Artist description A slow descent into madness.

Music Style Subversive rock

Musical Influences tool, pink floyd, nine inch nails, alice in chains, tori amos

Similar Artists radiohead, pearl jam, nirvana

Artist History A Failed Attempt to Alter History is their debut album

Group Members Eric Cochran (vocals, guitar) Andrew Cucchiaro (guitar) Chad Cochran (drums) Mirko Maher (bass) Paul Zeroh (keyboards)

Instruments guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals

Albums A Failed Attempt to Alter History

Press Reviews Posted on Fri, Mar. 01, 2002 Contra Costa Times A conspiracy of talent swirls around Oswald TONY HICKS: Pop Music Critic OSWALD GUITARIST Andrew Cucchiaro pauses when I tell him why I paged him only minutes after we hung up the phone. I don't blame him. I want to know where the band's name comes from. Although I have a pretty good idea, my boss still clings to the dusty old theory that writers should verify things they put in the newspaper. "Well ... it ... I don't know," says Cucchiaro, a UC Berkeley student and 1996 graduate of Danville's San Ramon Valley High School. "It's kind of something we're all fascinated in -- the various conspiracies surrounding (the JFK shooting)." Cucchiaro just finished 15 minutes of conversation about his band, how they record and their artistic interests. Now this newspaper guy wants to talk conspiracies. I won't make Andrew into some conspiracy nut -- because he's not. He goes on to explain that drummer Chad Cochran knew someone who had a dog named Oswald, and it sounded like a pretty good name. Pretty good name for a very good band. It's another reason to hope that maybe good -- and serious -- music is on its way back. And, for being such an unserious guy, I couldn't be happier. Movements and sounds usually take a few years to filter down to club musicians, typically with varied results. Oswald plays mood music -- call it Radiohead-influenced if you'd like, but that's not doing Oswald justice. It's so much more accessible, with elements of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, the Cure and probably dozens more. "There's a lot of bands out there, but there's a succession of bands interesting in songwriting," says Cucchiaro. "The Beatles, Nirvana, Radiohead ... that's where the influences come in." Oswald just released "A Failed Attempt to Alter History," a well-produced record that was recorded entirely in Cucchiaro's Martinez living room. Though the quality is outstanding for originating in someone's house, the recording wasn't without its problems. "The initial plan was to be done in a month," he says. "Then the computers crashed and we nearly lost some vocal tracks. We actually lost two songs." Those songs will have to wait for the next Oswald release. The first one has lots of great moments, from the artsy and moody title track (which is where they'll get a lot of the Radiohead comparisons) to "16 Years Until 40," which sounds like Pearl Jam delicately taking on a Cure song. "No Grapes" is the record's high point, with a hooky chorus emerging from a built-up and richly-delivered guitar progression that could be on the most discriminating of rock radio stations. Cucchiaro began playing with brothers Eric (vocals) and Chad Cochran (drums) at San Ramon Valley High in the mid-'90s. They drifted off to college, but managed to keep the music alive until about a year ago, when they teamed with Michigan natives Paul Jones (keyboards) and Mike Allen (bass), whom Chad met at art school. The songs are about alienation and other daily topics that strike them. Oswald has been working on perfecting the art of translating a good record into a live show where, unlike the studio, the band "lets the emotion dictate where we're going to go. But we're total perfectionists in the studio." You can check out the record at www.oswaldmusic.net. The band's next scheduled show is April 10 at Jupiter in Berkeley, though they expect to add more dates before then. Check the Web site for updates.

Additional Info Recorded at home on Pro Tools.

Location Berkeley, CA - USA

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