Tell us about the origins of the band?
BEN: The band started officially I suppose as myself and Tom who were
playing in a hardcore band which is a style of music we both love to
play but it is hard as fuck to get gigs. We both love old ska and
reggae so we thought we'd give it a try. We found a bass player online
and set about learning some Toots and Desmond Dekker covers.
TOM: We didn't really have any plans to write our own music when we
started. Just to do a few covers and have a bit of fun. When we started
we were trying to duplicate the vocal group style of the Maytals and
Desmond Dekker and the Aces. We got a trombone player (Nico) and a
saxophone player but it never worked so we searched about a bit for a
trumpet player instead.
SUZY: I'd put an ad on a musician web site and forgotten about it. Then
two years later I got an email out of the blue asking if I was still
looking for a band - obviously I was as ska bands are pretty hard to
find! A couple of years down the line and Nico (trombone) left due to
work relocation and then Kev (bass) left due to personal reasons, so we
found a second guitarist in the form of Sam who's been a friend of Ben
and Tom's for years.. and Toop (bass) via the trusty Internet. The band's very
different now to what it was initially.
You’ve supported The Beat, what other bands would you love to gig with?
BEN: Friendly ones
TOM: It's nice to hear bands that are new to us. To hear something fresh is always nice, particularly if it's a little bit different.
SUZY: The Skints would be absolutely amazing. We love those guys. Maybe more with Random Hand and Stand Out Riot too!
SAM: Slayer, because they rock my world and I want to be just like Kerry King when I grow up.
TOOP: Reel Big Fish and The Skints because they're ace.
What’s York like for gigs, does it have a little scene?
BEN: York's been pretty good to us. It does have a scene and however
small it maybe it's not short of good bands, generous promoters and
friendly people who just wanna have a good time and watch some live
music. It seems like there's getting to be fewer venues in the North so
for a relatively small city it's really cool.
SUZY: Yeah to be honest I've been pleasantly surprised by how well our band has been received in York. I suppose I had this preconception that the scene here was all about metal or indie as those two genres definitely get the greatest number of sold out gigs in the city. But nights like 'Bangarang' and bands like The Beat coming to York has shown that there are ska fans in York - they're just not as easy to reach at times. The thing about it being a 'little scene' is often the same people come to our gigs which is cool as you get to know the fans better.
It’s all very well being the local ska band, but do you have a plan of
attack for breaking out of York and playing other cities?
SUZY: We have actually played a few gigs outside York already - Leeds
Pie Race II, Galtres Festival, a couple in Sheffield, a gig in
Doncaster. We do want to get out of Yorkshire and play a bit further
afield but at the moment it's not easy due to work and general life
happenings. We're currently having a break from gigs to do some
recording and writing, and then hoping to play some more gigs come
March/April next year. We're also very open to offers to play festivals
over the summer...
Tell us about your two EPs, do they have their own distinctive
individual musical flavour; are they two sides of the same Copasetics
coin?
BEN: We wrote the first EP when we hadn't been together very long and
we didn't have out hearts set on a specific sound. It was a new band to
all of us and we were still experimenting there's some good tunes on
there but it was a little more rushed than I'd like. The second EP is,
I think, a little more thoughtful and definately darker which always
appeals to me.. hehe!
TOM: Our set up was a little bit different for the two. When we recorded
"Copasetics" we had a two person brass section so there was always the
conscious effort that brass had to be included in each song. Nico had
already left by the time we recorded "The Stark Comprehension..." so we
could be a bit more experimental and acheive the sound that we wanted
to hear. There's a lot more use of effects also to create different
textures and atmospheres.
SUZY: I really like the newer stuff we've been working on as well Having a new set up with the two guitarists has meant that we have the ability to vary the sound a bit more than previously. Also Sam came up with the foundations for 'Topical Riot Song' so having new blood in the band is adding to the song writing process too.
Tell us about the artwork and designs you sell as merch?
BEN: The artwork for "The Stark Comprehension..." is supposed to represent
anxiety the kind of nagging unease that I'm sure a lot of people feel
but wouldn't admit to. It's a photo of the Italian coast with a lung
x-ray behind it. It's not subtle but neither are our lyrics.
SUZY: Then the back is a merge of two photos I took in California; one is graffiti of a CCTV camera and the other is just a generic sunny photo - so mixing the negative/positive again.
TOOP: Me and Suzy thought it would be a good idea to create some artwork to promote the band. I had the idea of combining a ribcage with a palm tree as a result of Ben's design for the cover of the EP.
SUZY: The band has been thinking about t-shirt designs but hasn't agreed on any one image, so we might use the most popular print as the design. The wolf one is doing best so far. One day we'll get some t-shirts done - promise.
You recently appeared on the This Are UK Ska compilation, tell us your
thoughts on the current UK ska scene?
SUZY: It's weird because a few years ago there was a bit of a dip with UK
ska - we lost bands like Lightyear, King Prawn, Capdown and Adequate Seven and it looked like
the scene was dying for a while. But now there are some really great
ska bands emerging like Jeremiah Ferrari (Manchester) and By the Rivers
(Leicestershire) and they're taking the sound back to the old school.
