Cog (band)
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| Cog | |
|---|---|
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| Country | Sydney, Australia |
| Years active | 1998 – present |
| Genres | Rock/progressive rock |
| Labels | Difrnt Music National Recorder |
| Members | Flynn Gower Lucius Borich Luke Gower |
Cog is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in 1998. They have a reputation as a strong live act [citation needed]and their debut album was nominated for Triple J's 2005 J Award. Their music draws influences from Tool[1], Isis[2], Nina Simone[3], Bob Marley[4], Leftfield[5] and Helmet[6].
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[edit] History
[edit] pre 1998
Flynn Gower and Lucius Borich (the son of renowned Australian blues guitarist Kevin Borich) were friends at their Bondi high school in the 1980s. Borich being a drummer, and Flynn being a guitarist, they would occasionally jam. As their school careers finished, Lucius formed the band Juice while Flynn formed the 5 piece metal band The Hanging Tree, popular in the Sydney live circuit.[citation needed] In 1995, after the release of Juice's debut album, Lucius left the band and joined The Hanging Tree. Shortly after the release of their debut, Lucius left the band and the country, travelling to the USA to follow a career of session drumming. There, Lucius did session drumming for a large range of genres, writing songs on his guitar all the while. Flynn, in Sydney, wanted to form a band and contacted Lucius, eventually resulting in the formation of Cog.
[edit] Formation, Early Releases (1998-2003)
Initially, the band was to form in the US, but Lucius chose to travel home. He'd find a disappointed Flynn, who had already sold all his gear in preparation for the move. The drum, bass and guitar parts for what would become the Just Visiting EPs were recorded shortly after, in 1998, with Lucius assuming bass duties. The vocals would be recorded two years later. To fill out the bass in live shows, Flynn recruited his brother Luke, formerly of the Sydney band "Tax". After they formed this legitimate lineup, they toured aggressively, clocking up thousands of kilometres of weekly driving between Sydney and Melbourne.
Their first residency, at the Forrest Inn Hotel in the Sydney suburbs, was without a vocalist. They encouraged people to send them demos for the vocal job, but the band were so unimpressed with the demos that Flynn trained his voice to fill the vacancy. Their breakthrough gig was a Wednesday headlining slot at Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills, where they packed out the club consistently for 4 months. They were recognised with a nomination for "best emerging live band in NSW" at the Australian Live Music awards. In November of 2000, they released a demo called the Pseudo EP. On it would be three songs that would be re-released as part of the Just Visiting Part One EP, and "Bondi RFHK," an alternate version of a fourth song to appear on the aforementioned EP. In 2001, the band signed with underground label Little Samurai Records and prepared to release the Just Visiting Part One and Just Visiting Part Two EPs.
The two EPs, despite the slight differences in style between them, were written and recorded at the same time. The band chose not to release the studio session as a full album so they would not lose their debut album virginity, and would get twice the publicity. They grabbed a breakthrough gig just before the release of Just Visiting Part One, supporting System of a Down at the Hordern Pavilion. Just Visiting Part One was released in February 2002 and was still consistently appearing in the ARIA Top 20 Heavy Rock/Metal singles/EPs chart over 2 years after its release. In July, the song "Bondi" was added to Andrew Haug's Triple J 3 Hours of Power Compilation.
Just Visiting Part Two was released in October that same year and was also still appearing in the ARIA Top 20 Heavy Rock/Metal singles/EPs charts after two years. That year, Cog also won "best emerging live band in NSW" at the Australian Live Music Awards. After an extensive tour supporting the two EPs, including a slot at the Big Day Out in 2003, Cog recorded a cover of the Public Image Ltd song "Open Up," which had been a live favourite for the past year.
Recorded at a studio in Winston Hills, the single contains a 4 minute version of "Open Up" and a 2 and a half minute epilogue to the song, "Open Up (A Little More)." Additionally, it features full length versions of "Paris, Texas" and "Moshiach" from the Just Visiting EPs and a remix of "Open Up" by Sydney's DJ Silk. "Open Up", as played live, could range from the concise 4 minute version to a 10- to 15-minute, sprawling, dub jam.
Shortly afterwards, Cog continued to write and demo for their debut album.
[edit] The New Normal (2004-2006)
While the vast majority of the material for The New Normal had already been demoed by late 2003, with some songs first performed live as far back as May 2002, Cog did not have the kind of financial backing needed to record their album as they desired. However, after months of limbo, Cog were signed by Aloha Management (Shihad, Killing Heidi) and subsequently, former Universal Music Australia head Paul Krige's label Difrnt Music.
During the later months of 2004, Cog recorded their debut album, The New Normal, in the small logging town of Weed, California with producer Sylvia Massy (System of a Down and Tool). Shortly afterwards, the band performed a short tour of the east coast and played at the inaugural Pyramid Rock Festival. The album was released in Australia in April 2005, to a debut of #19 in the ARIA Charts, and a #1 debut in the Australian Independent Recordings (AIR) album charts. The New Normal was one of the nominees for the 2005 Triple J J Award.
In support of the album, the band headlined a full Australian tour in April and May with supports from Karnivool and In the Grey. During July they supported Shihad on a tour of New Zealand. They also toured Australia with Shihad in August and September. During October they toured the country with supports from The Fumes, Grand Fatal and Jakob. They finished of the year with appearances at Homebake, the Pyramid Rock Festival and the Big Day Out. Cog supported Australian rock group Grinspoon at the Adelaide race event Clipsal 500 on March 23rd and appeared at the Rock-it Festival in Perth on March 19th with Silverchair, Grinspoon, and Shihad amongst others. During March and April, the band toured the country in support of the final radio single from The New Normal, Resonate.
[edit] Present
According to articles, the band, from June[7] onwards, planned to spend a portion of the year in USA, promoting a release of The New Normal there, through extensive touring. However, this release was pushed back to 2007. The New Normal will be released by Sylvia Massy Shivy's label National Recorder. The band plans to record the follow up to The New Normal, again, with Sylvia Massy Shivy in November, following the Detour tour in October.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- The New Normal (2005) Australia - #19
[edit] Singles and EPs
- Run (2005)
- Open Up (2003)
- Just Visiting Part Two (2002)
- Just Visiting Part One (2002)
- Pseudo EP (2000)
[edit] Videography
- Run (2005)
- My Enemy (2005)
- Open Up (2003)
- Paris, Texas (2002)
