Bands with an ‘80’s sound are hard to come by nowadays. In fact, if you want to hear any music from that genre, you’d have to pop in an old Tesla or LA Guns CD. Thankfully, those who still crave solid guitar riffs with finesse driven solos have an option with the band Cockpit. The all girl metal band brings an updated “hair band” experience with its new album “Mission to Rock.”
Cockpit’s Linda Lou recently checked in to talk about the band’s history, sound and what it’s like to be a female rocker.
Q – Linda, thanks for doing this.
A - You are so very welcome.
Q – Give me the breakdown on how the four of you met?
A - Rachael (Rine) and I met at a party in Hollywood about seven years ago. She was trying to put a band together and I was about to move out to LA in hopes of doing the same thing. I wound up living on her couch for about a month while we started writing songs. We found Terrii (Kiing) through a Craigslist ad that read, "We love Judas Priest, and so should you!" We had a number of lead guitarists during the first few years until Rachael found Alicia (Blu) while snooping MySpace for female guitar players.
Q – What year did the band form?
A - 2003ish. I'm terrible with dates.
Q – Cockpit is an all female metal band. Was it your goal in mind to have an all female band or was this how it turned out?
A - We really wanted the band to be all female. It just seemed like a cool idea.
Q – How did the name Cockpit come about?
A – Taime (Downe) from Faster Pussycat came up with the name. We all pretty much loved it.
Q – I noticed that a lot of the band’s influences are from the ‘80’s hair band era. In fact, Cockpit’s sound is reminiscent of an ‘80’s metal band. Why did this era have so much of an effect on the band?
A - Because it rocks!
Q – I thought I read somewhere that you were only 26 years old, which would put you actually growing up in the ‘90’s era. How did bands like Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses come into your life and why aren’t Nirvana and Alice in Chains influences to you?
A - I'm a couple years older than that, but yeah, I grew up in the '90s era of music, and to be honest, it didn't do too much for me. I liked Stone Temple Pilots a lot. I think I listened to Core about a million times when it came out. But for the most part I spent my teen years listening to the '80s rock that my older brother and sister exposed me to as a kid.
Q – Do you think women rockers get the same respect as men in the business?
A - Not at first. Definitely not. But after people see us play, that changes very quickly.
Q – I’ve heard a couple of the band’s songs and really like the sound. Being essentially a newer band, how much time is allocated to work than play? Is there a strict work schedule that the four of you abide by?
A - Nope. We pretty much just cram as much in as we can.
Q – I recently saw Tesla, Lita Ford and Queensryche live. It seems like a slew of ‘80’s bands are emerging as headlining acts again. Do you think with Cockpit’s sound that this is the right time for the four of you to make a splash?
A - I don't think it ever really went away. Those are all great bands with great songs. It's always time for people to hear that combination.
Q – Cockpit has a new EP coming out titled, “Mission to Rock.” Why an EP and not a full length album?
A - We released "Mission to Rock" completely on our own. It's just what we had the means to accomplish at that time. We're definitely working toward a full length release soon though.
Q – What are your favorite tracks on the EP?
A - Um. I'd have to say ALL OF THEM! Seriously, I love every song on the EP. That's why we chose those five out of everything we had at the time.
Q – What message does Cockpit want to convey to fans that are just discovering the band?
A - There are still bands out there that are writing songs with good melodies, cool guitar riffs, a chorus you can sing along to, and of course, guitar solos.
Q – OK, here’s the hard one. Sell me on why I should follow Cockpit’s career and not just think that you’re just another female band out there.
A - Because I've yet to see one that kills it like us. If I do say so myself.
Q - Anything you wanted to add?
A - Yes. Thank you for taking the time to check us out.
BYLINE:
Jason Tanamor is the Editor of Zoiks! Online. He is also the author of the novels, "Hello Lesbian!" and "Anonymous." Email Jason at jason@zoiksonline.com.
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