It's like the 'fourth wave' of ska in a way. Then obviously there's the
3-4 key bands in the shape of Random Hand, SB6, The Skints and King
Blues who are all very different to each other but equally appealing to
the ska scene and all seem to be thriving at the moment.
We were pleased to be included on the Do the Dog This Are UK Ska
compilation and really appreciate the support from Kevin at the label.
The compilation just shows how versatile ska can be and how different
it can sound between bands - you can really take the genre and make
your own mark. Add a bit of punk or drum and bass, or metal and it's a
twist on the original sound. That's what I love about the UK ska scene.
Also it's a very underground scene but the gigs are always fun to be at
and there is a lot of dedication from the fans. It's like a little
community; you can go to gigs outside your home town and often find
familiar faces.
Copasetic means everything is satisfactory. Do you think ska/reggae
are very pleasing and satisfying genres?
BEN: Yeah totally. it's really fun to play and it's hard to listen to
and not wanna dance.
TOM: People definitely warm to it a lot quicker. It's much easier to
win over a room full of people playing ska and reggae than it is
hardcore punk. None of us are great showmen so that works in our
favour. We let the music do the talking for the most part.
TOOP: I was raised in a Jamaican household and ska and reggae was a big influence. It's fun and laidback and can always put you in a good mood. I think it's even more fun playing it and watching people enjoy and dance to our music.
SUZY: I find ska/reggae fun to play especially from a trumpet player's point of view - there aren't many genres that
'allow' brass instruments to feature in their songs; if it wasn't for ska I'd probably be left with having to choose either classical music or jazz,
neither of which I find anywhere near as satisfying.
Ska’s been around since the early '60s, do you think it will survive 500
years or more? What is ska’s persistent factor to its long-life?
BEN: Maybe you never know, 500 years is a long time.
SAM: I think in 500 years people will be playing flying guitars and cyber trumpets so yes.
TOOP: Ska and reggae originated in such a small part of the world; if it's powerful enough to spread so far and make such an impact on a global scale then it's gotta be powerful enough to stick around for a long time.
How would you sell your band to a 50 year-old skinhead who thought ska
ended in the '80s?
BEN: I'd tell him we sound just like bad manners : ) nah we take a lot
of cues from the '60s-'80s bands so i'm sure if he digs them he'll be
into us too. It's got the snare on the 3 what more do you want?
TOOP: I'd tell him that ska never died, it was just taking a break for a while. And that even though our sound may be new, it still has some of the same ingredients from the ska sound that was dominant in the '60s and '80s.
How do you write songs, do lyrics come before music, vice versa or at
the same time?
BEN: Bit of both but usually just a vague melody, decide on some chords, then sit down and write the lyrics
SAM: I write songs on my guitar in bed... with the aid of crackers, cheese and the Eastender omnibus!
SUZY: Sam has the most unique technique I think. Maybe I should try that sometime - I might find that inspiration I've been lacking. We do a mix of solo writing, a couple of us writing together or just jamming in the practice room. The music always seems to come first when we're in the practice room writing.
You sing that you’d “get behind a riot if you riot for a cause”. Can
you talk about your view of politics within the ska genre and your
writing?
BEN: It's pretty easy to play it safe and rehash old ground with a
political message and that's fine but there's also a load of things
that maybe haven't been said. The one you picked out is our obligatory
ska-riot reference :) But i guess our main obsession and target would
be the media and advertising and how to a certain extent it shapes and
controls everybodys lives, be it directly through tabloid
mis/disinformation or just trying to sell you butter. It's fascinating
and infuriating being subjected to whatever reality crap is being
flogged this week but by far the worst thing is it is practically
unescapable. Television, tabloids and the internet all are becoming one
and you can't hide from them.
SUZY: I think it's good to have views but not to the extend where you ram your ideas down people's throats and be all preachy about things; I definitely don't think we are like that. I'd say that some of the lyrics in our songs are a comment on class, socio-economics and socio-political situations but they can also be interpreted in so many other ways. Personally when I like a ska song it's always about the music and sound first, before I even consider what the lyrics are about. For instance, Restless always goes down well at our gigs and gets everyone dancing, but has no political message whatsoever... so I don't think it's the be-all and end-all of ska songs to have a political reference within them.
Like ska bands for decades, you talk about the ‘rude boy’ figure. Some
ska artists portray this character as a danger, others a hip rogue.
What do you think a rudy is within the context of Trends?
BEN: Haha! A hip rogue definately. It's a song about growing up and
selling out which is a sad inevitability if you wanna eat.
Would you say there’s a running theme in your lyrics: becoming a
copy/clone, servitude, stealing lives, being duped or hypnotised…?
BEN: Yeh probably - we write what we know.
SUZY: There is a theme between some of the songs yeah, but it's not one that is restricting the song writing and lyrics for Copasetics; like I said before, Restless is nothing to do with that. When one person writes all the lyrics for a band, there are bound to be running themes and similar ideas between the songs, just as there can be with chord patterns and melodies - it's the stamp that makes something recognisable as being produced by that band but it's not necessarily a conscious process.
What would be the perfect present to give Copasetics for Christmas?
BEN: Muppets Christmas Carol :)
SAM: World peace.
SUZY: 4 more fans on Facebook.... we're almost at 300! I'm obsessed ha. Oh and some chocolate cake - that's always good.
TOOP: A record deal and some mistletoe!
