“Kids rock” legends Feltworthwere kind enough to let me interview them recently about their inevitable foray into serious rock music. I learned a lot about their influences, how they met, and what kind of barbecue Cozy prefers.
7th Level Music: I’ll start with one for Manny and Dezi. How did you two decide to start a band and how did you meet Morris and Cozy?
Dezi (left) and Manny with their new single – “You Turn Me On”
DEZI: Manny and I have been playing together for as long as we can remember. Cozy answered an ad we put out in a music paper. We thought he was too crazy to be in our band but he brought Morris with him and when we heard Morris play we begged him to join. He didn’t want to but we said we would take Cozy if he joined so he agreed.
7LM: Cozy, I know you played some saxophone on Feltworth’s “Super Duper” album, so do you plan on bringing it back with the new rock-oriented material?
DEZI: That was just for the photo shoot. That whole album is predominantly MIDI sounds. If you think you hear a sax on the first record, it’s a fake.
7LM: Your agent has stated that you guys are performing and putting your music out there for free. Is this right? I think it’s great to see people making art for the sake of art. How did this decision come about, and was it a difficult one?
DEZI: I was initially defiant when we were being booed by kids and moms but I did have a bit of a freak out when it hit me that we had closed the doors on a lot of our money making opportunities. I think I have arrived at a place of acceptance. COZY: Wait, I’m not being paid for this? MANNY: I like to think we’re in our “investment period.”
MORRIS: It could be argued that we have been releasing children’s music under duress. Lately we’ve been composing and recording our music freely. “Freely” is not quite the same as gratis, if you catch my drift.
Cozy (left) and Morris
7LM: How has the crowd response been so far? Was it difficult to make the transition from playing to crowds of children and their parents to crowds of hipsters, old school rockers, and music bloggers like yours truly?
DEZI: As I said, there was an excitement in the chaos of the bad press and poor reaction. I guess we are hoping to reach music bloggers like you. We are currently at 230 Instagram followers so go tell your nerd friends.
COZY: It’s weird. The moms still come backstage after the shows to meet (and greet!) us it’s just this time around they get a little more dolled up – no more worries about baby barf!
MORRIS: If I never have to play to another whinging three-year-old again, I certainly won’t complain.
7LM: A follow-up to that: Are you surprised that people are surprised you guys decided to make a rock record? It seems like you guys have been hinting at this all along with your cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Monkey Man” and how the cover of your self-titled album was a parody of Boston’s self-titled debut.
DEZI: The Boston parody was for our 4th album, Beanbagtown, which I think is musically the best of our records. We had the most freedom to produce it the way we wanted. It wasn’t as big a seller as the first few, but it did get some good critical reaction. Maybe that gave us the confidence to take the step. MANNY: Right, I guess there have been hints through our children’s records that we appreciate rock and pop history, so perhaps some parents may have caught on. I attempted to do a more kid-centric version of an early Velvet Underground track by renaming it “All Tomorrow’s Birthday Parties” for Beanbagtown, but that was left in the can.
7LM: Do you tend to write grooves first or lyrics first? Or does it depend on the song?
DEZI: Who says “grooves”? Ew! Anyway, music first most of the time although songs where you start with the lyrics often tend to be the best. It’s just harder to do. I have more musical ideas. I don’t often find myself in a coffee shop with a journal. MANNY: I sometimes see Morris in a coffee shop with a journal. Or maybe that’s the wine list. But yes, usually music first for me as well.
MORRIS: Understandably, most of my lyrical contribution has been cloistered within the bound confines of my diary. With that in mind, even the most untrained ear can hear the inherent tension as I express myself on the keyboards.
7LM: Morris, is it just me or do I hear touches of Jerry Lee Lewis in some of your playing on “Forget This Feeling?” I also wondered if you were influenced by some of the great French jazz pianists like Martial Solal or Jacques Loussier since you grew up in France?
DEZI: I think Morris is more influenced by Jerry Lewis than Jerry Lee. He is originally from France after all.
MORRIS: I will always have a soft spot for the music I grew up on, but I will not lean back on the fundamentals of greats like Solal and Loussier. America in all of it’s youthful bravado and naïve innocence has unveiled its charms clumsily. “He shook my nerves and he rattled my brain…” Does that make sense when I express it in English?
7LM: I know you’ve done some gigs with Animal Eyes, Situation Bad, and a few other indie acts. Are there other bands you’re hoping to jam with soon?
DEZI: We share a rehearsal space with those bands. I wouldn’t say we are fans per se. Most of our favourite bands have human beings in them.
COZY: Quite frankly I’m hoping to take over for Gregg Allman in the Allman Brothers Band. Rest easy, MidnightRider. MANNY: Hmmm…I’m not big on jamming. I guess it’s fun though. Animal Eyes are a half-decent KISS cover band. Not alot of room for jamming with those guys. The only brothers I’m interested in are the Hudson Brothers…kids music to rock cross-over geniuses.
7LM: You guys have a wide variety of influences ranging from the Beach Boys and Beatles to the Clash and Joy Division, so I’m wondering what range of material we might hear on a future full-length album?
DEZI: I like those groups. I don’t know much about Joy Division, but I know about them and I know a few songs. I would say we are less nihilistic. Cheap Trick is a good example of a band I wouldn’t mind being confused with. If you ask me, Robin Zander is the best singer in the world. COZY: Cheap Trick YEAH! Anybody that has a drummer named after bread (Bun E. Carlos) is okay in my book! I would also like to write more songs that are closer in style to the band Bread. They are so mellow it’s HEAVY. Heavy mellow! MANNY: I think the material on our album will kinda bridge the gap between pop/rock and rock/pop. I prefer New Order to be honest.
MORRIS: I think that we shall have to strike a happy balance between “agreeing to disagree” and “having our cake and eating it, too.”
7LM: Speaking of influences, Cozy you mentioned barbeque is a major influence on you. Do you prefer Kansas City style, Texas style, Memphis dry rub, or another type?
COZY: Texas all the way! I mean, you’d be a fool to think otherwise. My idea of heaven on earth is the family special at Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood, Texas. ALL YOU CAN EAT for $24.95!!!! I have an endorsement deal with those guys. Twice a year they slather me up in their Whiskey Barrel BBQ Sauce and all I have to do in return is mention them in interviews. Mission accomplished?
7LM: Which Indiana Jones film is the best?
DEZI: I saw the second one but not the third one. So, the first one – Raiders of the Lost Ark. Karen Allen is the shit!
COZY: Who? MANNY: When I was a kid, my friends were all going to see Poltergeist, but I was nervous to see such a scary film so I tried instead to convince them to see Raiders of the Lost Ark… for the third time. No luck. But yes, the first is the best.
MORRIS: Am I the only one who finds the late River Phoenix captivating in “The Last Crusade?”
7LM: Lastly, is everything okay between you guys and Tame Impala?
DEZI: They are one band we can agree on on the tour bus. Except when we saw them play live, the dude had bare feet.
COZY: We plan on getting our manager Skip to drop the hammer on ’em. See you in court guys, may the best lawyer win!
MORRIS: Okay!? We’ve already got two domesticated rabbits, a monkey (?), and a cat. I think there’s plenty of room for Impala in the Feltworth camp.
7LM: Thanks for your time. I wish you all the best.
I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.
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