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    Kopaz Releases Final Album, Rocks Rumba Tonight

    Once upon a time, a wise person suggested that good things come to those who wait.

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    The old adage encouraging patience is sound advice in life, love, and tomato-based condiment selection. But that nugget of wisdom holds true in the music world as well. For Kopaz fans, your patience is soon to be handsomely rewarded as their new release Teeth Like Cities is a very good thing.

    Formed in 2000, Kopaz (Brian Hake, Kevin Davison, Nathan Keister, and Sean Gardner) quickly became a Columbus indie-rock favorite. They released two highly acclaimed records, Starboard Rail (2001) and Future Radiant Shine (2004), but life’s demands began to pull the band in different directions resulting in an indefinite hiatus in 2006. Sean and Kevin went on to form MeltyMelty and released an album in 2008. Sean has also devoted time to awesome local acts Bookmobile, Winter Makes Sailors, and The Receiver.

    Luckily for us, Kopaz had been writing new songs following Future Radiant Shine prior to their break in ’06. They decided to start recording them at home on their own and on their own terms. Although their interest in the music never faded, time and obligations and other projects intervened, and the emerging record remained unfinished. However, in late 2008, the band hired Jon Chinn to mix one of the recordings, and the project once again picked up steam. Fast forward to the summer of 2010. Teeth Like Cities is complete, and the band is ready to share their songs with the world. The album is a departure from the “pop urgency” of their previous efforts. Instead, Teeth is a beautiful album that “revels in the darkness and mystery of a band on the verge of collapse.”

    Despite the release of a brilliant new album, Kopaz has no plans to permanently reunite. I had a chance to ask the band a few questions, and I’ll let them describe in their own words who they are now, who they’ve been, what the new album means to them, and where they go from here.

    Lauren Wilson: For those unfamiliar with Kopaz, how would you guys describe your sound?

    Brian: Original post rock. I think kopaz has always been a tug of war between the members. Nate brings the heat, Sean brings the indie cred, Kev brings the art, Bri brings the pop. Our common musical interests (melody, walls of sound, loud-heavy/quiet-pretty aesthetic) link us like the rope.

    Nate: I believe our sound is a definite mix between post rock and indie rock. It’s melodic with jagged guitars and powerful anthemic drumming. It’s also as quirky as we all are. We all draw from a wide range of influences, from folk to metal. Our sound is best taken in at our live shows because we all draw off of each others energy. From the minimal twinkle preceding an epic wall of sound, just building one melody on top of another. Most of our songs reach a pinnacle of built up energy that we all store from our everyday lives. Even though these songs were written over 6 years ago, it’s still fresh, exciting and new to people who have never heard it before.

    Lauren Wilson: It’s been 6 years from the release of your last record until now. How would you compare this album to your other two releases?

    Sean: The way we recorded it sounds a little less polished but more organic for us.  We recorded nearly all of it on our own in various practice spaces and basements over a period of almost 5 years.  Well, actually, we recorded 80% of it 5 years ago and the rest over the last year or so.  We still have a lot of texture and layers but not as much orchestration or guest performances.  It isn’t as huge and produced as Future Radiant Shine, but this was our answer to that record. Teeth Like Cities is more composed, thought-out within songs, more dynamic artistically.  When we recorded Future Radiant Shine, we were writing with other people in mind as opposed to just what we wanted.  We were trying to be smart. I love that record. We all do. However, after that experience, our quest for indulging in longer bridges and atmospheric parts became more of a focus.  We were writing music for ourselves on Teeth Like Cities, not anybody else.
    Lauren Wilson: As a band, who or what influenced your songwriting and your sound?

    Nate: Juno, Built to spill, Pinback, Pedro the lion, Fugazi, Shiner…

    Sean: 90’s era anthemic bands that use sweet effects pedals.

    LW: What made you decide to go with Jon Chinn to mix the record?

    Sean: It’s funny that you ask that.  We worked with two Jons on this record.  Jon Chinn at Central City and Jon Fintel at Relay Recording. They both helped us with Starboard Rail, our first record as well as this new one.  Chinn recorded a couple of tracks on the first record and then Fintel did the rest. Teeth Like Cities was recorded differently so we coincidentally reversed the process of Starboard Rail and had Chinn do the majority of the mixing and mastering of “Teeth”. Fintel recorded and mixed some of the artsy tracks. We respect both of them enormously, so it was an honor to work with both Jons again on this record. It sounds incredible. It’s a perfect ending to our career. If this seems complicated, know that Kevin Davison is the mastermind behind the order of our records and he thinks about how to tie the records together, making our albums very circular.   This is another way in doing that…I think.

    Brian: Although Sean’s story is way more interesting… I’ve always wanted to work with Jon Chinn. He’s been a friend since college and we all like and respect him immensely. He’s been a fan of ours as well, so it was a natural fit. The timing and circumstances were right.

    LW: Let’s talk about the CD release show at Rumba Café this Saturday. Is anyone joining you guys on the bill?

    Sean: Spd Gvnr will be warming up the stage for us on Saturday.  They are one of my favorite bands in town.  Justin Hemminger is the is the main songwriter.  We played with his old band,Treysuno (Bowling Green), back in the day, and he and I were also in The Kyle Sowashes at the same time for a couple of years.  They’ve recently recorded with Steve Albini for their latest 7″ release and have a lot exciting things going on.  Their live show will blow your face off…in a good way.

    LW: Is this album the end of Kopaz? What does the future hold for the four of you as a band?

    Sean: Yeah. This is the end of Kopaz as far as we’re planning.

    So my music loving friends…

    In case you missed that, Kopaz will be hosting a farewell CD release party with friends Spd Gvnr this Saturday August 21st at Rumba Café. They are celebrating not only the release of Teeth Like Cities, a full-length eight song record but will also be making available Verbal Kint, which is a “B-Sides” EP including three songs and two videos. If that isn’t enough, they are also re-releasing their first record Starboard Rail. All of the releases are on the local record label We Want Action. If you want a free listen to the new album before the show, take your clicker right here and check things out KopazMusic.com/Freebie And come see them one last time before one of Columbus’s finest bands hangs it up for good.

    Lauren Wilson is a featured writer for Columbus Underground and all comments, suggestions, requests, and boozin’ invites can be forwarded to [email protected].

    Cover artwork up top – The Yellow City by Anna Myers

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