Issue #1
For those who don’t know, COCKNOOSE is the grittiest,
meanest, and most downright ass-kicking band ever to come from the state of
Kansas. This interview with COCKNOOSE front man Devin Alan Ward aka “Commander
P.P. Urino” was conducted by John the Baptist of Mystery School Records via
email in October of 2012. After a hard fought battle with cancer, Devin
succumbed to an inoperable brain tumor on July 18, 2013.
Rest in peace, brother. Thank you for
everything.
John: What is one of your earliest music memories?
Devin: My earliest memory of music is of my grandmother
playing guitar and singing country songs. She was in bands and was a good
player and singer.
J: What music, record, or group first stood out above the
rest?
D: The record that really did it for me was Black Oak
Arkansas Raunch& Roll. I wore that thing out.
J: What was your first concert?
D: My first concert was Dr. Hook and the Medicine show
opening for Black Oak Arkansas. My parents took me. I must have been about 10
years old.
J: When did you first encounter punk?
D: The Ramones were the first punk band I ever heard and
also the first time I ever thought, "Hey I can do this".
J: First punk show?
D: My first punk show was just some local bands. Soon after
I saw The Gun Club,Cramps,Devo, and too many to remember.
J: What was your first band?
D: My first band was just some friends of mine. We were
called Hot Beef Injection. Never recorded anything.
J: How did Cocknoose form?
D: Cocknoose formed because Justin (Widowmaker) and I were
kind of sick of what underground music had become at least around here. We
liked the more hardcore stuff and wanted to bring danger back to punk rock. We
were influenced by Poison Idea, Toxic Reasons, Black Flag, Dead Boys, GG Allin,The
Stooges, MC5,Rose Tattoo,AC/DC,Thin Lizzy,BOA, a lot of early hardcore, and a
lot of early country music.
J: How did you get the stage name Commander PP Urino?
D: I got the name Commander PP because I like to watch girls
piss. Ha ha, simple as that.
J: Who are your biggest influences as a front man?
D: My biggest influences as a frontman are Mick Jagger, Iggy
Pop, Jim Dandy, Ronnie Van Zandt, Dave Vanian, Angry Anderson, Bon Scott, Rob
Tyner.
J: What is your favorite Cocknoose release?
D: As far as Cocknoose
releases my favorite is” White Trash Messiah,”, but I actually like all our
stuff.
J: Tell us about some memorable Cocknoose gigs (best, worst,
etc).
D: Memorable gigs? Man I could write a book on that subject.
They were all memorable in one way or the other.
J: I am a huge ANTiSEEN fan and that is how I came to know
about Cocknoose. When did you first hear ANTiSEEN? When did you first see them?
Play with them?
D: The first time I heard ANTiSEEN was a friend of mine who
was the promoter of The Outhouse and they had sent him a 7 inch ( I can't
remember which one) but he was asking me if he should book them. I didn't even
listen to the record but the liner notes had a description of one of their live
gigs and I instantly said “Book them and we want to open up for them!” This was around ‘92 I think. We played with
them and hit it off immediately. We had common interests. It was honestly like
we had known each other for years. Then we went on tour with them in ‘94 and
the rest is history.
J: How did the Confederacy of Scum come to be?/ How did
Cocknoose get involved?
D: The Confederacy Of Scum was actually started byWidowmaker
and Jeff so ANTiSEEN and Cocknoose were the first bands in the COS.
J: What music/groups do you love that no one would ever
suspect?Any “guilty pleasures?”
D: I don't believe in guilty pleasures. If I dig something I
dig it. Most people are more surprised to find out I'm a vegetarian than they
are about, say, my love of The Supremes.
J: With age comes wisdom, they say Have your
priorities/philosophies changed over time?
D: My priorities and philosophies haven't really changed a
whole lot. With age comes more responsibility.
J: If Devin today met Devin from 20 years ago would be pals
or would you wind up in a brawl?
D: If today’s Devin met Devin 20 years ago there would have
been a brawl for sure. I've never been asked that, but yeah we would not have
gotten along.
J: What advice would you give to any young person today
looking to start a band?
D: I have no advice for kids looking to start a band these
days. . .
J:Top 10 all-time favorite albums?
D: As far as top 10 albums, that changes daily so it’s
impossible to answer. Let’s just say I enjoy my music collection. (Ed note:
During the relatively short time that I knew Devin, we spent a lot of time
discussing our favorite oddities from our record collections. Here are 3 jewels
he turned me on to: psychedelic folk singer Peter Grudzien’s- “The Unicorn,” the
kraut rock masterpiece Brainticket- “Cottonwood Hill,” and little know Baton
Rouge, LA Southern rock band Pot Liquor- “Levee Blues”.)
