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Mondo Cozmo Performing at Boston Calling 2017

Unless you’ve been lying under gigantic rock formations in the desert this summer or somehow one of those pesky hurricanes managed to sweep you out into the North Atlantic, you’ve probably come across Mondo Cozmo’s hit single, “Shine,” even if you didn’t realize it.

Whether you heard it on the radio on your ride to work, on Spotify while you were attempting to sweat out the previous evening’s liquid debauchery or perhaps you just overheard two birds chirping it to one another, it’s been next to impossible not to come across Mondo Cozmo’s music lately.

In any event the steamroller that’s Mondo Cozmo has been invading the airwaves, as well as countless venues and festival grounds these past three months, to the delight of tens of thousands of adoring new fans.

Who exactly is Mondo Cozmo though? Is he an angel keeping watch over America at night as violence and darkness take over our streets? Is he the muse this world needs right now to restore balance and peace to the masses in these oh so chaotic times?

Or is Mondo Cozmo perhaps just this one of kind sublime talent whose unique brand of music has been penetrating the hearts and minds of the lucky souls who’ve had the fortune of crossing paths with the enigma and his band recently?

Bonus points if your answer was one of the first two aforementioned options, however, option number three was the correct choice, as Mondo Cozmo is actually Philadelphia born, now Los Angeles based musician, Josh Ostrander.

Ostrander, who previously fronted the early 2000’s alt-rock outfits, LaGuardia and Eastern Conference Champions, began recording under the moniker Mondo Cozmo back in in 2016.

Since then his single, “Shine” reached number one on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Chart, he and his band have played north of a hundred shows throughout the course of 2017 alone and just this past month he released his debut album Plastic Soul to primarily critical acclaim.

The record has something to offer just about any listener as it cuts across pop, rock, folk and indie genres, while also seemingly being influenced by a myriad of artists such as Dylan, The Pixies, The National, Springsteen, Mumford and Sons, Beck and U2 to name just a few.

Earlier this summer I stumbled upon Mondo Cozmo at this year’s Boston Calling music festival.

As I entered the festival’s grounds I found myself immediately faced with a music based conundrum. Should I hit up one of the main stages to check out Massachusetts based rock based outfit The Hotelier or instead make my way over to one of the smaller side stages to take in Mondo Cozmo’s set?

Being a fan of The Hotelier, while also not having any clue as to what or who a Mondo Cozmo was, the choice at first, seemed to be an easy one. That was of course until I dialed up the ole inter-webs to take a listen to the band’s single, “Shine.”

Instantly sold on the tune’s uplifting nature and catchy hooks I immediately took a course that would take mere feet from the entity known as Mondo Cozmo.

Like myself, I’m guessing not many in the audience knew Mondo Cozmo all that well, however, by the conclusion of their truncated set the band had everyone within ear shot of the stage they were performing on beyond entranced and begging for more.

It’s also worth mentioning the sheer joy Ostrander and his bandmates had with one another on stage. The lead singer is talented, charismatic and easy on eyes. Thus Ostrander could have easily put together a group of anonymous musicians to serve as his interim backing band whose role would have been to primarily remain in the shadows.

Fortunately the front man had enough clarity and experience, as well as the desire to surround himself with like minded and equally talented musicians, to choose a different path.

The result in a live setting is impossible to ignore as the band, comprised of Ostrander, Drew Beck (guitar), James Gordon (synth/keys), Andrew Tolland (drums) and Chris Null (bass) posses this fiery chemistry, that without question, elevates their performance to greater heights.

Following the band’s set at Boston Calling I immediately reached into my pile of music contacts to find Mondo Cozmo’s publicist so that I could attempt to take in one of his headlining shows and hopefully sit down with the man, the myth and the soon to be legend himself for a short chat.

As luck would have it the band was playing the Higher Ground up in Burlington, Vermont the following night where I would be presented with the opportunity to speak with Mondo Cozmo himself and bare witness to the band’s headlining performance later that evening.

Rock Revolt: Josh can you talk to me about how after recording and touring with bands for the vast majority of your career how different or liberating it’s been for you to write and perform for yourself?

Mondo Cozmo: Well for one I didn’t have to go through four people anymore. Now I’m just going with my gut and letting the songs do all the work. To be honest, it’s been amazing.

The biggest thing I’ve taken away from all of this is to not put any parameters or rules on it. As soon as you do that you’re putting yourself in a box. It’s been liberating and there’s been this sense of my being fearless, which frankly took me a very long time to get around to.

Rock Revolt: Following the demise of both of your previous bands LaGuardia and Eastern Conference Champions I read that you had gone through a bit of dark period and even questioned whether you would or even should continue with music?

Mondo Cozmo: It was a really fucking tough time as I was working two jobs to just keep food on the table. In my spare time I’d record songs up in my guest bedroom.

