Band chooses to hold on to its in-between sound

Members of the Press released its first album this past Halloween.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Apparently size does matter for Members of the Press bassist/vocalist Randy Cotton, who said his manhood is, well, too big for punk rock.
"We're also too smart for metal," laughed Cotton, calling from a street corner somewhere in Detroit. Being caught in the middle is nothing new to Cotton, whose three-piece double-bass guitar and drums band has existed between metal and punk netherworlds for nearly a decade.
While at first a side project from his other band Ravine, Members of the Press became a full-time effort when Cotton and his brother Barry, who for years were looking for the chance to play together, decided not to let the fact they both play bass guitar get in their way.
How it's different
"Ravine was definitely faster but more straight ahead punk and this is more melodic and also more dissonant at the same time," Cotton said.
"We try to work off of each other with harmonies and we use the distortion for higher harmonic elements and stuff. A lot of people who listen to the record don't realize there is no guitar player."
What's misleading is the fact that not having a guitar player or even a bass player in a band often means very little. Just ask the bass-less White Stripes, which a few years ago had the bass line of the year with its hit single "Seven Nation Army."
"It's just the layering of the riffs and the working off of each other," Cotton said. "It's almost like it's a big distorted piano. One of us is the left hand and one of us is the right hand and we just kind of switch back and forth. There's enough layered melody there to make it work out."
Debut
After a few EPs, the band finally released its self-titled debut this past Halloween. Cotton believes the album appeals to anyone who listens to artists on punk-based record label Touch and Go, or bands such as Hammerhead and Unsane.
While it may appeal to more of a discriminating music fan, Cotton is pleased to finally be performing music with its own identity.
Growing up in Omaha, Neb., Cotton said people referred to his musical tastes as "punk rock s---" but in fact, it was more thrash metal.
"I started out learning [Metallica's] Cliff Burton and all of that stuff," Cotton said. "It was a little bit nontraditional from the beginning. When five-string basses came out, I used to learn guitar solos on it. So I was kind of a freak back then, and then as I got into other bands, I realized that I had to stick to the traditional stuff. But I kind of got to the point in my life where I was experimenting and playing what I want."
What's planned
Though over the next year or so, Members of the Press will have numerous touring legs, including the band's Youngstown debut Saturday at Nyabinghi, Cotton truly feels as though the band is on the cusp of something bigger for the genre.
"I think it's up and coming and I think a lot more bands are getting bored with the typical guitar, bass drum situation," Cotton said.
"This is something a little bit different. It's just a unique situation and anybody who likes a little bit of noise in their punk can appreciate what we're doing."