No matter where they are in the world, musicians seem to find other musicians. There’s a shared language, a shared experience of being on stage and performing, and a shared enthusiasm for making those melodies by themselves or together. Such is the case with Norfolk and Brooklyn-based cosmic Americana band Sons of Astro.
That magnetic musicians’ bond drew Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mike Cobb into the orbit of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Statler. The two neighbors took to each other right away and were soon playing open mics together. As an ethics professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Statler made the case that if he sat in for Cobb’s set and Cobb sat in for Statler’s, they could play together and double their stage time. Clearly, these men wanted to make as much music as possible. That became a little harder when Cobb and his family moved up to Norfolk, Connecticut.
All the while, Cobb had also been talking to architect, musician and amateur luthier Ben Herzog. Herzog spent his pandemic downtime teaching himself to build guitar- and bass-like instruments for fun. He also hosted a bluegrass jam session at his architecture office in Brooklyn. Cobb mentioned he had moved to a small town in Connecticut. It turned out, Herzog had a place in Norfolk, too.
Things were starting to come together, but what would really solidify them as a band was a drummer. Cobb called Brooklyn-based drummer Charlie Shaw, who has a collapsible drum kit that he can fold down to suitcase size. For that special X factor, they brought in Rip Westmorleand from Herzog’s jam sessions. Westmoreland has an enviable instrument collection featuring several vintage guitars he was happy to lend to the group, which was now officially a band.
The name Sons of Astro comes from a chance encounter with a couple of cloned dogs, but their music is far from a cold scientific copy. In fact, in a time when AI threatens all forms of art, their music feels remarkably human, and uniquely familiar.
Their debut EP., “Another Day Above the Dirt,” hits Bandcamp and other streaming services Nov. 6. It pulls from influences like the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty and the Byrds, and features timely lyrical themes and hooks you’ll want to sing along to.
You can catch Sons of Astro at the Common Pub in Housatonic on Oct. 24 and at the 2nd Home Lounge in Winsted on Nov. 14.
