Biography
Based in New Castle, Delaware, USA
Members:
Phil Young - Guitars, Bass, Vocals
Mark Stallard - Guitars, Bass, Vocals
Pete Romano - Drums, Percussion
Website: www.thecocksonline.com
Isolation, hope, death, dreams, loss. These universal experiences are fundamental to the musical landscape explored by The Cocks. Part therapy session, part storytelling, each Cocks song is born from its writer’s own experiences even as it explores these common denominators of the human condition.
Using the lean, classic rock ‘n roll lineup of guitar, bass, and drums, the Cocks effortlessly embrace late-‘70s punk rock, early-‘80s Midwest garage rock, and ‘60s Brit-Pop while crushing on modern alt-rock. That means you’ll hear sonic echoes of The Clash and The Replacements mixed with the tunefulness of The Kinks and The Beatles, with nods to the edginess of Yo La Tengo, Spoon, and Built to Spill.
Those who’ve been around the Delaware/Philly music scene for any length of time know the guys in the band and their storied musical history. Former groups like The Rubber Uglies, The Knobs, Pigeonhole, Bos Taurus, and Suckee live on in many local music lovers’ memories (and on their iPods and turntables).
Longtime collaborators Mark Stallard and Phil Young started The Cocks in 2001 as a side project, a complement to their many other musical endeavors. Drummer Pete Romano joined in 2009. Their other musical obligations were one reason it took six years of off-and-on production for their debut CD, “Tuesday Morning Hangover,” to see the light of day (it was released in 2010).
But for their new EP “Shake Out the Ghosts,” The Cocks knocked out five songs in three days at Philadelphia’s Miner Street Recordings (Kurt Vile, Dr. Dog, The War On Drugs, Strand of Oaks, Sharon Van Etten, etc.), with nationally noted producer/engineer Brian McTear at the helm.
The past will always be an important part of The Cocks. Reflecting on the deaths of close friends and bandmates was central to “Tuesday Morning Hangover.” And loss and the march of time inform the songwriting on “Shake Out the Ghosts,” particularly on the mournful “Millville Cemetery.” But there’s joy too, as on the exuberant “Brand New” and “Millions (Of Dreams).” One listen and it’s clear that these longtime friends are celebrating another day, another chance to get together and make a tuneful racket.
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