Interview's

By Don Sill

Combining a solid mix of rock & roll attitude with pop-rock finesse, Sinomatic has put together a refreshing style of music that takes us back to the days when heavy metal was fun. Their self-entitled Atlantic Records debut is determined to make an impact on the pop market for it is a artistically satisfying, yet commercially viable album that successfully blends sensual vocals with edgy effective guitar riffs and tight, memorable grooves that the chicks would dig as much as the dudes. Songs like "Love Removable," "Candyskin," 'Tell a Lie" and "Bloom" have the kind of strong radio appeal that the MTV generation would eat up like flap-jacks and the power-ballad "Girlfriend" could be an instant hit-single. Sinomatic gives off an old school vibe with a brand of 80's rock showmanship meshed with a new millennium sound. Singer, Ken Cooper, is certainly a front man who has evolved through rock and roll history. He's a little bit Jim Morrison a little bit Brett Michaels, a little bit Scott Weiland, he is a blend of 70's, 80's and 90's rock personas and has transformed into a new type of rock star. Sinomatic, who also includes guitarist's Rick Deak and Bryan Patrick, drummer Matt Lawrence and bassist Dave Markasky, are certainly a band that has the potential to become something big. They have all the qualities needed to become certified rock stars it's all up to the kids who buy records and the fans who buy tickets to see just how far they will go. Ball Buster magazine recently sat down with Ken Cooper and Rick Deak backstage before one of their shows and talked about their influences, their career's and their future as a rock and roll band and what exactly makes them so different.

BALL BUSTER: The new album is doing very well right now, how long have you guys anticipated this kind of success and how does it feel to have finally made it to this level?

KEN COOPER: Well, we waited a long time because we actually got signed in September of 99' and because we had some producer problems we didn't get to start recording till' six months after we thought we would. Then we turned the record in on third quarter and they didn't' want to put it in till' after the forth quarter, so.. We just put the album out a year after we finished it, so we've been sitting for a long time. Not to mention the ten years of struggling to get the record deal and then to sit for almost two years after you get itā?¦ It's really pleasing to finally have the album out.

BALL BUSTER: Yeah, the album is finally released and it's doing good on the charts, the first single 'Bloom' is doing very good..

COOPER: Yeah, it's going up the charts..

BALL BUSTER: That's a good thing, man. Now you said that you guys have been together for ten years?

COOPER: No, this band has been together for three and we've all been working for separate bands with the same collective goal for the last ten years, since we were teenagers.

BALL BUSTER: How would you say that you've evolved as a singer throughout that ten year span?

COOPER: Well, when I was younger I followed the trends and then as I matured I realized that and just went back to my roots, which is American guitar rock. I kinda have a bit of a Brit vocal influence, so combine the two, big Brit vocal melodies over big American guitar's.

RICK DEAK: Ken started out as just a guitar player.. He never sang at first..

COOPER: Yeah, that's true. Rick and I were in the same band since we were sixteen years old, we're the two that have been together for ten years. I was originally a guitar player, we were actually duel guitar players back in the day. We used to fight over who got to play lead, now we're doing this and it worked out really well.

BALL BUSTER: So, when did you make the big decision to move into the front man, singer role?

COOPER: I think it was literally because we were not able to find a singer in our town.. We're from Youngstown, Ohio, which is a semi-depressed area, it's an old steel-mill kinda town. I just got out of music for a couple of years and I was stuck doing the day job thing and I wasn't happy, I was really bummed out about the whole thing, so I picked up an acoustic guitar and started doing some open-mike nights and started finding my voice.. I wasn't even allowed to sing in my old band, (laughs) They didn't even let me do back-up's..

DEAK: (laughs) We'd turn the mike off, and he thought he was singing , but he wasn't..

COOPER: (laughs) Yeah.. But, I did go to open-mike nights and started discovering where my vocal range was and then I started writing some songs and then I started working on an album on my own. Then, I called Rick a couple of months into it, brought him by and he loved it..

DEAK: Yeah, but I didn't believe it when he said he was singing.. (Laughs) I was like, 'that's not you, get outa here.'

BALL BUSTER: (laughs) Yeah, he's just the guitar player, right..

DEAK: (laughs) But, I was like, 'wow'

COOPER: Yeah, he really dug the stuff and he brought his guitar over and we started working on the new band called, 'Vertigo-Go.'

BALL BUSTER: 'Vertigo-Go?'

COOPER: Yeah, But we had to change our name because we almost got sued by Universal Pictures for that 1960 movie that Alfred Hichcock put out called 'Vertigo' we had that moniker for a year and right after we got signed we had to change the name.

