Interview with Josh Taylor from Josh Taylor and The Cozy Boys
By Matthew Freihofner ‘15
Who are Josh Taylor & the Cozy Boys?
So we’ve got Ben Glasser on guitar, Trevor Bietz on drums, Sonny Kennelly on Bass, and our producer Zack Foster who does percussion onstage. And I play the ukulele and sing.
How did you come up with the name?
Honestly it kind of started as a joke, like most things we do. Whenever we would go out and get sushi we would call each other sushi boys, if we were sitting in the sand at the beach we were sand boys and so on. So I think Zack saw something that said “cozy” and we just went “cozy boys”… And it stuck. I think it works well because ‘cozy’ describes both our personalities and music.
How would you describe your music?
Well, it’s definitely cozy. The goal of our music is to just put you in a good mood. It’s feel good, groovy and makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
How did you first get involved in music?
My dad plays the piano by ear and as a kid I would fall asleep to him playing every night. That’s probably where my love of music is rooted. I started playing the ukulele as joke when I was 15. I found an old, kitschy uke in my sister’s closet and once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. At some point it transitioned from a joke to an actual pursuit. I started playing for friends and it progressed from there. I didn’t really get serious until my show at Ground Zero last fall. That’s when I realized it was something I really wanted to do.
Did you ever have lessons?
No, I’m kind of just self-taught. It’s pretty funny because the Cozy Boys have all had some sort of musical training so we have an interesting way of communicating. They can all “speak” theory while I have to just use adjectives. Like I’ll say I want this part to sound blue, or warm or “flip-floppy.” It’s fun—we’re developing our own dialect.
You mentioned playing Ground Zero last fall, was that with the Cozy Boys also?
No it was just me. The band has actually only been together for about 3 months so it’s a pretty young project. Last night was actually our first show together. But most importantly to me, we’ve all been able to become pretty good friends and I think that’s what’s going to make it work. That’s where the coziness comes from; we goof around a lot and we’re just comfortable with each other.
What can we look forward to from the band?
We are finishing recording our first EP which we’re hoping to begin releasing within the semester. We’ll be playing around LA though, so to stay posted you should check out:
Our Instagram: @joshtaylortunes
And our Facebook: facebook.com/joshtaylortunes
