Written By: Mandee Stock

I got home on November 12^th (a Friday night for those of you reading this in the future) at about 1:30 in the morning and as I sat down to write the Coxcomb article I had originally set out to write, I looked at the paper and thought ‘what the hell just transpired over the last four hours?’ I tried hard as hell to remember but finally I said “fuck this shit!”

So I come to you today with the only article that I may ever write about Care Bears.

Before I go on I want you to know that Care Bears give me nightmares and that I am only joking. I bet I almost scared the crap out of Coxcomb. Ha ha.

When I first met Coxcomb, I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve had other bad experiences with local bands (no one on this site though) so I was a little nervous. But as I sat down and started talking to them and asking them questions, I realized that these were some of the funniest guys that I had ever interviewed.

But before you can read that part of the story, you must know this.

Coxcomb: An arrogant, conceited fool, an African flower, a mountain, a piece of cloth on a jester’s hat (definitions taken from dictionary.com)

*Seven (Lead Vocalist): Has been singing for about twenty-three years now, likes chick flicks (that’s what Raul said) and beer.

*Raul (guitarist) Has been playing guitar for fourteen years now, likes Pink Floyd and beer.

*Matt (bassist, well temporary bassist. He quit the band) He wasn’t there for most of the interview, so I don’t know what to type (but he was looking for a bass to play during their set so that’s ok).

*Beast (Drummer) Has been playing drums for about twelve years now, he makes movies. He’s made Coxcomb’s music videos and a five band compilation called “It’s a Texas Thing”

*Manuel (Saxophonist) Has been playing for about fifteen years, and he’s a chef who likes bands like Less Than Jake, The Slackers and Radiohead.

*Alex (Trombone player) Has been playing trombone for about twelve years, and he’s the webmaster for the Coxcomb website.

Formed back when they were in high school, Coxcomb has been playing together for about nine years now. Started at a pep rally, (of all the places to start a band, this is the only time I’ve ever heard of that) Coxcomb’s member’s were a bunch of band geeks (no, really! Raul played clarinet/ bass clarinet, Manuel played the saxophone and yeah…) but they turned a love of music into something more. They’ve all been playing their instruments anywhere between twelve and fifteen years and Seven has been singing for twenty-three; drawing inspiration from Guns ‘n’ Roses songs or just out of nowhere.

But their talents aren’t just limited to music. When I started to ask "what other talents or hobbies do you guys have" I was afraid to ask this question, fearing the response I would get, but the response turned out to be ok. Beast makes movies (you know filming, directing, movie shit). Raul prints shirts, Manuel is a chef and Seven works on cars.

Some of the favorite bands that they named included The Cure, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Reggie and the Full Effect and The Slackers. (Before I go on, Pink Floyd seems to be a very influential band. Yes I do listen to Pink Floyd but every band I’ve interviewed so far has named Pink Floyd as a favorite or an inspiration. Just thought I'd say that.)

The bands musical influences draw forth from bands such as The Voodoo Glow Skulls, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Specials, Mad Caddies and some other bands I happened not to catch. But when asked which band they would want to tour with, they said Less Than Jake (actually they skipped back and forth between bands before finally settling on Less Than Jake.)

Finally I get to the infamous question, (Thank you Mad Ex-13 for screwing this question for me!), “If you could go back and change anything in your musical careers, what would it be?” Then they told me a funny story (well not so much funny as sad).

When they first released their CD, they burned it and sent it off to some record labels in hopes of getting signed. Well Mike Park from Asian Man Records sent them a letter back saying “I loved the site (yada yada) but your CD doesn’t work.” Well when the CD was burned, it wasn’t finalized so it wouldn’t play. So they sent off a bunch of non-working CD’s to a bunch of different record labels.

Sad but true.

This is Matt’s regret.

Matt quit the band but is now playing as a temporary bassist. Now he says he regrets that decision and “wonders who’s dick he has to suck to get back in.” (his words not mine!)

In five years they see themselves still here in San Antonio playing shows at Sam’s Burger Joint.

I’m pretty sure that’s what happened on Friday. They details are a little vague but that’s ok. After the interview was finished, Coxcomb closed out the November Ska X-plosion show with a bad ass set that included songs like “Never Again” and “Karate Kid”.

Now as I close out this article, let me say a few things. Ska is a bad ass genre of music, though it is widely overlooked. If you get a chance, go to the next Ska X-Plosion show at Sam’s Burger Joint. And go support Coxcomb. They are a kick ass Ska-Core band that I know most of you guys will love.