BALL BUSTER: That must have been a bitch.

COOPER: That was a bit of a hurdle for us. Because we just built a nice big regional following with the independent album that we put out, it sold really well, we got the deal and everything, then dammit we had to change our name and start over again with a new name. So, there have been some obstacles and road blocks along the way so this really feels good to be where we're at.

BALL BUSTER: I've noticed in your music that you have a lot of influences from the 70's, 80's and 90's rock and roll. Which era of music would you say is your biggest influence?

COOPER: It's a strong length from the 70's and 80's but, I have to be honest and say it's the 80's. We were doing all the typical stuff..

DEAK: And the cool stuff, like 'The Cult'

COOPER: Yeah, we were doing 'The Cult' and 'AC-DC,' of course, and 'Aerosmith' and 'Guns & Roses' were big ones for us, but we were also into 'U2'

BALL BUSTER: What do you think about today's music?

COOPER: I'm starting to dig some of the stuff that's out.. I was really bummed for a long time with what was going down and I'm really starting to have more of a respect for radio again, finally. There starting to spin some good stuff, I mean, they need to play more Sinomatic of courseā?¦ (laughs) We're into what's going down. There's some really good bands out there right now.

DEAK: We've been listening to the 'Spacehog,' and the new 'Black Crows' is good, the 'Incubus' CD is really good, 'Buckcherry' is rocking..

COOPER: There is some cool stuff going on right now. There' some heavier stuff too that's really, really cool that's coming out and we're into as well. So, we kinda feel music swinging back to where it should be, ya know. Rock stars are coming back, and that's what we like, we like to see that because we like to enjoy our music and enjoy the show and try not to be so bummed out and depressed. We already went through that for how many years? From ninety-two to now, ya know, and it's been, pretty much, a weird state of affairs with Grunge and everything. I dug a lot of that stuff too, but we're going back to what it originally started at which is funā?¦ and girls.. (laughs)

BALL BUSTER: (laughs) So, is that what you would say separates your guys from other bands that are out there?

COOPER: We're not following the going trends, you know what I mean? We're not doing the hip-hop edge, there's no friggin' deejay scratching in our stuff, we're just rock and roll, the way I grew up listening to it. Big guitars and good melodies and solid songwriting. Everyone of our songs was written on an acoustic guitar and we can strip them down and play every single song that we play with a five piece and play it with one person and one acoustic. I think that's what's giving it that kind of flavor of something new because it's not normal now-a-days to have thatā?¦ It's kind of a thing of the past.

BALL BUSTER: Well, as a songwriter, what inspires your lyrics and your music?

COOPER: Personal experiences.. It's all a derivative of my life and it's a chronicle of the last five years. I'd say it's kind of a diary of my life, I went through a lot of battles with addictions and stuff like that..

DEAK: ..and his sex addictions too..(laughs)

COOPER: (laughs) That was the medicine, baby!

BALL BUSTER: Now you guys just came off the road with AC-DC that must have been like a dream come true?

COOPER: Yeah, that was kind of funny because we got a call like forty-eight hours before we had to be there and they were like, 'hey, can you guys pick up the AC-DC tour,' and we were like, 'are you kidding me?'

BALL BUSTER: Did you get a chance to hang with Agnus or Brian?

COOPER: Yeah, we did. Rick actually has a picture of him and Agnus hanging out in Cleveland together and they were all really cool. We heard that Agnus made a couple of comments one night at one of the radio stations he said that he really like that band and all that stuff. He kinda made a joke and said, I wonder when we're were gonna be opening up for these guys," so it was good to hear that he was definitely in to us. They were good guys.

BALL BUSTER: That must have felt sureal for you guys to actually open up for AC-DC.

COOPER: Yeah, we also got to do the Alice Cooper tour which was totally incredible. We started in Milwaukee and came over and did Roseland there in New York andā?¦

DEAK: We did Roseland on Halloween night, and that was awesome..

COOPER: Yeah, we did that on Halloween night and there was nothing like it, man. That is right up there with the AC-DC thing because it was such a cool experience.

BALL BUSTER: Yeah, Alice Cooper is a legend, an ICON..

COOPER: Yeah, he's awesome..

BALL BUSTER: So, what's next for you guys?

COOPER: We're gonna keep touring. We're supposed to pick up on the tour with 'Monster Magnet' after this, which will start in June and we're gonna be some club dates on our own. We're gonna support the radio stations that been supporting us and do a couple of those shows and we're also focusing on putting a video together and getting that out and just kick ass, ya know.