Interview with Cotillon

Hey guys! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us! For those out there who who haven’t heard of Cotillon, describe your sound.

Jordan: We would like to think that our influences would help describe what we sound like. We have always listened to a lot of music. When we started this project we were pretty intrigued by everything that was the Modern Lovers. Jonathan Richman had the ability to really let people into his head, which was something we wanted to at least try to do. The only way I can really describe it is kind of just like we are making art influenced by sounds and styles that we are attracted to. Zach was always into weird abstract shit that sounded really cool but I didn’t really understand how to interpret it. I remember there was this improvisation in “I wanna move to paris” and it wasn’t in the key of the song, but it worked, and that was cool. I see our catalog constantly shifting genres and growing at a prolific rate.

Zach: Abstract being a relative term of course (laughs). No, Jordan and I always had similarly varied tastes in music and art yet both bring different sensibilities to the table which act as a sort of check and balance. He might come to the table with a strong melodic idea and then I challenge myself to build a song around it. Or I might come to the table with a crazy idea and he gets to play editor and hone it into something accessible. So what the listener is left with is something that we hope is at once familiar from the perspective of genre yet with our own twists thrown in to keep it interesting. We’re definitely part of a community of musicians with a musical identity but why sound like anyone else when you can sound like yourself you know? Wilde said it best; be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

When did you all decide to officially form the band and how did your name and sound come together to be what we hear now?

Jordan: My brother and I have been listening to music and sharing records for the last 15 years and always had a very similar taste. We both were always super busy with girlfriends and jobs and maybe jammed once every month for years. Slapping our first EP together felt pretty easy… since we always had a mutual respect for each others styles, we didn’t really disagree on many ideas. As far as the name ” Cotillon”…where we grew up all the kids were forced by their parents to go to “cotillion,” which was a school we attended once a week to learn manners. Since that lifestyle is a big joke to us now, we figured why not pay homage to something that taught us what we didn’t want for ourselves. 

Zach: Going to Cotillion was basically torture as a child. You had to put on a navy suit with gold buttons, whole nine yards. And the shoes! As a kid, penny loafers felt like wearing razor blades on your feet. Kind of ironic considering we’ve been known to wear them while we play. Then again, Jordan usually kicks his off about two songs in; guess some habits never die. Yea, over the years we have always had certain ideas and riffs that we would play around with. It wasnt until we both found ourselves at a similar crossroads in life when we said ‘lets just go for it’ and officially started something. I had always played in bands backing up all sorts of different writing styles and always wanted something to call my own. Mike (Medeiros) and I had played together in a couple projects and I always knew that he’d be my go-to drummer so I’m stoked to keep that thread going. That dudes crazy talented; he grew up the youngest of 6 traveling the country in a family band playing Portuguese ‘festa’ music so he can pretty much play any crazy idea we throw at him.

You released your White Roses EP on Bandcamp in June and it definitely sounds different than your 2012 release Votive Flower EP. It seems that you’ve grown and developed since then. What influences all the different songwriting, production styles, and instrumentation that change from album to album?

Jordan: We see a lot of LA bands very focused and precious about their projects and we just wanted to be anti that and do whatever we want. We both have very broad tastes. On any given drive my ipod will shuffle through the likes of Yves Montad, Arthur Russell, The Fall, and Pavement… I hear “Songs” that are interesting and abstract and think, ” we should do something like that .” Cotillon is really about “Songs.” each song kind of exists separate from the other.

Zach: Well put. See I think every song sounds like us but that we dont really sound like anybody else – which I think of as a good thing.

For our second EP, we worked with the same engineer – Mark Rains over at Station House – so the learning curve wasn’t as steep. With a better idea of what to expect going in, we were really able to come extra prepared and knew where we had room for improvement from a production standpoint. 

When our first EP came out, we had been a band for like maybe a month. By the time we were ready for our second one, we had been playing out constantly for like 6 months and knew a ton more musicians that we called on to add little touches here and there.

My favorite track off of the newest EP is ‘The Light.” What’s the story behind that one?  

