Cobra Thief interview

Deep, spaced out rock ‘n’ roll from Portland, Oregon. ‘Animal Oxygen’ is a killer release!

Who’s in Cobra Thief and what do you all play? Have you all made any changes to the lineup since you started or is this the original lineup?

Cobra Thief consists of Paul Downs singing leads and playing guitar, Kevin Byers on drums, Charlie Gallapeau vocals and guitar and Andy Nelsen on vocals and bass. Charlie originally played bass but has since moved to second guitar and Andy has stepped in on bass. More guitars!!

Kevin: My older brother gave me some hand me down records when I was a kid. A few that stand out are the Easy Rider soundtrack, The Who, Beatles, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin.

Paul: My brother who is 11 years older than me got me this new album called ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ on cassette for Christmas when I was 5. It was all down hill from there.

When and how did you all originally meet?

We met about three years ago quite by chance. Charlie and I were in a band together at the time that had become stagnant and we became restless. We decided to get together and just jam but that doesn’t go far when it’s just bass and drums so I got on Craigslist to see if I could find a guitar player who’d be interested in just plugging in and letting loose. Paul responded and the rest as they say is history. We worked on a couple covers just to get the ball rolling but the originals soon followed. It felt easy and comfortable right from the start.

When did you decide that you wanted to start writing and performing your own music?

We all agreed pretty early on that writing our own stuff is the way to go. Although we have done a few covers, it’s the originals that we focus on.

“How stupid do you have to be to steal one of the rarest cars on the planet?”

What does the name “Cobra Thief” refer to?

There was a news story about a guy stealing a Shelby Cobra at gunpoint who got busted a few days later. How stupid do you have to be to steal one of the rarest cars on the planet?

What’s the songwriting process like?

Some rehearsals are just free jam nights. We tape ’em and work on the jams with potential. We all work on them together, trying everyone’s ideas. It’s my favorite thing to do!

Can you share some further details how your latest album was recorded and released?

We recorded the basic tracks of ‘Animal Oxygen’ in a church sanctuary (watch the ‘Animal Oxygen’ video if you want to see it) The room has amazing natural reverb! Additional tracking/mixing/mastering was done at Withered Studios with Andy Green at the board. It was a great experience and we hope to get back in there before the end of the year!

<a href="https://cobrathief.bandcamp.com/album/animal-oxygen">Animal Oxygen by CobraThief</a>

Who are some of your personal favorite bands that you’ve had a chance to play with?

Disenchanter, LaGoon, Dinner For Wolves, Hired Hounds, Street Hassle, Something with Teeth the list goes on. Portland has a lot of amazing bands. Fastplants from Illinois!

What are some future plans?

We done a live stream on Oct 17th. We have hired a camera crew and booked time at a sweet studio spot here in Portland called Hallowed Halls. It’s a beautiful space and we’re pretty psyched! We’ve put a lot of work into the set list and would like to release as a remixed full length video sometime down the line. We have a lot of new songs as well, most of which were played on the live stream. LP #3 will definitely be out in 2021.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Paul: GZA – ‘Pro Tools’, Amplified Heat – ‘Madera’, Gary Bartz Ntu Troop – ‘Harlem Bush Music’.

Kevin: ‘Sunrise on the Sufferbus’/ – Masters of Reality, ‘The Incredible Crocotiger’ – Messer Chups, ‘Outside the Simian Flock’ – Millionaire, Fontaines D.C. – ‘A Hero’s Death’.