Getting to Know… The Lowcocks | Interview

In the 463^rd Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from Detroit punk band, The Lowcocks. 

“We forged our own style in the scene, mixing different styles of music into our own – some old-school vibes mixed with new styles and influences.” Good stuff, The Lowcocks! Adding to the band’s badassery, they assert, “Not only is our lead vocalist a woman, but she is a woman of size – cute, badass, and totally unique.  She is a confident and sexy frontwoman who lays it on the line every single night, taking it to 11.” Rock TF on ! In this extensive 463^rd Q&A, we get the inside scoop on The Lowcock’s genesis, goals, musical influences, and current and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into Getting to Know… The Lowcocks: Interview No. 463!

For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes The Lowcocks distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

The Lowcocks have a distinct sound because we forged our own style in the scene, mixing different styles of music into our own – some old-school vibes mixed with new styles and influences. We have a social conscience, but don’t get too serious or self-aggrandizing.

Not only is our lead vocalist a woman, but she is a woman of size – cute, badass, and totally unique.  She is a confident and sexy frontwoman who lays it on the line every single night, taking it to 11, a mix of Lizzo, Beth Ditto, and Brody Dalle, with a little Keith Morris and Jack Grisham sprinkled in for flavor.

And how to describe our sound… in a word, punk.

In more than one word, we are raw Detroit punk with a bit of hardcore post-punk presence. We’ve got melodies that get stuck in your head, bass lines that defy gravity, and nonstop energy – but all with enough tongue-in-cheek attitude to avoid taking ourselves too seriously.  We’ve been described as “all heart, no filter” and “like an after show party in a dirty alley – real, loud, flawed, and brilliant.”  We’re a little bit punk, a little bit thrash, a little bit hardcore, and all chaos, and our live shows are the best way to get into our music. Experiencing is believing!

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did The Lowcocks form, and what were some of your goals or visions early?

The Lowcocks have technically been playing together since 2017…but it all started with a Craigslist ad. Both Ryan (guitar) and Annie (vocals) were looking for a project and responded to the same ad asking for people interested in forming a punk band.  Looking back, it feels almost like the old days, when musicians would connect through newspapers and end up creating magic.

Like so many others, Covid killed the band’s momentum; the pandemic forced us to take time off to prioritize health, our families, and really wrestle with life.  During this time, Ryan was connected with our bassist, Nick, by a bartender at his neighborhood bar. When our drummer dropped out due to health concerns, Nick brought in a drummer he’d played with in Bay City, Zac, and our current lineup was born.

Although we were not really active for a few years, lots of songs came out of downtime, which allowed us to come back strong and hit the ground running with our album, Contender (released last fall)..

We’ve been writing and performing together for the past four years and having a great time doing it.  We are having so much fun working on our EP and our new album. The four of us have really gelled and are writing more interesting music, experimenting with different melodic structures and lyrics, and making sure we’re being goofy enough in the process.  Not to spoil anything, but one of our songs in progress is named “Son of Danger Zone,” and we plan to film a music video playing it while ‘skydiving’ on a green screen…because we can. We can’t wait to see what comes next.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Our current goal is becoming world famous superstars, obviously.  We can’t wait to be best friends with Ke$ha, Chapelle, and Sabrina, jet-setting around the world to the next glitterati gathering, sipping champagne, and looking down on the little people.

No, not really. We want to keep making cool music, meeting new people, and getting a chance to travel around and be a real part of our community.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences, and how are they influential?

All of us are big punk rock fans, of course, and I know everyone says this, but our band’s musical influences are all over the map, which makes our music interesting and keeps us from getting stale. Nick, our bassist, is obsessed with funk, sludge, and (somehow?) also The Viagra Boys and Devo; Zac is mostly into folk punk and noise; Ryan brings in rockabilly/psychobilly, soul, and Motown; Anne tends toward 60s revolution rock and blues, 80s hardcore, 90s riot girrrrl, and 2010s metalcore.

