“Shine” has also received airplay throughout the country, quickly rising into the top 20 at AAA, and has been added to Sirius satellite radio’s Alt Nation channel. When Mondo Cozmo performed on Bentley’s Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show in December, the host referred to him as “One of the most promising upcoming artists in Los Angeles at the moment.” Alternative music blogs and magazines have been praising “Shine” and Mondo Cozmo, using words such as “uplifting,” “refreshing” and “evocative.” Many listeners as well as DJ's and critics are commenting that the hopeful nature of “Shine” couldn’t have come at a better time.
Video Made the Radio Star
One attention-getting tool Mondo Cozmo has used to his advantage is a widely circulated video for the song “Hold On To Me,” which features actress Anna Faris. “I knew her through friends,” he says. “She has a very successful podcast, Unqualified, and she asked me to write and record the theme song, which I did, and it came out really cool. I had three songs completed at that time, and was ready to make videos. I thought ‘nobody wants to see me in a video, nobody knows who I am.’ A friend suggested I ask Anna, and I was reluctant to, but she was so sweet, and was happy to do it.”
The pairing also resulted in Ostrander performing the song for a live taping of the podcast at Entertainment Weekly’s PopFest, where he was backed by the USC Marching Band.
While Ostrander considers Mondo Cozmo a solo project, he does use full backing bands for live shows. For the showcases and other appearances last year, Ostrander assembled a four-piece band and a small horn section. “I actually auditioned them, and I felt like such a dick! I come from being in bands, I’ve been in bands since middle school. I’m used to that kind of camaraderie. But I knew right away that these guys were really special. They’re each in, like, 15 bands. They are actually the ones who told me to go out to the desert to finish the record, to do the weird, offbeat stuff that the people are reacting to.”
For the limited East Coast shows in Philly, New York and Southeastern dates that Mondo Cozmo is playing through this Spring, Ostrander has recruited the band Illinois, a Philly-based unit he has known for years. He plans, however, to continue using the previously mentioned band for future dates. Dave Kaplan and Marty Diamond at Paradigm are handling those bookings.
The name Mondo Cozmo? “My last band, Eastern Conference Champions, the name was so long, it was a nightmare,” he says. “You couldn’t fit the logo on anything! So when I started Mondo Cozmo, I wanted something that would look cool on a t-shirt, and something that rhymes. My dog’s name is Cozmo, and I was watching a John Waters movie, Mondo Trasho, and it just came together.
Don't expect the forthcoming tracks to be reminiscent of “Shine.” Ostrander has a diverse repertoire, as evidenced by his body of work thus far. “Plastic Soul” has a gospel feel to it, while the recent “Sixes and Sevens” has a driving, British punk sound and vibe, and an earlier release, “Higher,” is a catchy dance tune. And while Ostrander uses many traditional elements, such as handclaps, live horns and sweeping choral backup vocals, none of it sounds derivative or purposefully retro. His sound has been called “edgy” and “raw,” but the reality is that it is well-crafted, often pretty, very fresh-sounding music that is simultaneously familiar and wholly original.
Executing the Master Plan
What is Ostrander’s advice to artists coming up the ranks these days? “I feel that artists have to a have a full plan today to get things done. Don’t rely on a label or anyone else to put things together for you. We had two videos, including ‘Hold On To Me’ with Anna, and a whole EP already done when we went to the labels, a laser-focused plan.” Ostrander notes that his manager, Scott Melrose, helped him to hone the pitch. So while the Mondo Cozmo introduction to the public, and its slow-grow approach to exposure, is clearly working, it is not the seemingly random, spontaneous effort it appears to be. The artist had a plan all along and he and his team are now diligently implementing it.
“It’s crucial,” he says, “to be really passionate about whatever you’re doing.”
For more information, visit mondocozmo.com.
