long has it been now.... would you like to share some great memories of him?
MKOTC: August 9th it will be a year. Paul and Lady's birthday. It has been the longest year of our life. Booze helps with pain, he truly was a genius, the worlds largest rampage.
Punk Globe: How many albums have you released so far as a band and will we have anything new to look forward to?
MKOTC: We have one full length album out now. "There is no End" which you can get here: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MysticKnightsoftheCobra . We are going back in the studio this summer to record the follow up, "Fade to Pink". Also a DVD and a b-side EP is planned.
Punk Globe: What record company are you currently with and have previously worked with?
MKOTC: We are on War-Tone but do everything ourselves. We are so indie it is stupid.
Punk Globe: What style of music would you describe the music you play- Funk punk? Party punk? Punk punk or just Rock n Roll?
MKOTC: Post-wave-Pop-Party-Adult-Punk, don't know where funk came from.
Punk Globe: Who is the main Song Writer/ Music Writer for the bands music and is there anything in particular that inspires you to get you in the mood for writing new material?
MKOTC: We buy our songs from the day laborers at Home Depot.
Punk Globe: Any future plans tours to look forward too?
MKOTC: Right now we are working on recording. We will be doing a national tour when the new album will be released.
Punk Globe: When is your next show so the readers can know where to come and see you play,?
MKOTC: Sep. 24th at the Uptown in Oakland Ca. ( http://www.uptownnightclub.com ) with the Fleshies. it is a Record Release Party for Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children Macnuggets. Tickets are on sale through Ticketweb or through the Uptown's site: http://www.ticketweb.com/
Punk Globe: Any Best Memories of shows you have done?
MKOTC: Our first show is still my favorite. The Hot Tub shows are always alot of fun. We just did a bunch of dates with Prima Donna. Best looking dudes in show biz.
Punk Globe: Your Friends with FBHT - How was your recent experience playing with the Foxboro Hot Tubs in NYC - the videos & pics look wild!!,
MKOTC: It was fucking wild. Lots, and lots of beer. Bill Murray, The Edge and Joan Jett. The kids in N.Y. were alot more responsive than we expected. Can't wait to do it again!
Punk Globe: I saw Them play as fbht in London, I was pulled on stage, it is Such a shame you weren't there too Id Love to have seen You guys play, as You played previously with Them in the USA, tell us about that?
MKOTC: I wish we were there. They did play "El Camino" at Wembley. Thats pretty cool.
Punk Globe: How did playing with them come about?
MKOTC: We are from the same magical town in California. It is a very small town. We have lots of friends in common. When the Tubs started their first tour, they were only doing dive bars. Which our magical town happened to have. We were booked for that night and they asked to join in on the fun. We payed them 40 bucks and 2 drink tickets per band member.
Punk Globe: Any future shows planned with them?
MKOTC: Not at the moment. We don't even know when they happen until a day or two in advance.
Punk Globe: The UK would love you, Do you have any plans to come play to the UK/Europe fans & give us some Mystic shows!?
MKOTC: YES!! we need to pay off our D.U.I.'s and get our passports in line. We will be there.
Punk Globe: Do you have Tattoos. & do you have a particular artist you like to use?
MKOTC: We all have ink of some sort. Our singer, Lady Cobra is an amazing tattoo artist, and does alot of our work.
Punk Globe: I love alot of Music/Bands from The East Bay area, Do you have Any good local bands to recommend?
MKOTC: We were brought up on Eastbay music. There are so many amazing acts. the funk-metal-emo crap doesn't sit well with Bay Area kids. London has the Clash, We have the rest.
Punk Globe: Which local bands are you friends with and like to play with?
MKOTC: We are very lucky and have made great friends with most of the bands we play with. The support system in the bay are is legendary.
Punk Globe: Which band would you most like to tour with?
MKOTC: Wu-tang Clan ain't nothin to fuck with
Punk Globe: Where can the Readers go on the Internet to find you and check out your tunes? Do you have a website for all your news?
MKOTC: The best place is on you tube. We also have a MySpace page:
www.myspace.com/mysticknightsofthecobra where people can check out some of our songs, videos, pics of the band, etc, You can also Add us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mystic-Knights-of-the-Cobra
Punk Globe: Anything to say to the Readers & Fans out there?
MKOTC: Thank you very much. Come to the live shows. We always try to throw a memorable party. We will be coming to your town soon, so have a drink or 2 with us. Cheers!
THANKYOU COBRAS For sparing me your time. and I cant wait to catch you in London Some day.
Friday 1 October 2010
Tiger Army
So - Who are Tiger Army?
With their last album - "Music From Regions Beyond" by Hellcat Records, which was released in 2007 has been mentioned by many as "The band's most distinguished work yet"!
I found the album a good mixture of music genre, and blends, fast, hard, raw, and even some rockabilly folk punk, its a mix of pure blending sounds for any ear, & the band are totally awesome,.
