Live Music Louisville

Mondo Cozmo, Josh Ostrander’s new digs, is fire. For real, he and his crew are blowing the scene up right now. They’ve booked festivals all over the place, and raving reviews are coming in left and right. Mondo Cozmo will be in Louisville the Friday of Forecastle but we’ll see him first at Shaky Knees on the Criminal Records Presents: Ponce de Leon Stage this Saturday. For that reason, as well as his jams “Higher,” “Shine,” and “Hold On To Me,” we reached out to the artist to ask a few signature LML questions. And let me mention, all this hype comes without an actual record to Mondo Cozmo’s name. Man is talented and worth a listen/viewing. So check out his answers below!

Live Music Lou: You’re hitting the festival scene hard this summer. That has to be a lot. What are the good, bad, and ugly things of being on the road and the festi-circuit?

Josh Ostrander (a.k.a Mondo Cozmo): Ain’t nothin bad to be honest. The best part is seeing the other bands. 

LML: We noted your Kimmel set had a packed stage. Who all travels with you? And, because we’re big on food, could you describe each member of your squad…as a kitchen utensil?

MC: My masseuse and personal chef have their own buses. The choir usually helicopters in (JK). Utensils- Drew: salad fork. Chris: steak knife. James: reliable spoon. Tolman: chopsticks. 

LML: Our blog cover live shows, so we’re curious – what’s your favorite live show you’ve been to? What is the experience of a Mondo Cozmo show? What are you going for?

MC:  Radiohead at Randall’s Island 2011. Was insane. A Mondo show is a fuckin dance party/children’s birthday/midnight mass all rolled into one. We’re going for truth. 

LML: Just because “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” came up on a playlist recently, what is your favorite 80s movie?

MC: Goonies. 

LML: We are celebrating the Kentucky Derby this week in Louisville, and the city pretty much shuts down for a few days. If you had a horse in the race, what would his/her name be?

MC: My horse would be my dog Cozmo who I named my band after. 

LML: With all this time on the road, who/what is on your playlist right now? (Who should we make sure to check out when they come through Louisville next?!)

MC: I’m all over the place with my tunes. We play every hour on the hour. Gonna check out Perfume Genius today. 

Check out the aforementioned tunes on this Shaky Knees playlist we made, as well our other top picks from the weekend. Mondo Cozmo won’t disappoint, swear.