San Diego’s Omo Cloud are gearing up for the release of their debut EP later this year. The band is led by songwriter Cole De La Isla, who recently took the time to speak with TGEFM about the 2 new singles, “Memorial” and “Pick Me,” who they are listening to and the struggle to simply exist in the face of a country awash in ignorant and hateful legislation.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on the release of “Pick Me” and “Memorial! Thanks to an unfortunately fickle roll of dice we only have three questions so I don’t want to waste any
of them. I’m also going to do my best to maximize the questions by making them multi-part queries.
No. Thank YOU.
I’m going to jump in with the most obvious, who is Omo Cloud, how would you describe your sound, what should our readers know about you and of course, what’s next for Omo Cloud?
I’m Cole De La Isla, and Omo Cloud is my moniker, and while I write all the music, none of it would exist without my partner in crime, producer extraordinaire Andrew Walsh. We have been buddies since we were 8 years old and have been making music together for over 10 years. I’m also surrounded by dear friends who are incredible players, Jake Kelsoe, Jordan Krimston, Sila Dimone, and Drew Pelisek. I’d describe our sound as the feeling you get when you’re about to cry, but you don’t want anyone to see it, or maybe the feeling you get when you’re PISSED and venting to your best friend, or maybe the feeling that you aren’t understood but when you listen, somehow you are. Next for Omo Cloud is an EP later this year.
I think its safe to say that the world has seen some shit over the last few years. What impact has the political and cultural climate had on your music and the business side of things? What has given you the most hope and the most consternation both musically and personally in the last few years?
I’m queer and non-binary, I’m misgendered almost every day, and I’ve found myself having to fight for respect. Our society has gone through plenty of moral panics over the last few decades (stranger danger, the satanic panic, the war on drugs, etc), and while they have all been problematic in dangerous ways, the “trans debate” is utterly devastating. When the very question of my (and many of my friends and loved ones) existence is called into question, it can be wildly disarming. No one should have to argue for their existence. The anti-trans legislation we’re seeing is incredibly scary. I look to my trans friends and family members for guidance in my personal life and art. Androgyny is beautiful. Queerness is beautiful. Transness is beautiful. And the kids are all right. They get it. Man, the kids are wise as hell.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
I’m in love with my friends who all make music: Band Argument, Jordan Krimston, Claire Walding, and Drew Pelisek. As for bands that I don’t hang out with and eat burritos, I’m pretty obsessed with Hovvdy. TGEFM readers probably know and love Nick Drake but do they know and love his mom Molly Drake? If not, they should.
Thank you for having me! Much love
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
