Backstage with Coxon's Riot

SoGlos.com goes backstage with Coxon’s Riot, a noisy ska-influenced Gloucestershire band, to talk human pyramids, Art Brut and sex appeal.

So, Coxon’s Riot, who are you?

Coxon’s Riot is the six of us: Joseph Moss on vocals, John Trevaskis and Ben Bayross on guitar, Tom Parker on bass, George Cusworth on trumpet and Oscar Pearson on drums… We distribute the sex appeal evenly.

That’s good to know. Where are you guys from?

Originally three of us are from Cheltenham, one from Gloucester, one from Eldersfield, and one from Staunton. However nowadays we’re spread around the country from London to Sheffield.

How did you decide on the name of the band?

It concerns a legendary character we knew at school. It was hilarious at the time, trust us.

Mysterious. How long have you been established?

We’ve been around for about three or four years with our current line-up.

Who do you consider to be your main influences, and who do you get compared to?

We’ve been compared to the likes of Art Brut quite a lot, but to be honest the main reason for that is due to my (Joseph’s) singing voice. It can sound quite similar to lead singer Eddie Argos. Aka, non-existent. We have such a varied selection of influences that it would be hard to list them all, but the net result is six frantic geeks breaking up amps and snapping strings.

Who comes to see you frantic geeks play?

We get all sorts of people at our gigs. People who want to dance, go nuts, do human pyramids, stage invasions. Or people who just want to laugh at the size of Trev’s fringe.

Tell us what stage the band is at.

We currently have three EPs which we eventually plan to turn into an album. We were also signed to a small label in Cheltenham, but unfortunately nothing came of it. So at the moment we’re just taking things as they come. It has been a tough year for the band as everyone is now scattered around the country, but it’s provided us with some great opportunities gig-wise.

Have you got any favourite gig venues in Gloucestershire?

The Frog and Fiddle was our regular haunt and it is also one of the least bitchy venues we’ve played in. Slak is also a crazy venue as it’s so tiny that we are effectively playing amongst the crowd. I remember at one point I somehow had my arms around two people, separated from my microphone, but the lyrics were still coming through the speakers.

The 2 Pigs is also an excellent place to cause havoc in. And we would love to play a packed Gloucester Guildhall again, the sound in that place is awesome.

Which other local bands do you rate?

Swift Manouver and Still Bust are brilliant – the two best bands in Cheltenham. Nice guys, great music, and they’ve helped us out loads.

What do you guys do when you’re not making music?

Chronically take the p*** out of each other.

What’s your number one ambition?

To tour with Coxon’s Riot at some point in our lives.

And, can we expect a tour anytime soon?

We’re performing a few small gigs around Cheltenham and then we have a couple of events in the pipeline for Birmingham and London. In a year’s time? We’ll probably still be taking the p*** out of each other, breaking things and doing little in the way of pushing our musical boundaries. We’re only in this for a laugh, really.

Helena Murphy
11 July 2011