Exclusive: Cowabunga! Interview

When I think of Cowabunga!, I think of the early days of the site, so it's always great to keep in touch with our roots. The band recently released their third EP, Swing For The Fences, and are currently on their supporting tour with Such Is Life. Check out our interview with the band's guitarist, Ian!

For the record, can you state your name and role in the band?

Ian: I'm Ian, I play guitar and babysit.

Let's start off with some background information - how did the band get started and how was the band name chosen?

Ian: Keven (our drummer) and I started the band in 2008 with him originally on guitar and another friend of ours on drums. I wrote He-Man Woman Haters and had him playing the second guitar part, but after jamming it out a little, decided drums were where he should be. I used to play in a band with Joe (our bassist) and we posted on Myspace that we needed members. Joe showed up with this dude Jordan and BOOM the band was formed. I got my roommate (Brian) to fill in for us on vocals at our first show. No lyrics, hearing the songs for the first time on the way to the show Brian nailed it and is still in the band haha. Our newest member, Jordan used to play with a band from our area, This Is Our Fight. We did a bunch of shows with them and knew we got a long. Jordan's working out awesome and adds a ton of good vibes to the band. As far as the name, Keven and I were talking and it just kinda happened. Apparently there is (was) a 3-guitar-Metalcore band from PA with the same name. They threatened to sue us over it, but I don't think it worked out for them haha.

So the band's new EP, Swing For The Fences, was recently released. What's the response been like to the new songs, so far?

Ian: The response for Swing For The Fences has been AWESOME!! We've definitely grown up a bit since our last release and I think this record shows it. Kids have been loving it online and we can't wait to get out and play these songs on the road!!

When exactly did you guys begin working on the EP? Were there any major differences in writing and recording the songs, compared to the previous EPs?

Ian: We started writing the EP over Winter break from school. It was a pretty interesting process. Keven was in Switzerland (or Sweden or something) for his study abroad so I'd write riffs and play them via Skype across the ocean haha. Once we hit the road in May, we wrote in the van and banged out ideas. We fine-tuned everything in June then hit the studio in July. I think the main difference in this EP is that the songs are more personal. A lot of stuff went down between this EP and Something Left To Prove and we wrote about it. We also lost Kody (our second guitarist) so I was responsible for both guitar parts on the record. We also got this one mastered by Paul Leavitt and couldn't be happier with the result. You guys also had the idea to feature fans' names on the artwork when a donation was made, which then also included a download for the remastered version of 2009's Summer EP. How did this all come about?

Ian: Featuring people's names was an idea we got from our buddy Dustin in With The Punches. Dustin needed a new guitar so he had people donate $15 and in return their name would be carved onto his new ax. The guitar looks incredible and the idea ruled. So this gave people an opportunity to be a part of the record and also helped us out a ton financially recording it. The remastered Summer EP was done by our friend Zach who just graduated music school. We never thought the band would have come this far, so when we recorded Summer EP, mastering wasn't even a thought. Zach did it for us so we thought this would be a cool way to get it out there.

Tell us about the EP itself and maybe explain the meaning behind some of the songs or what they mean to you.

Ian: The EP itself is kind of a funny story. We had the name Swing For The Fences on deck since Summer EP was recorded. We actually wanted to call Summer EP Swing For The Fences haha. But we'd been writing riffs and parts all year and kind of changing directions going back to the original style of our band and just came together really well for this record. The songs themselves have personal meanings (mostly to Brian since he writes the majority of the lyrics). Morven Park is one in particular I had a ton to do with. I dated a girl for 2+ years and she ended things on a pretty sour note. So I wrote a song about taking different roads home so I didn't have to see her house and get bummed out. Haha saying it like this sounds kind of dumb, but I think the song came out pretty good and got the meaning across.

The band has always maintained a very energetic Pop Punk sound, what would you say are your main musical influences?

Ian: Our musical influences are SUPER spread out. We all listen to literally everything. Joe, Keven and I get down to some Country, we all love Metal, Brian loves acoustic Pop. I think it's important to have all types of music influence you. We love Pop Punk (obviously) but it's not all we listen to. On the road, there's a lot of Taylor Swift and Limp Bizkit blasted. And Hatebreed. Lots of Hatebreed.

With new music out now, do you plan on hitting the road any time soon or even playing more local shows?

Ian: We're in the final stages of booking our Swing TOUR The Fences shows in November and December. 17 days of shows all over the east coast with our boys Such Is Life from Maryland. It's gonna be an absolute blast and we can't wait to see everyone! We'll have those dates posted soon.

Over the years, what've been your favourite aspects of being in a band? Looking back, what would you say have been the biggest highlights?

Ian: Playing music with my best friends is definitely the best part. We've been places for the first time and had tons of kids know our words. This band has been an absolute blast! There are some stressful parts, but once we're playing shows, it rules. I'd say the best show we ever had was last winter. We played at a venue called Alley Katz in Richmond. It was one of our first shows as a 4 piece after Kody left and kids went ape shit. People were stagediving everywhere, we heard their voices over the PA. it was legitimately awesome and I'm so glad to have been a part of it.

Thanks for doing this. Do you have any last words?

Ian: No problem man, we're stoked to be part of Easycore, you guys are doing awesome stuff for the genre. We wanna see all you guys at shows and rocking our merch everywhere!!!

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