“We’re just people who want to enjoy this music and celebrate the people that make it. The metal community is about inclusion.”
As a part of our series about the metal community, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Cooper of TALLAH.
Emerging from Pennsylvania in 2018 and combining the percussive force of second-generation drummer Max Portnoy with the pure, war-torn fury of vocalist and YouTube sensation Justin Bonitz, nu-core quartet TALLAH formed with a singular and unifying mission: revamping the much-loved sound of popular nu-metal sensations of the early 2000s. Their debut album Matriphagy was released in October 2020 on Earache Records.
Coop, thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your band’s backstory?
I’m from Allentown, PA and I started playing music when I was briefly living in Missouri when I was about 11 or 12. [After] almost 2 years my family moved back home and I began taking lessons under Nick Franclik. I played in high school and was in some bands with friends throughout college. I studied at Temple University in North Philadelphia and I was in a band with some of my best friends called DEAD:STOP, playing all over in Philly when we met Max [Portnoy]. After a little while I joined another band in the area called SIRAVO and we’ve had some really great shows and I’ve grown close with them as well. I’ve always loved a variety of music. Funk is my favorite and it gives me so much life (and Irish Nautical Songs).
What or who are your biggest influences? We’d love to hear the story.
RHCP is my favorite band and Flea is my favorite player, along with Larry Graham, Hunter from AFI, Mike and Zach from COHEED AND CAMBRIA and a whole bunch more. I love funk music or alternative anything really. I was really into Anthology by ALIEN ANT FARM, that record is so fantastic and it influenced and helped me think outside the box from what I’d heard on bass so far. SYSTEM OF A DOWN is probably one of the other heavier influences that helped me drop my sense of what was “cool” or “normal” cus the lyrics were powerful and opinionated and also sometimes utter gibberish; their influence always felt like ‘it can be heavy but don’t take it too seriously, it’s supposed to be fun too.’ Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Green Day, Coheed, Incubus, Werid Al, Daft Punk, Les Miserables, Alice Cooper, Dave Matthews, I could list a ton of artists, musicals, and writings. I try to find influence in whatever I can.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person or people who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to get where you’re at today? Can you share a story about that?
Well, I was introduced to Max [Portnoy] thru some promoters in the Philly area, Jim Cunningham and Saul Dratman. They always had a gig for anyone looking to play a stage in Philly. TALLAH, in turn, has been helped by countless numbers of people listening to our songs online and watching our videos. We’ve had people put us up and give us a place to stay and allowed us to rest out on the road. Just like anyone out there we are made stronger by those that have helped us.
[Also] in high school my best friend and I were watching one of our favorite local bands that had been making waves with their new music, record deal, nation-wide tours, etc… and we were talking to their bassist after and he gave us some words that I’ve tried to stick by: “If you want it, you can have it”; and it keeps me determined to work towards the goals that I set for myself. No matter what, if I work hard enough, it’ll be worth something. I’ve always tried to remember that when roadblocks come up or I’m not feeling good enough.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that has occurred to your band? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
We have had countless barrels of laughter because we’ve all become quite close. Justin [Bonitz] is easily the funniest one in the band and Derrick [Schneider] is too but he doesn’t mean to be. He’s just inadvertently funny. One time, Derrick had a mouth full of pizza and sneezed it all onto Max’s face. Which was hilarious and disgusting. But we get into shenanigans for sure.
The road to success is hard and requires tremendous dedication. This question is obviously a big one, but what advice would you give to younger bands who aspire to follow in your footsteps and emulate your success?
Well, success is different for everyone and all we’ve really tried to do is stay true to our music and what we think is aligned with what we enjoy and what we think people might enjoy. If you want to be successful define what success is for you. We all have goals and ideas that constantly evolve or change so if you’re making art just make sure it’s something that you are happy with because at the end of the day it’s your art, your poem, your painting. If it moves you, cherish it, chase it.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
We’d like to get some stuff out this year because we can’t really do nothing all year, but we are hoping that we can get some studio time and get some writing done eventually. We haven’t been able to tour Matriphagy since it dropped in Oct 2020, so we’re really just waiting for live music to come back into the fold.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. Can you briefly tell our readers a bit about why you are a part of the heavy metal community?
The genre is cathartic to listen to and interact with, it’s got an extremely pervasive nature. It feels good to stomp around and get your aggression out while listening to loud heavy music. It just resonates with us.
For the benefit of our readers, can you help to define what the heavy metal community is?
A group of people who like, listen to, heavy metal music.
How is the heavy metal community different from other communities?
We’re just people who want to enjoy this music and celebrate the people that make it. The metal community is about inclusion.
Can you help explain a few reasons why the heavy metal community is so important? Can you share a story or give some examples?
It gives me a sense of belonging, I enjoy interacting with people at shows, the genre is so broad that you can meet so many types of cool people. I love running around in a crowd with other people moshing and giving our energy to the bands playing live.
Ok. Wonderful. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you recommend five things that anyone can do to help grow and strengthen the metal community? Please share a story or example for each.
- Go to shows
- Buy band merch
- Talk to the members of bands/fans metal show attendees
- Share bands/music with other people
- Stream their stuff and boost their social media, (its not my preferred method but its where bands do most networking)
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a band of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Personally, I just want inclusion, and accountability towards people of color, differently abled people, [and the] LGBTQIA community, essentially. Hold people responsible and give those who don’t have a chance the opportunities the rest of us have. I have always been an advocate for social justice so I would wish for the metal community to stand up for the rights of every marginalized group that has been excluded from participating and having a voice. Hate5six is a fantastic contributor to the scene, his work is so important because he is documenting history that could inspire people across the world. His influence and voice are integral to the self-expression that the metal community values. SHARPTOOH is a band I really respect and love because they provide pamphlets and reading material about Trans, women, differently abled, and people of color so that we can as a whole be more knowledgeable and helpful to those that want to be a part of the community.
What is next for your band?
We want nothing more than to tour our faces off. We wanna write in the future but right now we just want to play shows.
How can our readers further follow you online?
YouTube: @Tallah
Facebook: @TallahPA
Instagram: @tallah___
Merch: Vision Merch
[You can also find all TALLAH’s links at Smart URL]
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.