Cog bounce back with Boomerangtour

Thu 24th May, 2007 in Features

Sydney progressive rockers, Cog (*Flynn Gower* on vocals and guitar, brother Luke on bass, and drummer Lucius Borich) are taking time out from recording their second album in the US to blast through Fremantle, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney on a five-day whirlwind tour, aptly dubbed – œBoomerang.’

Lucius, son of Aussie Blues guitar legend Kevin Borich has been around music since birth. Growing up in Bondi, he was exposed to an extremely diverse range. His father’s album collection contained artists like Frank Zappa, Led Zeplin, Hendrix and B.B. King. Lucius’s tastes diversified further as he got older, embracing bands like The Dead Kennedys, Midnight Oil and Tool, but his favourite artists of all time are Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd and The Police.

Lucius began playing drums at age three and got his first full-sized kit when he was 12. He played his first gig at thirteen, backing his father at a show in Wollongong.

“I remember taking two bass drums, because my father wanted me to do a drum solo, and I thought if I could play bass drums really fast I’d come off looking all right,” he said.

Lucius first met Flynn Gower in high school. They were originally in a band called The Hanging Tree, but it wasn’t until he was in the US that the idea for Cog began to form. He established the band with Flynn in 1998, and Luke joined them two years later.

They first released a rare demo recording entitled Pseudo EP in 2000. This was followed by the release of EPs, Just Visiting 1 (including three re-releases from Pseudo), and Just Visiting 2 in 2002.

Cog released their debut album, The New Normal, in April, 2005. It was recorded in Weed, California and produced by Sylvia Massy Shivy (System of A Down and Tool).

The album only took two months to record as most of the material had already been written and Lucius was amazed by the finished sound, saying, “It was like I actually heard the band for the first time.” The album debuted at number one on the Australian Independent Recording (AIR) charts, number 19 on the Aria charts and received a nomination for a J Award for best album of the year.

Cog flew back to Weed in early 2007 to record material for their new album Sharing Space, due for release in Australia later this year. The primary focus of this album is groove, rather than the in-your-face sound of their first release.

The band has enjoyed a very fulfilling career thus far. They won Best Emerging Live Band at the Australian Live Music Awards in 2002, Performed at the Big Day Out and supported System of a Down, Shihad and Grinspoon, but the greatest achievement of their career has been “just surviving as a band.” Lucius said

Cog plan to continue challenging themselves to write the best songs and deliver the greatest live shows they can, increase people’s awareness of social issues, and encourage them to think outside the square.

Lucius said gigging in the US is completely different to Australia because they are quite well known over here, whereas over there they are just another up-and-coming band.

”...It’s like starting again…you’ve got a 20 minute set or a half an hour set and 15 minutes to get your stuff together and get on and get off…they’re very very strict because there’s a lot of bands…” he said.

Lucius is looking forward to playing to a home crowd after months of recording in the US. He said audiences can expect them to deliver the best live show possible, “good times” and some new songs.

He advises emerging musicians to follow their passion – œlike no tomorrow’, regardless of what anyone says. “Sometimes it can be fast, sometimes it can take a while, but at least at the end of the day you’re being creative within your time on this Earth…”

Don’t miss Cog’s hard-rocking, arse-kicking performances somewhere on the Boomerang Tour! For tour dates click here

Cog are also appearing as part of the line-up for the HiFi Bar and Ballroom’s 10th birthday celebrations, for details click here