I was hooked by Tiger Army by listening to one song of theirs called "Atomic" which was off a compilation punk mix album, it then inspired me to look up their eps, The band, & history, which was fascinating,
This is where i found their last album "Music From Regions Beyond" with the
Title tracks:
1) Prelude: Signal Return
2) Hotprowl
3) Afterworld 4) Forever Fades Away
5) Ghosts of Memory
6) LunaTone
7) Pain
8) As the Cold Rain Falls
9) Hechizo de Amor
10) Spring Forward
11) Where the Moss Slowly Grows
Now, this major album gave the band some pure fan followers. When returning to the main stage at Warped Tour 2007 they burst the seams, which had created their popularity to expand their fan base worldwide, so in 2008, Tiger Army played a number of shows in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe
The depths and struggles this band has gone through today, gives them a strong wave of perseverance and confidence that would have destroyed most bands in todays day and age,
With Members shot, Many band member changes, and the stresses the history evolves in itself, having todays current members as: Nick 13 - lead vocals, lead guitar, songwriter from 1996 - present)
Geoff Kresge - stand-up bass, backing vocals joined the band in 1999 - 2004, and re joined in 2008 - present
James Meza - drums, percussion joined in 2004 - present)
In early 1996, they played their first show with longtime friends AFI, borrowing their drummer Adam Carson for their set, at the legendary 924 Gilman in Berkeley,CA where bands such as Green Day, AFI and Rancid got their start, following on with regular local shows, creating a huge fan base & following, they then went on to the studio in the summer of 1996 to record a self-titled vinyl EP, now referred to as the Temptation EP.
This caught the eye of Rancid's / Hellcat Records Tim Armstrong, who then contacted Nick 13 and asked him to record an album!
Tiger Army then recorded their first full length self-titled Tiger Army, in January 1999. The bassist Joel Day left Tiger Army before the band was signed, so the Quakes bassist Rob Peltier was hired to play on the album.
They then recorded a second album, Power of Moonlite in 2001. where London May left shortly after the recording, and was replaced with Fred Hell.
On March 10,2003, Fred Hell was shot four times, once in the head, by armed robbers A bullet became lodged in his brain, putting his life in pause mode, having to go through intense therapy before he could ever play drums again. whilst the band were in the processes of recording Ghost Tigers Rise
The record was repeatedly delayed to make time for Fred to recover enough to perform, but his injuries proved serious enough to regrettably not be able to carry on and in July 2004 he resigned his position from the band,. In regret in which this is what tempted the band to hire Mike Fasano, whom was a drum tech for both Rancid and Tiger Army, he was then invited to play on the album for its completion.
which followed onto more bad news for the band where in September 2004, Geoff Kresge quit the band to focus his efforts on his new record label, Dead Body Records He then joined his wife Kamilla Vanilla with Horrorpops as a guitarist a month later.
Nick 13 quickly announced a new line-up for Tiger Army, featuring drummer "Wasted" James Meza giving you todays band memebers Nick 13 Geoff Kresge, James Meza,
http://www.tigerarmy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tigerarmy
LISA BOOTH ~
With their last album - "Music From Regions Beyond" by Hellcat Records, which was released in 2007 has been mentioned by many as "The band's most distinguished work yet"!
I found the album a good mixture of music genre, and blends, fast, hard, raw, and even some rockabilly folk punk, its a mix of pure blending sounds for any ear, & the band are totally awesome,.
I was hooked by Tiger Army by listening to one song of theirs called "Atomic" which was off a compilation punk mix album, it then inspired me to look up their eps, The band, & history, which was fascinating,
This is where i found their last album "Music From Regions Beyond" with the
Title tracks:
1) Prelude: Signal Return
2) Hotprowl
3) Afterworld 4) Forever Fades Away
5) Ghosts of Memory
6) LunaTone
7) Pain
8) As the Cold Rain Falls
9) Hechizo de Amor
10) Spring Forward
11) Where the Moss Slowly Grows
Now, this major album gave the band some pure fan followers. When returning to the main stage at Warped Tour 2007 they burst the seams, which had created their popularity to expand their fan base worldwide, so in 2008, Tiger Army played a number of shows in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe
The depths and struggles this band has gone through today, gives them a strong wave of perseverance and confidence that would have destroyed most bands in todays day and age,
With Members shot, Many band member changes, and the stresses the history evolves in itself, having todays current members as: Nick 13 - lead vocals, lead guitar, songwriter from 1996 - present)
Geoff Kresge - stand-up bass, backing vocals joined the band in 1999 - 2004, and re joined in 2008 - present
James Meza - drums, percussion joined in 2004 - present)
In early 1996, they played their first show with longtime friends AFI, borrowing their drummer Adam Carson for their set, at the legendary 924 Gilman in Berkeley,CA where bands such as Green Day, AFI and Rancid got their start, following on with regular local shows, creating a huge fan base & following, they then went on to the studio in the summer of 1996 to record a self-titled vinyl EP, now referred to as the Temptation EP.
This caught the eye of Rancid's / Hellcat Records Tim Armstrong, who then contacted Nick 13 and asked him to record an album!
Tiger Army then recorded their first full length self-titled Tiger Army, in January 1999. The bassist Joel Day left Tiger Army before the band was signed, so the Quakes bassist Rob Peltier was hired to play on the album.
They then recorded a second album, Power of Moonlite in 2001. where London May left shortly after the recording, and was replaced with Fred Hell.
On March 10,2003, Fred Hell was shot four times, once in the head, by armed robbers A bullet became lodged in his brain, putting his life in pause mode, having to go through intense therapy before he could ever play drums again. whilst the band were in the processes of recording Ghost Tigers Rise
The record was repeatedly delayed to make time for Fred to recover enough to perform, but his injuries proved serious enough to regrettably not be able to carry on and in July 2004 he resigned his position from the band,. In regret in which this is what tempted the band to hire Mike Fasano, whom was a drum tech for both Rancid and Tiger Army, he was then invited to play on the album for its completion.
which followed onto more bad news for the band where in September 2004, Geoff Kresge quit the band to focus his efforts on his new record label, Dead Body Records He then joined his wife Kamilla Vanilla with Horrorpops as a guitarist a month later.
Nick 13 quickly announced a new line-up for Tiger Army, featuring drummer "Wasted" James Meza giving you todays band memebers Nick 13 Geoff Kresge, James Meza,
http://www.tigerarmy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tigerarmy
LISA BOOTH ~
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