An Interview with Kocean
Say hello to Kocean! A new SDSU pop rock band with so much to offer.
The Look had the privilege of interviewing Katie Thomas to explore who Kocean is. The band is led by Thomas and Danny Cozmos, who met in their dorms in 2020. The two started writing music together in March but it wasn't until this July that they started performing at venues around San Diego with other local bands and at house shows around the SDSU area.
Named after Katie’s uncle, Kocean is a pop rock band who have also established themselves in a new genre they created.
“Dirt Pop is exactly what it sounds like,” Thomas said. “Pop with a little bit of dirt. You have the classic catchy melody, but you have a grungy guitar and crazy drums. Shit that would make you dance but would also be stuck in your head.”
No surprise there considering their biggest influences happen to be punk rock bands with leading female vocalists like Paramore and Destroy Boys.
At a Kocean show, a typical setlist consists of eight original songs and four covers like “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?”, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, and “Still Into You” by Paramore. One of the most exciting parts of a Kocean show is that while they perform their covers, they still incorporate their band’s musical identity. For instance, their performance of “Dancing Queen,” a fan favorite, has a pop punk twist on it.
When it comes to their songwriting process, Thomas thinks of song ideas, writes the melody on guitar, and then Danny co-writes the lyrics and records live drums at his studio. Although the two have wonderful musicianship, forming the band was completely unplanned.
“We always wanted to write music together since we’re both songwriters,” Thomas said. “After we released our first single, that’s when we realized we worked really well together as a band.” This is how “Kocean” was born.
Kocean has had three performances so far and are expecting more. Be sure to check out their next gig on October 31st and follow their instagram page, @koceanlive, for updates!
Elvera Miller — October 20th, 2021