A lot of the songs that came out during that time like “Shine” “Plastic Soul” and “Higher,” those were songs I was writing because I was bumming and coming to terms with never being able to tour or put records out again. You know I was just sitting around thinking about how my band is done and I don’t even know what I’m doing any more.

It was kind of terrible but the coolest thing about it was the songs I was writing during that dark time, I was only writing for myself and now I’ve been getting all these messages from fans about songs like “Shine.”

People seem to be having these complete opposite reactions to where I was writing those songs from and they’re getting something positive and great out of them.

So it’s cool to think that whatever I had to go through might be helping someone get through his wife leaving him or a relative dying. That’s really the power of music right there. I’m very humbled by it.

Rock Revolt: The songs that appear on your debut record Plastic Soul were mostly written during that period of unrest. Can you talk about where you’re getting your inspiration from these days, as with your new found success I’m guessing your outlook on life and the music industry has become a bit more upbeat and positive.

Mondo Cozmo: It’s tough when you get to the point where tons of people are listening to your music as it changes things. So when “Shine” hit number one I started the full length album and it gave me a completely different perspective regarding what people actually wanted to hear and what they would respond to.

Honestly my super power is being able to write songs super quick. I have a way of delivering songs that I think is unique and it’s been amazing that so many people are starting to take notice.

There’s this great line in Keith Richards book where he talks about when he heard his first song in America. The Rolling Stones were in a van touring the States but he didn’t know the song was coming out yet and he thought they were going to be able to go into the studio and work on it a bit more.

Keith had this great line where he said, you just have to let it go. I was like, fuck yeah, that’s so fucking great. It got me thinking we both were probably in the studio slaving over the fucking toms trying to make them sound good and nobody even gives a shit.

If “Let It Be” sounded even a little bit different no one would care because it would still sound great. So I guess I’ve kind of learned to just let the songs do the work and to try not to over think things too much.

Rock Revolt: One of the most significant takeaways I walked away from at Boston Calling this year was your set and in particular your performance of The Verve classic, “Bittersweet Symphony.’ Can you touch on that song in particular and or how you feel about tackling other artists’ music in general?

INTERVIEW: BELPHEGOR

Mondo Cozmo: Well the first thing I thought about in terms of covering “Bittersweet Symphony” was, I better do a fucking good job. I consider “Bittersweet Symphony” to probably be my favorite song of all time because it’s just so damn perfect.

I’ve never been in a situation before musically where I could turn to the band I’m playing with and just say let’s do this cover and we’re able to put it together very quickly. I love playing covers especially when we’re playing in front of bunch of kids who have no idea who we are, such as when we opened for Bastille not too long ago.

It also gives anyone a gauge to judge our music against something they’re already familiar with. Personally I think playing covers has been really a smart thing for us to do.

Rock Revolt: Although you wrote Plastic Soul solo you’re touring with an entirely new group of musicians. Can you comment on how you came across the other musicians in your band now and what it’s been like to tour with them this past year?

Mondo Cozmo: The scariest part for me was I had to change my approach to music and actually do auditions; which was terrifying because I thought one, these guys aren’t going to like me and two, these guys aren’t going to even let me know they don’t like me because they may want the gig.

I went through all of these auditions and it all kind of just came together organically. As it turned out the one thing that I was most worried about ended up becoming the most exciting part of the whole experience.

We haven’t played a lot of shows with one another so you’re watching a band come together every time we play on stage right now. We’re trying to remember lyrics and chords and we’re still in dressing rooms trying to learn all this new shit together. We’ve all been doing this a long time, we’ve all been in a ton of bands and this one man, this one feels special.

Rock Revolt: Finally can you touch on how you feel about what some of the uninformed would consider your rather quick ascent to fame as well as what you and the band are hoping to accomplish for the remainder of 2017?

Mondo Cozmo: I’m not going to hide behind my age or how long I’ve been doing this. I wish I could have had this kind of success when I was seventeen but for whatever reason I had to go through what I endured so that I could write better songs. Where I’m right now feels so good and because I worked so hard for it, no one can take it away from me.

As for the band and the remainder of this year I want to get to the point where we aren’t opening up for anyone but if U2 called and asked us to open for them maybe we’ll take the call.

At the end of the day I’ve been opening up for other bands for seventeen years, I’m ready to headline. I don’t care about the size of the venue, just so long as it’s packed and we’re the last band on stage.

This Friday September 15^th Mondo Cozmo plays the Paradise in Boston, Massachusetts before heading back up to Burlington, Vermont this weekend to take part in Grace Potter’s annual Grand Point North music festival.

Tickets to Mondo Cozmo at the Paradise on September 15, 2017:

http://events.crossroadspresents.com/events/2017/9/15/mondo-cozmo

Tickets to Grace Potter’s Grand Point North Music Festival September 16th-17th:

http://grandpointnorth.com/tickets/