FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Shiori answers your most-asked questions....

Who are you? And what the hell’s with your face?

The face? That’s facepaint, dear. I wear it to disguise my hideous visage, because it looks cool and it’s to represent the mask of performance, blah blah blah. Who are we? Well, my name is Shiori and these are my friends and acolytes Chris and John. Together, we’re called Coybito.

How do you say that?

Coy-beet-oh. Shiori is pronounced shee-oh-ree and shouldn’t be confused with Shoely, Shaun or Shony.

What does Coybito mean?

We would have been Koibito, which is Japanese for “lover” or “beloved”, but type Koibito into Google and you almost drown in Manga slash-fic. ‘Coybito’ was bestowed upon us by our buddy Navigation Liv.

What's all this Invasion shit about?

The idea of the invasion is simple: we wish to take over music, and in some way revolutionise the world. Not many people seem to have much ambition these days, and the plan is to rule ALL OF EARTH with our music. Although the Coybito Invasion is primarily a web gimmick, we have plans to incorporate it into our stage show. Invasion Part 1 was the debut gig. The next stage is the records.

So how did you meet?

Ho-hum. Coybito were formed when I wanted a live band to play Techno Logic songs. I envisaged a sort of Jesus & Mary Chain/Public Enemy hybrid of a live experience, with various exciting instruments and possibly dancers. Looking around, I decided the best men for the task were Chris Blood (who was calling himself Twaddleboy at the time) and Stu Nasty. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anyone who played violin or electronics. There was also no obvious drummer to hand (see below).

As for Matt, I'd known him for many years, due to his former life in Blackpool, and Chris had met him several times. When Stu decided to cease his involvement with Coybito, Matt was the obvious successor. We started rehearsing in 2001, became Coybito in early 2002 and played our first gig in May 2002. Matt joined in 2004, and departed in 2006. This left the problematic bass situation, which was quickly resolved by brainwashing a friend of ours, Johnny H, into playing bass for us. There is a bit of overlap, as John's first gig actually PRECEDES Matt's last gig, but nobody said we were an easy band to figure out.

We never did achieve that JAMC/Public Enemy combo, and it's probably for the best.

What do you sound like?

Coybito hate defining themselves, but realise that going “we sound like all sorts really” is the tactic usually deployed by bands who turn out sounding like Ocean Colour Scene. We combine a sort of punk/metal guitar line, electro/techno beats and melodies which are often compared to the New Romantics. I don't think we sound very Noo Romantix, but some people act like synthesizers ceased to exist in 1989. The Org fanzine once called us “fizzy fuzzy lo-fi pop”, which, despite its implication that we sound like Bis, is pretty accurate.

So like what bands? AFI…?

Um, no. We’ve been compared to Joy Division, Mogul and the Cure, to our bafflement. When someone came up to me and told me “You like Le Tigre, right?”, I nearly hugged her. Equal kudos were given to someone who said “You remind me of Mad Capsule Markets with a New Romantic vibe”. Between ourselves, we often tell people we sound like Joy Division meeting Blur at a Pitchshifter gig. Yes, two of us have indeed dabbled in music journalism.

Hey, you don't have a drummer?

Alas, no. Although I do love our techno loops and think we've done great things without a drummer. We're always on the lookout though, so if you'd like to join, drop us a line.

How come there’s no MP3s on this stupid fucking site?

It's a source of anguish for me too. There is, however, an MP3 or two on our Media page, and there's three or four over on our MySpace.

You’re not some joke band are you?

Despite what some people think, no, we are not a joke band. This is what we do, and we’re proud of it. We aren't here to be laughed at, just because some people have no imagination. We attempt to entertain people and keep them awake between songs instead of just mumbling "This is our next song", and people take us as comedy. Well, fuck 'em.

How can we get hold of your CD?

Best bet at the moment would be to talk to Shiori at a gig, who’ll sell anything. Or, perhaps, drop me an email.

You and the guitarist, you’re not like, what, some gay couple?

Oddly, we’ve been asked this at least twice. I’m not sure why- surely I’m too poorly-groomed and badly-dressed to be considered gay. Anyway, the answer is: No, which must be great news for our legions of female fans out there. (world dies laughing)

What? So you have a girlfriend, or something?

Yes.

What does she think? Does she like it?

Well, of course. She danced for us for a while, and continues being involved in many ways.

What's she like, is she hot?

Get the hell out of my house.

Are you desperate to ask something of Coybito? Ask Shiori here!