Album Premier: Mo Troper Gold!

A lot of you reading this might have become aware of Mo Troper through seeing his music featured on Pitchfork, SPIN, or NPR - and if that is the case rest assured you're a fucking poseur.

I first saw Mo Troper in 2013 when was playing with a band called Sancho (cuts "Something to Talk About" and "Cooler" are from that band) play a sweaty house show in my friend Lance's basement in Modesto, CA. Everyone knows that house shows are the best places to see bands and that's even better when you're friends with the guy putting on the show.

After his set was over I went up to the man himself and told him how much it rocked. That his blistering blend of pop rock was equal parts Foo Fighters and Gaslight Anthem. "Thanks dawg," he said. I told him to give me a call next time he rolled through town. He thanked me, held up two fingers, and grinned "catch you on the flipside".

Fast forward years later and this guy is on all these websites, even NPR (honestly, if you wanna get the latest in world affairs NPR is the best but they should save the music criticism to Robert Christgau and Steven Hyden).

Those of us true Troper heads can remember the tunes that dropped before he soled out and turned poseur. He is in debt to all of us and those of us who knew him in these early days can take ownership of his success and resent people who discovered him later. Thankfully for us this collection captures the cream of Troper (like the Clapton collection).

Check it out below:





 

Interview with Mayhaw Hoons

Hey everyone,

I decided to start doing interviews for the blog. I think people could like to read what people making cool music think about things. Not long ago I got a copy of a record from Mayhaw Hoons & The Outsiders that is coming out in January. There was a lot of piano and acoustic guitar on it which I didn't like but there was also a lot of screaming on it which I definitely liked. The album is called Lime Green and it's coming out in January.

You may recognize Mayhaw from a band called TeenSpot that he was in with fellow rock star Mo Troper, new rock god Kyle Craft's band, The Shaky Hands, Horse Feathers, and as a keyboardist for Rob Zombie.

File Photo

Slade Barrett (Cool Punk Songs dot blogspot dot com): You've worked with some really famous people. Were they all posers or do I just think that because I see them on Facebook so much?

Mayhaw Hoons (Mayhaw Hoons & The Outsiders): They are posers. Everyone is. I wouldn't not want to be. Because the weirdest and worst people on earth are the ones who aint apeing shit. I dont want to be an original. I wanna be one of the green blobs in tide pools who collect bits of shells all over them and squirts when you poke it.

Slade: There is a lot of screaming on this record, which I like. What's the deal with that?

Mayhaw Hoons: I was a mad kid. As goofy as I was I also could snap pretty fast. And while flipping out and screaming I realized that it felt good. I also realized that I could get really loud. I'm not a kid anymore, but I'm still a big baby. And I'm screaming back at the world just to be annoying.

Slade: This CD is recorded and engineered by Dustin Dybvig (pretty sure that name is fake since I can't pronounce it). He's also in the band. How did you guys meet?

I met Dusty when I joined Horse Feathers. We bonded over Nirvana and Elliott Smith. He is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met and I love him like a brother. I had these songs and wanted to make a record like I used to when I was a kid. Make a pizza, drink pop and just record for fun. And I wanted to do it with him because we are great friends. We would do a few great takes and get high and listen back to what we did and inevitable the topic would either turn to Jan Terry or conspiracy videos. That weirdness crept into the record.

Slade: Why even make music when posers might hear it?

Mayhaw Hoons: This record isn't for portland. I didn't make it for my friends. I made it for posers and idiots and people that might stumble on it in the dollar bin. I was such a Nirvana obsessed idiot as a kid. I wanted to be Kurt Cobain when I grew up. But I turned out to be a red head with a big nose and a weird voice. So I embraced it and let myself be me for once. Maybe i suck, maybe this record sucks. But I hope that at least one poser hears it and can see it is ok to suck if you are honest about it.

Slade: What Mayhaw Hoons merch is currently being manufactured, and by whom?

Mayhaw Hoons: I would love to make those pendants on a stick. The kind some little kid would have bought at the grand opening of Mount Rushmore and pinned to their wall. On it I would be making Top Ramen in my underwear.

Slade: My favorite song on the record is the one called "The Swinger"?

Mayhaw Hoons: The hardest thing in the world to process isn't the horrible shit that people do to you. It's the stuff you do that you shock yourself with. Like "I can't believe I'm capable of acting like that". Everyone has a point in their life where they do something so wretched and wrong and they can't believe they are capable of it. That's where this fun little number came from. The direct aftermath of that realization .

Thanks for reading everyone. If your band wants the exposure of an interview comment on this post. 

Thanks

Slade 

Welcome friends

To Who It May Concern

Thanks for visiting cool punk songs dot blogspot dot com. This website is the go to page for your music and entertainment (not "culture.")

You know when you click on the link, that this will be the cream of the crop, the good shit. Songs that will make you feel good and get you pumped up. Like after you drink a five hour energy and your face gets flushed for a few minutes. Or when you have to go to the bathroom real bad and you finally get to go. The songs will be stuck in your head for days.

We are going to have some exciting things down the pipeline

Thank you for your time,

Slade