Matt & Alasdair took a crack at answering Doomed Nation’s Doomed Confessionary. Check it out.
Cortez is a double-guitar heavy rock five-piece from Boston, Massachusetts.
Boston loves an underdog, and as Cortez pass 15 years since the release of their 2007 debut EP, »Thunder In A Forgotten Town«, they remain persistently underrated. Cortez are among the safest bets you can make in heavy rock and roll. Across three full-lengths to date – 2020’s »Sell The Future«, 2017’s »The Depths Below«, 2012’s »Cortez« – the band has solidified a songwriting process and a straight-ahead, don’t-need-nuthin’-fancy-when-you-can-rock-like-this attitude that is second to none, in their home city or out of it.
Their fourth studio album »Thieves And Charlatans« will be released on October 18th, 2024 via Ripple Music.
Cortez are Matt Harrington (vocals), Scott O’Dowd (guitar), Alasdair Swan (guitar), Jay Furlo (bass) and Kyle Rasmussen (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Alasdair: We’re Cortez and we like to play loud, riff-based music.
Matt: We are Cortez from Boston, Massachusetts, and we make loud rock and roll music for the end times.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Alasdair: The biggest challenges these days are making time to rehearse regularly with life getting in the way. The band is important to all of us, we do this because we enjoy it and need the musical outlet though so while we may need to move the odd rehearsal, we generally manage to jam once a week.
Matt: Keeping the proverbial laundry clean, I’m going to give a nod to Covid. Not being able to play together for a good long while after coming off a solid run of shows, beginning the process of writing »Thieves And Charlatans«, and staring down the eventual release of »Sell The Future« hit really hard. That album came out in late 2020, and we were super hyped about it, so it was a real bummer that we weren’t able to put together an album release and a run of shows.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Alasdair: Given that we all work full time and have other commitments I am proud that we make the time to get together each week to rehearse and manage to write, record, and release albums to the high standard we hold ourselves to.
Matt: It’s probably cliche, but I can honestly say the entire process of making »Thieves And Charlatans«. I’m proud of the work we put in over what was a challenging time, and proud of my homies for continuing to broaden the musical palette of the band in new and interesting ways. It helps that we have a true gem in Benny Grotto over at Mad Oak in our corner, and this being our 5th time working with him made the process super smooth, fun as hell, and allowed for some creative experimentation and collaboration with our approach.
What was your biggest regret?
Alasdair: No regrets. I’m happy with everything we’ve recorded, and that’s in large part to the band working well together. The other side of that is Benny Grotto, the producer we’ve used for our last three albums. He’s a wonderful producer and has been able to nail the sound we’re going for.
Matt: We have a song on the new album called »Stove Up«, and it has a refrain of “…you’ll survive the new.” I wrote the lyrics for it years ago now, so it’s unrelated to the last year, but I probably should have taken that line more to heart this year.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Alasdair: Back in 2019 we got the opportunity to support John Garcia in Las Vegas, which was a lot of fun. He and his band were great and it was a fantastic opportunity to play far from home.
Matt: Opening for John Garcia out in Vegas was certainly a highlight. We played really well, were super tight, and the crowd was a lot of fun. As a fan, it was cool to watch his band run through several songs during soundcheck and then just kill it onstage.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Alasdair: Sergeant Thunderhoof, The Wildhearts, Green Lung, Mastodon, The Hellacopters, Therapy?, Skunk Anansie, Judas Priest.
Matt: I’m stoked for the new A Place To Bury Strangers album, so I’ve been listening to their last couple a lot. I’m going to see Green Lung and Dozer in September, so likewise with them. Our homies in Worshipper just put out an awesome record, and that’s been getting a lot of spins. Glacier, also from Boston, have a new one coming out soon and they just released a single that rules. I’ve been digging the new one from Whores a lot, and I unfortunately slept on that one for a bit. These aren’t heavy so much, but the new DIIV and Swervedriver are solid and I keep coming back to those.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Alasdair: My first guitar teacher said that the best way to improve is to play with other people, to learn to listen to the other instruments while playing your own. And I think that’s invaluable advice. Playing along to a record is great and all, but when you’re playing as part of a band you learn that awareness of how your playing can affect other people and how their playing can affect yours.
Matt: A band in my teens decided one day we were going to go to the beach, set up our shit, plug in to an outlet in the beach parking lot and play loud until the cops shut us down. Before the fuzz got there we got through like 10 songs, and this guy comes up to me after one of them and says “hey man, you gotta sing UP.” Dude grabs my microphone stand, raised it up a few inches, and damn if that guy wasn’t spot on.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Alasdair: I listen to a wide variety of music and don’t believe you should feel guilty due to listening to particular styles or music or artists. As long as you enjoy it it’s all good. The teenage me would strongly disagree though. I remember being so angry that Nicke left Entombed that I decided I hated The Helicopters without hearing them at all. Luckily I have since seen past my youthful musical elitism and can fully enjoy The Hellacopters for the awesome rock and roll band they are.
Matt: People like what they like, and I don’t think they should feel embarrassed about it. I love a ton of stuff that would probably make some weird gatekeeper cringe, but fuck em, right?
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Boston?
Alasdair: We’re lucky that there are a bunch of great bands in the area such as Worshipper, Sundrifter, Kind, Blood Lightning, Mollusk, and Curse The Son.
Matt: It’s been a rough couple of years with practice/artist spaces shutting down, along with quite a few venues, but things seem to be on the upswing again for us. There are several new venues being built or that sprung up recently, and the city is working with artists to protect our creative spaces and pave the way for new ones. Beyond that, we’ve had a lot of really solid albums come out from bands around town recently, and some on the horizon that I am stoked to listen to. We’re spoiled around here for talent and the folks that book it.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Alasdair: Our next gig is our record release on 22nd November at Deep Cuts in Medford. We’re playing with Worshipper and Curse The Son so it’s a stacked line-up.
Matt: Our album release party with our friends Worshipper and Curse The Son on November 22nd at Deep Cuts in Medford, MA. After that, we’re taking a few months to dig into our back catalog with our new drummer, Kyle Rasmussen, and we’ll be actively lining things up for late winter/spring and beyond shortly.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Alasdair: Keep writing music and play a bunch of gigs in support of our new album.
Matt: We recently welcomed Kyle to the band, so we’re focused on getting tight with the new album, our set mainstays, and bringing back some old favorites. While we do that, we’ll be revisiting some riffs that have been on the sidelines for a bit, along with some new ideas that I’m sure folks have kicking around. Rust don’t sleep; it’s time to write the next one.
How can people best support your band?
Alasdair: Come out to gigs and support the local live music scene, listen to our music, and buy some merch.
Matt: Share a song you dig with your friends, then share another. Come out to a show and hang. Add us and hit us up on social media. Pre-order »Thieves And Charlatans« from Ripple Music, and listen to our new single »Gimme Danger (On My Stereo)« on your streaming platform of choice.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Alasdair: Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the new record.
Matt: Thank you. Sincerely.
