Project Description

Q&A

with

Michael Taylor

from

COSMIC REJECTS

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Interviewer: Maggie Sapet

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If you’ve ever wanted a quirky alternative rock band in your life, look no further than Long Island-based trio Cosmic Rejects. Their debut self-titled release echoes the likes of Cheap Trick and Pixies and its release marks a new chapter for the trio.

Self confessed introvert and Cosmic Rejects songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, Michael Taylor recently had a chat with AMNplify about all of this and more. Check it out below!

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How and when did the band form?

We came together in 2017, but Jessica and I had been in other bands together before Cosmic Rejects. Our main goal in starting the band was to record the album.

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Who is in the band and what role do they play?

Jessica Makar – Bass, Vocals (The Extrovert)

Michael Taylor – Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals (The Introvert)

Gretchen Nancy-Dumont – Drums (The Silent Type)

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Who are your main musical influences?

Mostly music from the 60s and 70s; the Beatles to Black Sabbath to Blondie…the list is just too long.

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What are themes explored on your self-titled release?

We didn’t set out to have an overall theme, but many of the songs deal with emotional anxiety. Love and heart break. We have some oddball songs. In The Red is a song about taxes. Serenade is about a musical ghost. She Pissed Off My Sister is about “adult stuff” between two women.

 

Cosmic Rejects

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What inspires your songwriting?

Many things, but mostly the pain that comes from living. Day to day struggles and how I can put that into music. I try to be somewhat ambiguous with the lyrics because I want the listener to take what they can get from the songs and apply it to their struggles. However, some songs are right in your face and you know exactly what they are about.

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What makes Cosmic Rejects different to similar sounding bands?

I don’t know. I hope we are somewhat different, but it’s hard to see certain things from the inside. We try not to pander to the crowd. We had a song called The Going Song that people liked, but we felt it sounded too similar to The Ramones, so we cut it from the album.

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What would you be doing if you weren’t involved in music?

Oh wow…hard to say.

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What has been your most memorable career highlight to date?

For Jessica and I, we played at CBGBs in New York City before it closed. It was a dive of a place, but it had so much music history.

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What is something you would like to achieve career-wise that you haven’t done yet?

A second album, haha. We should be starting that in a few months. Perhaps out in 2019? We shall see.

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If you could play any venue in the world, where would it be and why?

Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado seems like a cool place to play. Anything outdoors would be nice.

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Connect with Cosmic Rejects!

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AMNPLIFY – GD