Laura Cox Band

LAURA COX INTERVIEW

Laura Cox is a sensation and in this issue we have both a live review and album review. She has embarked on a successful first UK tour and will finish out the year touring in her native France. I had the pleasure of seeing her live and talking to her after a stunning show. For those of you who do not know her this is what her social media bio has to say.

Laura Cox started posting her guitar solos on YouTube in 2008, and has since become one of the best-known girl guitar players on the Internet. Laura is a rare blend of twenty-first century talent and traditional musical values, and she was among the first to work using 2.0 tools, mainly on Youtube.

Right from birth, Laura’s cradle songs were played by The Band, ZZ Top, Johnny Cash, Dire Straits and so many others, plus Roger McGuinn’s Rickenbacker of course. She grew up discovering all this country, folk and rock culture from her English father. Laura started playing the guitar relatively late, in 2005, at 14 years old, and soon acquired a following on the Net, through her early cover versions of a few great rock classics and mythical solos. She was so pleased and excited to be complimented by blues living-legend, Joe Bonamassa.

But Laura had an increasing desire to play rock & roll live, the way it should be, and to get on the road, so she decided to make the change from ‘virtual’ to ‘real’ and form her own group.
At this point, Laura met Mathieu Albiac, another young and talented guitarist, with similar musical passions. In 2013, the two of them formed The Laura Cox Band, based in the Paris region, and the project was born. They were a little bit lost in what is certainly a very different French musical scene. They always prefer a good heavy riff to pop, and they wanted to devote their musical talents to creating a sound that’s becoming increasingly rare in France: pure classic and southern rock.

In 2014, they recorded their first single  ‘Cowboys & Beer’, a country rock song, written by Laura and Mat, that won them invitations to a few festivals, such as Equiblues or Montereau Confluences, where they played on the same bill as Simple Minds, Triggerfinger and Crucified Barbara (not to mention Boy George!).

The line-up changed in 2015 and is now Laura Cox (guitar / vocals), Mathieu Albiac (guitar), François C. Delacoudre (bass) and Antonin Guérin (drums). The band is finally complete, with talented and very complementary musicians who are proud of their music, and are going into 2016 with so many projects: album, clips, concerts, and more...

Rather than remain in just one kind of music, The Laura Cox Band likes to surprise its fans with subtle changes in style. Too bad for those who think that groups should fit into categories: here, we’re sometimes into rockin’ country, and sometimes the style varies all the way to heavy, classic rock. Somewhere between AC/DC, ZZ Top, Aerosmith and Blackberry Smoke, the group blends the sharp Southern States sound with the saturated watts of Australian fury.

To put it briefly, the Laura Cox Band is old alcoholic rockers’ music, played by a young French group in great shape... but they’re working on it... Country, blues, southern rock, hard rock... that’s what they like to mix, depending on their feelings. But if you still need to put a name to their style, it could probably be called Southern Hard Blues.

The Laura Cox Band is well aware of being a little bit outside the current French scene, but they want to build on that difference and make it a strength, and just continue playing the music that they love: classic and southern rock in its purest form.

I think that you will agree that as far as a bio goes, thats a pretty good one. And now that the scene is set on to the questions.

How did you first get started in music and when did you write your first song?

 ‘I started on Youtube 10 years ago ! At the time, I was only playing covers of classic rock solos, but a few years later, I decided to upload original songs, demos, impros, etc. I think I wrote my first song before even learning how to play the guitar !’

You blend Southern US rock very well with Australian rock. Are these the major influences?

 ‘Exactly ! Actually I'm more into Southern US rock, and Mathieu (the other guitarist of the band) is really into Australian bands. Our first album is a mix of these influences.’

Any plans in the pipeline for a US tour?

 ‘We would love to. Touring in the US is a real challenge for us. Travelling there would be expensive, that's the main problem at the moment. Some promoters are interested to see us play in the US, but we need to build a real tour, then it will be worth it! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 2019.

Last years release, Hard Blues Shot is an excellent album. Did it take long to put together?

 Thank you ! The writing of this album is a bit special because some of the songs already existed before François (Bass) and Antonin (drums) joined the band. I think I wrote some of the first songs around 2013 with Mathieu (« Too Nice for Rock n' Roll » and « Morning Road » for example), and some of them were written and arranged just before the recording of the album (like « Good Ol' Days »).

Are you currently writing and when could we expect to see the next release?

 ‘Yes, we're working hard on it right now ! We already have 6 or 7 songs. The next album should be out around April. I can't wait for you to listen to it !’

You are currently into your first UK tour. How’s that going so far?

 ‘We've been waiting for this for years... Actually it's quite different from France ! There's Rock n' Roll everyday, in every pub here. We're so glad people came and supported us on this 1^st experience.’

Are you hoping to come back next year and possibly play some festivals over here?

 ‘I'm pretty sure we'll find an occasion to come back next year ! Festivals are the next big step ! Maybe we'll have a shot at opening acts too, we don't really know yet.’

Have you found it difficult getting your music heard initially?

 ‘I have the chance to have a large community following me on the internet. It grew thanks to YouTube, so when our first album was released, we got lots of reactions coming from the internet. That's the magic of social media !’

The self funding scene in the UK is a huge community and a lot of bands struggle. What advice would you give them?

 ‘It's hard to give some advice, because like I said, UK is really different than France. I have the feeling that in France, it's easier to get attention because Rock n’Roll isn't popular here. Anyway, keep doing what you love and it will pay in the end.’

Do you have a message for your growing number of fans?

 ‘We're just getting started, the band is working hard, and I promise you won't be disappointed... Stay tuned !’

What do you feel that Wildspiritz Rising can do for you?

‘Spread the word in the UK ! The Laura Cox Band loves you, and we want to come back !’

What’s the future for the Laura Cox Band?

‘We'll be recording our second album in January, then we'll start touring again and we can't wait.

wait.' wait.' to meet all of you on the road !