Transcontinental project between Michael Waltman & Dan McGowan.  Waltman resides in Scotsdale, AZ, McGowan in Wilmington DE.  They have been close friends for 35+ years, brought together by music at teenagers.  This writing collaboration works by sharing, editing and creating songs by sharing Logic Pro tracks.                                                                    

Using the lean, classic rock ‘n roll lineup of guitar, bass, and drums, the Cocks effortlessly embrace late-‘70s punk rock, early-‘80s Midwest garage rock, and ‘60s Brit-Pop while crushing on modern alt-rock. That means you’ll hear sonic echoes of The Clash and The Replacements mixed with the tunefulness of The Kinks and The Beatles, with nods to the edginess of Yo La Tengo, Spoon, and Built to Spill. 

Longtime collaborators Mark Stallard and Phil Young started The Cocks in 2001 as a side project, a complement to their many other musical endeavors. Drummer Pete Romano joined in 2009 to help them complete their debut CD, “Tuesday Morning Hangover,” then stayed on. In-demand players with other musical obligations, The Cocks took their time recording and releasing their debut, which saw the light of day in December 2010 after six years of off-and-on production.

That wasn’t the case with the new EP “Shake Out the Ghosts.” This time, The Cocks recorded five songs in three days at Philadelphia’s Miner Street Recordings (studio of choice for Kurt Vile, Dr. Dog, The War On Drugs, Strand of Oaks, Sharon Van Etten, and many others) working with nationally known producer/engineer (and fellow musician and songwriter) Brian McTear. 

Sympathetic Ears is following