Jordan: I was with a group of friends during the last weekend of august and we were all having an amazing time. Everyone was super bummed about summer coming to an end and trying to make the most of the last few days. There were drugs, girls, Jameson, and no one wanted the moment to pass. So the ” the light” is about trying to make that moment last forever. As far as the music, Zach just has this catalog of crazy, really ‘out there’ riffs that is never ending so we kind of just picked the darkest thrashiest one and made it the focal point of the song. 

Zach: (Laughs) Coming from Jordan, thrashy is the highest compliment! Jordan came to me with a great demo version of that song; musically, it’s very straight forward with an awesome lyrical premise, so I picked a nice glitchy “Marr” riff I’d been working on and contributed the bridge melody and it was done in like a day. Next!

I enjoy the video for your single “Talk To Her.” Describe what it was like shooting that and how did the idea for the video form?

Jordan: Zach and I lived together with our dad growing up and our dad hated going to the grocery store so he would send us and we would get pretty “out there,” and come home with some cheap dvd’s and every kind of Haribo candy on the shelf. Anyway, one of them was this movie Valley Girl. I remember reading the premise and being really attracted to it. Turned out to become my favorite movie. There was this 80’s post punk band playing in the bar in one of the scenes called The Plimsouls that I still look to for style tips, these dudes were so fucking ahead of the game it was crazy. Not even sure what happened to them or what they really achieved, We did find out that one of our friends dads was actually in the band though. So with all that said we wanted to try and recreate that movie. As far as making it we had this Director who kind of goes to every show in LA trying to make music videos for the bands playing but no one ever goes for it. We didn’t really know anyone else and needed a video so I low balled him and took a chance and feel like he did an excellent job. I actually made some really great friends that day that he casted that I still talk to regularly. 

Zach: I remember that “Shit dude, they have Valley Girl in the $5 bin…put it in the cart. Think I ditched class that day…just kidding, no, I was actually behind the camera directing the director.

Is there a new album currently in the works that we’ll get to hear before the year is over?

Yes. We are going into the studio in October to record a debut LP. We actually have one of our musical heroes producing it so we have been working really hard behind the scenes trying to be as prepared as possible. The process has been eating me alive, Zach keeps really busy and is much more stable than me though so I think he is doing alright with it. When we added Brett our new bass player to the mix he has been insanely helpful and has a lot of great ideas so we are really excited to see what happens.  

Zach: Brett’s a musical wizard…so its nice to finally have one in the band. All I can say is that this is going to be the next progression based on our first two EP’s and that the production is going to be taken to another level. We usually track everything live in about three takes so that raw element will still be there but our producer is really going to help edit and polish everything.

You’ve had a residency at The Echo this month, how have those shows been going?

Jordan: One thing I will say about Cotillon is that we have always taken pride in curating our own lineups. Since we are music fans first, we figure out who the best sounding bands are and then court them to play with us. We are three dates in and really happy with what we’ve heard support-wise. I’ve been sitting on the couches in the back watching everyone’s set in awe. So far I would say the best night was the second since we felt really comfortable, the venue was jammed, and the lineup was impressive. This dude Halfbluud played who is just on another level and really attacks a post – punk sound that I am infatuated with. They really have it. 

Zach: Halfbluud killed! No, literally, they have this awesome dark sound that’s edgy and hooky…definitely one of the better bands in town. All the bands have been really impressive and each night just keeps getting better than the last – I don’t want it to end! I’ve seen some of my most favorite shows at the echo and it seems every band I’m into starts out there when they play LA so it’s truly a dream come true to get to headline there. And the finale’s going to be downstairs at the Echoplex…shit, the Rolling Stones played there like two months ago!

Are there any venues in Los Angeles, or elsewhere, that you would really like to play?

Jordan: Ya, Hollywood Bowl would be nice. I’m pretty psych’d to play the Echoplex on Monday. 

Zach: The Bowl is by far the best venue in town, if not the world. From here, I think the next place to play is the Fonda Theatre.

What else do you have planned for the rest of the year? Any more shows or singles?

Jordan: After we record the LP we are going to do a full scale push with a big team behind it and see what happens.  

Zach: Lots of driving with the band, eating fast food, wearing the same clothes for a week, dumpster diving, and maybe the odd hotel room or shower.

Thanks again for chatting with GroundSounds! Where can fans go to keep updated on your next moves?

Jordan: We keep the facebook page updated. wwww.facebook.com/cotillonmusic