Diandra Interviews KOPPS: From Working Class To Creative Visionaries

Where you grow up does influence you, and, for KOPPS, their working class town of Rochester, New York taught them how to dance through devastation. From job cuts to rising bills, the life of the average American can feel sad, of which music seems to be the only thing we all can have equally. With this notion, KOPPS discuss what inspires them to push sonic and visual boundaries as performers and keepers of empowerment. 

Diandra: How do you think growing up in a suburban hometown influenced your sound?

Patricia: Though we all grew up in the suburbs, none of us were well-off. We were all middle-class/ lower middle class. Growing in a city where the main economy is dead, Kodak, adds to the grittiness. It is like a deeply ingrained feeling of the city that we never actually thought about. I really love the city, and it can be beautiful, and, though its shifting now, a lot of people were losing their jobs. All of our parents worked for Kodak, and lost their jobs when they left. 
KOPPS – Hott (Official Video) ft. Joywave

Diandra: Is that why your verses acknowledge the chaos, but your rhythms are all about fun? 

Travis: I think it plays into who we are as a band. We want people to have fun and not hold back. We want people to feel free.

Patricia: It’s interesting because you are coming from a psychological aspect, and that is an important piece to how we interact with fans. We want them to be themselves in a world that does not want that. 

Diandra: Well, you guys have had 9-5 jobs in other careers. Do you feel that inspires your music?

Patricia: As things are building, our jobs are becoming less sustainable. We are older so we have had the “work work” jobs. I’m a therapist, Kyle is a graphic designer, and Travis works at a museum. It, definitely, feeds the need to freak out or the desire to (they laugh).

Diandra: You have cited acts like, David Bowie and Prince, as inspirations for your performance, and they are known to be weird. Was there ever a performance where you said, “Okay, I that was too weird?”

Kyle: All of them (they laugh) 

Patricia: Well, I would say our first performance. I had had a vision for what it would be like, and I had done performing stuff before Kopps, but I had never done anything so energetic. I remember the moment of our first show, I ha d a windbreaker jumpsuit, and I said, “I am going to perform like I have never performed before.” It was the most elevating experience, and I remember saying, “I am never going to just stand there and sing, which I had done before.” So, from day one, we knew it would be an action-packed show, and I knew I wanted to bring a dance element. I want us to always be a component of the performance. I want to dance with the guys forever. ( She laughs as I Awwww!) 

Travis: Well, speaking of Prince and David Bowie, we, definitely, dip into the visuals of our show in terms of graphic design and costumes. We want people to walk away and remember everything about our show. 

Diandra: What would you say each member offers to the band?

Kyle: Four big personalities!

Patricia: Everybody has a vital role. Gesture is amazing with recording, arrangement, and visual. Travis builds things. Visual stuff is very important to us, and we have a very “in-house” approach, especially with social media, because we all have worked, in some fashion, with graphic design. 
KOPPS – Baby, I’m Dead Inside (Official Video)

Diandra: Do you use your visuals to guide people to understand your messages or present them as a “make of it what you will” ?

Kyle: There is definitely humor. 

Patricia: Definitely, humor! Even in the live show, when it can get really sexy, there is also humor. I think sex is really funny, and I think people take it too seriously. When things get too serious in the set, there is always something to lighten things up.

Kyle: Me and Travis have done a little slow dance.

Travis: Yeah, we got close. (They laugh!) 

Patricia: Ultimately, we want to make things as interesting as we can. We have told other interviewers, “Yes, the foundation of our music is pop, but we do not want it to be the same formula.”

Diandra: Well, in bringing sex and humor together, you are bringing out people’s vulnerability.

Patricia: By being empowered on stage, it empowers the audience. Me being a dominant personality and a lead singer on stage, I have gotten a lot emails from fans that I have inspired them to be powerful in their everyday life. You know, we all feel weak sometimes, myself included, and they have said how our performance made them want to stand up for themselves. If we could be apart of that in any way then we want to be. 

Diandra: Being recently signed, how do you think your years of being unsigned helped you mold your image?

Patricia: Oh Yeah! For Sure! For me, my career has been insanely helpful in writing music and connecting with people on a deeper level. I have spent so much time, to a great degree, understanding how people struggle, feel held back, and are worried about the opinions of others. That is woven into our band in encouraging people to take a risk because life it short. I feel my life has prepared me for this. 

Kyle: The band has helped me to open up and be vulnerable with people. It has helped me on a personal level.

Travis: Yeah, I have always loved performing, but this has taken it up to a level that is totally freeing. You get up on stage, and you can occupy this other personal space like, an alter ego. 
KOPPS – I LOL @ U (Lyric Video)

Diandra: Do you think art pushes people to say who they really are? 

Patricia: Whatever you are putting out there in your art is you.

Diandra: Coming from a musical family, do they often have critiques?

Patricia: They are very vocal. Some things they love and some things they don’t. They are musicians; that is all they do. So they think they are experts. (she laughs)

Kyle: They still come to our shows, which is a good sign. (he laughs) They are mostly supportive.

Patricia: Yeah, they are all left of center. So they understand we are weird. 

Travis: My dad was like, “You need to play more accessible music.” So he is happy with our sound, and my mom was like, “You need to be in a band with a woman fronting the band,” so she is happy about that.

Patricia: I didn’t know she said that! Her dream came true!
KOPPS – My Gold (Lyric Video)

Diandra: You have said, as advice for fellow artists that, “You have to make yourself before you enter the music industry.” How do you feel you have made yourself.

Patricia: I think in not being super young, as a lot of bands are, we have a greater sense of who we are as people. That being said, as a band, when we come together we know what we want and don’t want. Our label is very supportive, and they do not restrict us creatively, but that is not always the case. If you are an artist that wants to go places, you have to know who you are.

Great advice from great people! In person, there is a solidity to KOPPS’ personalities that explains why their shows are notoriously wild. They uses their hearts a platform to stand on, and, with that, they can rise as far as they want in terms of creativity and vision. For More Information On KOPPS Click Here.