DCist Interview: The Points

The opener to their self-titled album, "No Girl", starts out with a riff reminiscent of TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me", then opens into this great Ramones-esque kiss off. Then they do it again with varying degrees of vitriol eleven more times. While this could get repetitive on a straight through listen, it also means that it's possible to start in the middle of their album and enjoy the songs with renewed attention. Point blank, these guys destroy. We chatted with Cobruhhh and found out why their original keyboardist left, why they're not enamored of most local venues and what they think is the best kept secret in D.C. You can see them for yourself on December 10 at the Velvet Lounge.

How did you guys meet each other?

We met while in high school twelve years ago. Spent most of the time drinking and blowing shit up; staying in trouble. I ended up in his band Poseur Bill and we have always been in a band together since. We are brothers.

I noticed one of the places that you thanked almost immediately in your liner notes was Fight Club DC. Could you tell me a little bit about that space and how you found it?

It was founded by Dan Zeman, Jenn Kesler, and a few other skater/activist/scene builders. We have known them for nearly ten years and have been practicing in whatever building they were occupying at the time. It's an indoor skatepark built from scraps in this rundown warehouse. It started four years ago and has been the coolest place in DC since and a lot of people still don't know about it. It's been a nice D.C. secret.

Would you say that practicing in a communal space where other people
could give commentary influenced your sound?

No one really bothers us. Everyone knows we are trying to get our shit togehter and not in to having people hang out and drink our beer. Every once in awhile some drunk dude will pass through and move around a bit, or Dan will scream from the room over, "You suck!" after every song. But he helps set up the electric and will vacuum after us. Our sound is constantly evolving every year. The first recordings were lofi proto bashings that bordered on psychedelia. On our last record we wanted to move towards a more satisfying sonic dark take on rock and roll through us. We love the sounds of The Saints, Devo and 60s Nuggets. We are always writing and have a handful of new ones we are really excited about. We will probably be in the studio next summer to record our next record.

I know at least one of you lives in Fredericksburg. Do you think the problem of high rent has stunted the DIY aesthetic of the DC music scene?

The rent fucking sucks. That's why we are not there right now. Geo is in Fredericksburg and I'm currently in the mountains of Blacksburg, VA but we still practice in DC and will be back soon. It's pretty much impossible to be in a full time band in DC. A lot of bands have their jobs and girlfriends and never leave town or will tour with their two weeks vacation. Fuck that. It's put us in a situation where we have been couch surfing for the last five years but we are constantly touring. If you want to be in a full time band and sell records you have to put yourself out there and be available all the time. That's why Rebecca, our keyboardist, had to quit. Couldn't afford it, couldn't handle it. Shit gets rough every once in awhile but we move on.

On the flip side, what's something that you like about the music scene in D.C.?

The local media is amazing. They have taken a huge responsibility in making sure this time is well documented. And the urge for people in D.C. to see something cool happen is big. It's a good time to be in D.C. and be a part of something that's going to happen.

Do you have any favorite venues here in the area?

Not really. Most of the clubs around here still think that we are doing ourselves a favor by playing their venue. Which is bullshit. Everywhere else it's different. I'm sure it's because we are the touring band they want to make sure you are treated well and fed, but around here they want you to draw and if you don't, you're assholes, you don't promote on "myspace" enough and they're disappointed in you. It's weird. A lot of bands we like skip D.C. 'cause they're tired of being treated like shit and getting ripped off. "Sorry, we only had 15 people tonight, so here's five bucks" while the bar makes a few hundred selling beer on a Monday night and the only reason people came to their shithole was the bands playing. I could care less. I know it's a business and that's all it is. We prefer low budget shows put together by people who do not have an initiative to make money from bands but to help bands. FCDC comes to mind. Most bars should run their venue like them. I do love having a beer at the Black Cat though. Tasty.

What other local bands do you like watching and/or playing with?

We always liked The Hall Monitors, but they kinda moved away and I don't see them that much. Suns of Guns and The Shirks are badass. My favorite band to see would be The Aquarium. Keys and drums. Really good songs. Really good live. I like them a lot. Other than that, I've kinda fell out of the loop of D.C. local rock and roll. So, uh, yeah. Never paid much attention to it anyways, always seemed to let me down.

Where did the nickname Cobruhhh come from?

Before I was the drummer of The Points I played tambourine in the band. Geo just called me that for some reason I can't remember. Maybe I was doing some sketchy sneaky shit or something. I think we all got nicknames and I still use it. Rebecca was Black Ice and I can't remember Geo's.