As a band, we tend to bring in all of our favorites to our music; we probably have most musical similarities with bands like Amyl and the Sniffers, A Global Threat, The Distillers, and The Suicide Machines.

Sometimes, some events happen in the world and you pick up your guitar and write about it. Sometimes it’s a riff Ryan can’t get out of his head, or a tune Nick’s been fiddling around with, and we build a song around that…A lot of times, there’s something going on emotionally or personally, and Annie will say,  “Write me something angry so I can scream about this,” and the train starts rolling.

A lot of our songs have a political bent, but we have songs about Annie’s scumbag ex-husband, kids in foster care, heartbreak, losing your virginity, police surveillance, and fighting with your parents. There isn’t one theme we stick to; it’s more whatever fits with the music, and what we’re passionate about finds its way into the lyrics.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

Our tours are pretty tame by these standards – the craziest thing we usually do is buy all the Mambas from every gas station we visit.  Our live performances, however?  We have a great time every single time, and there’s usually something fun and different every time we take the stage.  Whether it’s Ryan playing his guitar solo behind his head or Annie busting out a switchblade to cut the bottom of her dress off, the audience always leaves with memories and (hopefully) a bruise or two as a souvenir.

To this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

We probably all have different thoughts on this; our favorite song to end a set is “Birth Control” which was originally written by our bassist, Nick.  It’s a total blast, full speed ahead, and the lyrics skewer incels and misogynist culture, so the audience loves it.  I mean, don’t you want to scream “not all men?  yes, all men!” with a crowd?  Of course you do!

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left-of-center we should know about The Lowcocks? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

We’re not only a band, we’re also good friends, and it’s not uncommon for us to get together and go to shows on the weekends.

Nick, our bassist, is an incredible disc golf player and is in tournaments most summer weekends (when he’s not watching Star Wars); he’s a welder by trade, and makes his own bass guitars out of aluminium in his home workshop – including for some nationally known players.

Zac, our drummer, is a prolific sewer and crafter, and spends a lot of his downtime with his partner, family, and cats.

Ryan, our guitarist, tends to smoke meats, hang with friends, or he can be found laying around with the dog and watching Star Trek.

Annie, our vocalist, teaches punk rock aerobics (and has for over 10 years),  loves gardening, reading terrible romance novels (talk to her about the latest fantasy smut), and hiking with her dogs.

What is The Lowcocks currently working on or promoting that you can share? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

Follow us on socials (@TheLowcocks) on all platforms – it truly does make a difference.  Follow and listen on Spotify.  Buy merch so we can afford to keep recording and keep making cool shit.   Come out to a show – or reach out to us about playing a show in your city!

We want to come out and play as much as we can, and it’s so cool to meet other people who are as passionate as we are about music and punk and community.  We have made so many friends already, and we can’t wait to meet you and make more.

We are in the process of releasing new songs this spring, all as part of our upcoming Forgotten EP, scheduled for full release on June 17, 2025. The first single we dropped was “MayDay” in March, written in response to police crackdowns on student protests. We released another single, “(close only counts in) Horseshoes and Hand Grenades”, on April 17, 2025.  On May 20, 2025, we released the third single from Forgotten, “The Forgotten.”

We’re currently booking out into summer/fall, and have a few weekend tours throughout the Midwest scheduled.  Our upcoming dates are:

• June 13 – Cosmo Joe’s Atomic Lounge (Dayton, OH)
• June 14 – Taco Fest @ Live Wire (Chicago, IL)
• July 26 – Punk Rock Night @ The Melody Inn (Indianapolis, IN)

The Lowcocks’ music is on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever finer music is enjoyed; digital purchases are also available.  Purchases of physical media, including CDs, vinyl, and merch, can be made from our website, www.TheLowcocks.com, or at any of our live shows.

We are on social media platforms as @TheLowcocks; our links are: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

Getting to Know… The Lowcocks: Interview No. 463 [: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; The Lowcocks]