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In Music

By Bobby Tanzilo Managing Editor Photography by Ted Koszuta E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Bobby Tanzilo

Published Oct. 10, 2007 at 5:05 a.m.

Tags: cocksmiths, paris ortiz, trouble pill, area mofo, bbc, backes, matty gonzales, moloko shivers, jeff hamilton, fiorentini, schoepke, trevor sadler

Milwaukee rockers The Cocksmiths have been making a very big noise on the local scene for years now. When the band's then-unreleased "Area Mofo" kicked in on the second OnMilwaukee.com music sampler last year, that fact became clearer than ever. Make no mistake, The Cocksmiths know the value of aural assault.

But as the quintet prepares to unveil a new CD, "Trouble Pill," and two new members Saturday, Oct. 13 at the BBC, it's also clear that this is a hard rock band to be reckoned with.

Guitarist Paris Ortiz calls The Cocksmiths' music "whiskey rock" and that's as good a description as any. A wall of grinding guitars churns over a thundering bed of drums and bass as the vocals of Ryan Daniels and Matty Gonzalez wail confidently above it all.

"It's not metal but it is heavy in an AC/DC kind of way," says Ortiz. "I am extremely proud of it and I feel we produced a great rock album."

Ortiz says The Cocksmiths recorded the 13 tracks live in the studio -- Guy Fiorentini's place in Cudahy -- over the course of two days with veteran local producer and musician Jeff Hamilton.

"(It's) very old school," Ortiz enthuse, "just like the albums we grew up on. Jeff really raised the level of his game. He did a wonderful job and should be acknowledged for his role as producer. Trevor Sadler and Jeff mastered it and we couldn't be more pleased at the sound quality. It even rocks at a low volume."

Ortiz says that even after some time away from the disc, he's extremely proud of "Trouble Pill."

"I didn't listen to it all summer until Jeff Hamilton came back from the working with the Violent Femmes -- he is their touring bassist. I wanted fresh ears on it when he got back. This CD is probably the best thing I have ever been a part of."

When the band takes the stage at the BBC, it will look a little different. Drummer Dave Schoepke, who has played with The Probers, Willy Porter and Moloko Shivers, and bassist Joey Carini replace Bill Backes and Jeff O'Connor, who played on the CD.

"They bring a level of professionalism that's rare to come," says Ortiz.

"They seemed to be joined at the hip. Matty, Ryan and I have three years under our belts together but because Joey and Dave have been playing together for so many years there was no learning curve or any time wasted trying to get the rhythm section to gel. (They) came in ready and so locked in you would think they were in the band from day one."

7 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by ctm on Oct. 19, 2007 at 11:12 a.m. (report)

applefreak- you can buy their cd at Rush-Mor Records at 2635 S. Kinnickinnic in Bayview or you can download it on digstation.com. I went to the CD release party and got a copy of the album and it's awesome.

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Posted by applefreak on Oct. 18, 2007 at 3:24 p.m. (report)

heard them on 1021 the other week...sounded good, been looking to buy their cd since i heard them

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Posted by sandstorm on Oct. 12, 2007 at 4:41 p.m. (report)

seriously iron man? you're calling someone out because their definition of the word "recent" is slightly different than yours? not everybody is going to like this band. i bet the band is well aware that they are not going to please everybody. i would bet the band doesn't even aim to please everybody. fer chrissakes, the guy even had a disclaimer at the beginning of the post admitting music is subjective. get over it.

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Posted by freshie on Oct. 12, 2007 at 4:26 p.m. (report)

I've seen the Cocksmiths countless times. I was at their very first show and plan to be at many more. I am anticipating hearing the new album live (I've had a sneak peak of some tracks) because this band has changed their sound so much, yet still maintained their purpose-give the crowd great rock. Sure, their early stuff was more bluesy, had a lot of "sing along-ability" in some of their more comedic songs (can't insert explicatives here). Their more recent work has a harder edge to it, but they still put on a great show. As a loyal listener, sure, I don't really like some of their more recent harder songs I've heard, but that has nothing to do with the band, it's just not the type of music I listen to on a regular basis. If you haven't heard the Cocksmiths, go check them out the next chance you get. Give them more than just a few songs' worth of your time. You can't pass judgement on a band based on 3 songs. If you're into hippie jam type music, you probably won't like them. If you're into rock with a hard edge, you'll probably like them. Don't listen to what anyone says, make your own choice. Me, I like them.

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Posted by rnzh102 on Oct. 12, 2007 at 3:32 p.m. (report)

I have to agree with IronMan. Z Boy, you must be thinking of another band or have some type of personal problem with this band. They bring a lot on energy to the table everytime they play, write all their own music and have a sound that is very hard to perfect with three different guitar players. I have never been to a show where anyone paid and walked out unhappy. They are loud, but as long as the venue is good, the volume follows suit. Keep up the good work guys....

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