Dave Cope & the Sass put out a self-titled album in 2019 with a supergroup of Philly area musicians Dave Cope, Fred Berman, Ethan Rider, Darryl Preston Hill, Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz, Sarah Biemuller, and Hannah Taylor which is filled with great danceable tunes inspired by classic artists from the 60s and 70s like the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, Bowie, Slade and more. While their lineup has evolved a little over the last year due to the nature of being a working musician in the city and having many obligations to juggle, the current live band lineup includes Dave Cope, Fred Berman, Darryl Preston Hill, Sarah Biemuller, Andy Keenan and John Cunningham.
In this interview we talk about a ton of things including Dave Cope's evolution as a singer-songwriter from a more folk-y solo style and his growth over the years into different styles and genres of music including new wave, rock, blues, 80s, etc. He talks about working especially with veteran Philly drummer Fred Berman to develop the songs which would end up as part of Dave Cope & the Sass album tracks, and how they were handpicked and came together over months and years of work. Dave and Sarah talk about some of their influences including 90s music and culture, and some other side projects they're working on as well.
We also talked about the harmonies in the vocals, and interaction of the band with the crowd and how it is important for Dave Cope & the Sass to connect to the audience through their energy and vice versa. So when you come see them, get ready to dance and vibe with the band!
They're writing new songs, recently started adding some of the newest ones into their latest live shows, and hope to be recording some new singles in the summer 2020. PLUS, we got to hear an old song Dave Cope wrote many years ago which could just be his 90s power-pop sleeper hit ... and some other surprises... you're going to have to tune in to hear all the mysteries reveal themselves.
Their next shows are February 28th with Travel Lanes at 118 North, April 17th at Connie's Ric Rac and May 22nd at City Winery with the John Byrne Band. Plus there may be more shows being added to their schedule so definitely follow them on Instagram or Facebook for the latest news.
You can find them online at Spotify, Bandcamp, iHeartRadio, Facebook, Instagram