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Interview with
JUSTIN STEWART COTTA

(31st May, 2021)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you get the song writing bug? 
I don’t know if I’ve always wanted to be one, but it feels like I’ve always been one. Mum still reminds me that my first concert was The Rolling Stones, in utero. My father was a guitarist and he played a flamenco version of Stairway To Heaven at my baptism. As a child everything from Mozart to Deep Purple was booming out of the family stereo. My parents separated when I was 3 and I went to live with my grandparents. They had a piano, and it became my best friend very quickly. Music was my first love without question, and although they were infantile noodings, I loved coming up with my own melodies from about the age of 5. In terms of appreciating songwriting and wanting to write songs of my own, it would have been soon after listening to Bowie, and Lennon’s solo stuff around the age of 12. I still have my subsequent demos from when I was 15.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music? 
(a) If Led Zeppelin & The Doors had a love-child, and then that love-child fell in love with Beethoven, and then if that subsequent love-child met Maynard James Keenan at a Tori Amos concert …. Well, “that”.  So maybe “constantly morphing melodic rock vibes”…? 
(b) For those that do resonate with my music, I would like to think it’s because people recognise different parts of themselves reflected in the different shades and styles within my music, and ultimately because the music and lyrics are anchored in authenticity. 

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Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
In truth it’s a combination of all my influences from childhood to this moment, but that answer would be a cop out….   So….   Oophty doophty that’s a tough question….    Pink Floyd live from the ruins of Pompeii is a live perfromance, to no audience, that was filmed in 16mm film…   I found it haunting, inspiring and electrifying. Something about Gilmour and Waters together at the peak of their powers speaks true to me. And if you’ll let me sneak two more in, Radiohead’s OK Computer is simply the music of the gods. Finally, I lined up for 2 nights as a kid to get front row middle for U2’s Zoo TV tour in Brisbane….  It pelted rain in the final moments of the concert… I had never felt more alive,  and they made me feel like anything was possible.

Your new single has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
From a musical standpoint, just enough started as simply piano and a vocal in the bedroom. It was initially quite a dark kind of “cowboy ballad”…   I eventually looked at it through more of a dirty rock lens, particularly the chorus, and the song seemed to really find itself from that point . This track really showcases the quality of some of the musicians I got to play with on this record. Paul Ill and Kellii Scott are a bonafide genius rhythm section, and Chris Wonzer’s production chops are world class. One of my favourite tracks with some of my absolute favourite musicians including Clint Walsh on the telecaster. From a lyrical and emotional context, the shapeshifting mirage of sex addiction and love addiction are the backdrop here to a genuine cry for rescue, solace and meaningful love. Although there’s a bit of a victim lens on here, the cold hard facts are that there was a time in my past in which I was seeking out emotionally unavailable people in my relationships to try and retrospectively correct a kink in the love matrix. For anyone wanting to conduct the same experiment… It didn’t work! 

Is there an EP or album on the drawing board? 
Yes indeed! My album “Melodies For Eulogies” is out this month.

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Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect? 
I’m going to stream performances from Sydney in late June/early July and deconstruct the album tracks into their bare gypsy bones. Fans can expect intimacy and honesty and potentially a little emerging pot belly unless I commit to some cardio…   I will announce traditional style shows in July! 
As far as what I’m looking forward to?  Well, when you make a record, and it’s finalised, you invariably go “gosh naggitt!! I shoulda sung this here and put that there….”  etc….  Well, in a live show, you can try all those ideas that came after the fact! And then people go “dude I way prefer the album version, can you please stop butchering your own stuff?”  

If you could perform with any music artist, alive or dead, who would you choose? And why?
I’m constantly wanting to improve and learn and absorb… So I’d probably choose Prince… Not only would I be giddy & starstruck, I’d be humbled with a free masterclass in singing, songwriting, piano, lead guitar and groove drumming. People throw the word genius around pretty loosely I reckon. But the purple one earned the moniker. Absolute gun. 

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist? 
Yes, to stay authentic and to keep connecting with good humans through the magic of music. Oh, and to open for my childhood heros, U2 & Nick Cave. 

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What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far? 
(a) The greatest non-denominational church in the history of humans is a great concert. Be it in a pub, theatre or stadium. For me, that sense of community is everything. The immediacy and the thrill of eye contact en masse is really special. Concerts/live shows should come with an addiction warning!  
(b) The highlight so far… It’s a tie between (a) opening for Queens Of The Stoneage for a couple months, and (b) turning 25,000 booing Marylin Manson fans into 25,000 appreciative fans over the course of 30 mins when my band opened for him.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
Favourite:
Album – The Joshua Tree
Artist – David Bowie/The Beatles
Movie – One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
Place to visit – All of Europe 
Venue to play – Warfield, San Francisco
Food – Indian cuisine
Drink – Sparkling water 
Person in history – Buddha
Tattoo – (if you don’t have one, what would you get?)  I have a coiled phoenix rising from the ashes (on my right forearm).

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Follow JUSTIN STEWART COTTA
INSTAGRAM – FACEBOOK

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Press Release 21st May 2021 below

JUSTIN STEWART COTTA
has his heart on his sleeve
with new single
“JUST ENOUGH”

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Justin Stewart Cotta is an artist in many facets – a singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, poet and actor among those. He satisfies Australia’s need for classic rock ‘n roll with his anthem tracks and heart-on-his-sleeve lyrics. Now, he’s teasing more of his upcoming album with the release of his latest single “Just Enough”, out on May 21st. The new single is the perfect example of how Justin can masterfully balance highly vulnerable lyricism with a classic poet-rock sound reminiscent of a 90s Nick Cave.

The track has an impressive lineup of guests. Justin stated, “From a musical standpoint, this track highlights the quality of some of the musicians that are on this record. Paul Ill and Kellii Scott are a bonafide genius rhythm section, and Chris Wonzer’s production chops are world class. One of my favourite tracks with some of my absolute favourite musicians including Clint Walsh on the Fender Telecaster.”

“Just Enough” has a personal meaning, with Justin using the tune as a platform to open up about his struggles with sex and love addiction. “Although there’s a bit of a victim lens on here, the cold hard facts are that there was a time in my past in which I was seeking out emotionally unavailable people in my relationships to try and retrospectively correct a kink in the love matrix.”

In previous years, Justin was a founding member of band Memento (Columbia/EMI Publishing) and was the guitarist & keyboardist for VAST (Elektra). He has toured Europe and the U.S. with the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Marilyn Manson and Ozzy Osbourne, among many others. Now he’s returning in 2021 with a solo rock album to blow your mind.

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AMNPLIFY – DB