Side projects are cool. Just think about it. Members of Ivy gave us Fountains of Wayne, Sebadoh gave us Folk Implosion, Angelfish gave us Garbage, Weezer and That Dog gave us the Rentals, Sonic Youth gave us Free Kitten, Operation Ivy gave us Dance Hall Crashers, and Stone Temple Pilots gave us more recently Talk Show.
When it comes to side projects in Washington (the Cootees, home state), it,s out of control with everyone from Pearl Jam to Soundgarden to Alice in Chains doing side projects like Hater, Brad, Hovercraft, Mad Season, Temple of the Dog, and even a few solo projects. No wonder members of MxPx and 90 lb Wuss decided to start the Cootees, a sometimes pop, other times punk side project that was done simply for fun.
Actually, the Cootees first started in 1994 with Herrera and Wisniewski of MxPx and bassist Jiles O,Neal. The idea was to write music that everyone in the band loved, without regard to what they should write to be hip or commercially generic. The band, who was later joined by Yob, mostly wrote about hanging out at the beach "a nineties punk rock Beach Boys, if you will, " but soon moved on to other topics like girls, Coke, and punk rock. They then played all around the Northwest in 1995, and when MxPx and 90 lb Wuss toured together later that year, the members often got together and opened the show as the Cootees.
Come early '96, though, the members had to put most of their energies into their primary bands. With the exception of a few local Washington shows, the Cootees essentially went on hold until late '96 when they recorded the song "Too Late" for the Tooth and Nails Records, punk compilation I'm Your Biggest Fan. The song was so well received that the Cootees finally decided to record Let's Play House, an entire album full of fun, spirited pop-punk ditties.
Retaining the spirit of their simple beginnings, the Cootees keep most every song light and fun, like the surf and sand-inspired "Beach Party" and the tongue-in-cheek song-about-writing-a-song rocker "Blank." Likewise, there are good doses of sarcasm with songs like "Dirty Punk," about high school jocks putting them down, and "Shut Up," about a person who judges others but who could honestly spend some quality time judging himself.
Fueled by Coca-Cola and repeated viewings of "Mall Rats," the Cootees recorded all eighteen smile-inspiring songs on Let's Play House at Stepping Stone Studio in Seattle and Westbeach Studio in Los Angeles. Likewise, to give their energized pop songs the perfect amount of polish, the Cootees recruited Steve Kravac to produce and mix (who,s known for working on records by MxPx, The Offspring, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and the Supertones).
The Cootees are as fun and infectious as their name implies. They are the perfect mix of talented musicians and producers with music that's fun and great at the same time. The result is a catchy, happy, poppy slew of songs that,s slick sounding but rough around just the right edges.
Discography
