CODPIECE IS:
CASEY: Guitar/Vocals
ERIC: Bass/Vocals
DRUMMER: You?
LONG BEACH’S CODPIECE TO RELEASE LIMITED EDITION VINYL EP, SWIFTEST OF THE BIG JUNGLE CATS ON 2/26/2009
The follow-up to 2007’s self-released Epic Code EP, Codpiece’s latest platter has been a work in progress one year in the making—and an object lesson in DIY record production. Recorded primarily at the band’s own rehearsal space—San Pedro’s un-aptly named Ladies Room—Swiftest of the Big Jungle Cats finds the Long Beach trio taking the expansive sounds of Epic Code into new directions, incorporating stripped down punk rock, biting power pop and even dreamy psychedelia.
From the punishing chords and harbor-themed lyrics of “The Lament of the Crane Operator”—inspired by the group’s regular trek across the industrial wasteland between Long Beach and Pedro—to the GBV-flavored pop of “Nothing’s Going On,” it’s apparent that Codpiece has graduated from the influence-checking sounds of Epic Code. The seven songs included on SOTBJC were mostly honed on the stages of dive bars and nightclubs throughout the southland, and perhaps more accurately reflect the “Codpiece sound” than its predecessor: visceral drumming, prominent guitars, melodic bass and earnest—if imperfect—vocals.
SOTBJC was produced by the enigmatic Redondo Brothers (“Their ways are mysterious,” says singer/guitarist Casey), but Long Beach music guru Jeff Lewis was firmly at the controls, tracking Codpiece in San Pedro and mixing at the Compound Studio in Signal Hill. A special guest at the sessions, local fixture Micah Panzich of the Paperplanes added piano to the spaced out coda of “Fuzz Rope”— SOTBJC’s six-minute, two-chord opus and the closest Codpiece has (or ever will) come to shoegazing rock.
Swiftest of the Big Jungle Cats will be released February 26, 2009 on ultra-limited edition vinyl, with each record containing a special code allowing the purchaser to download a high-quality digital version of the EP at www.codpiecemusic.com. Adding a finishing touch to the release’s indie spirit, each sleeve was lovingly silkscreened by the band in the parking lot behind Casey’s apartment.
“We had no idea how to silkscreen anything,” said bassist/singer Eric. “A few of the early sleeves attested to that, but we got the hang of it eventually.”
Codpiece is coming off a banner year that saw them sharing the stage with heroes like Superdrag and Mike Watt as well as up-and-comers the Henry Clay People among others.
