Jeremy Cotta: I started playing music in elementary school. My first instrument was the saxophone. I eventually started playing bass in high school and joined a punk band with my friends. When I was in the punk band back in the day, trips to Guitar Center to get strings or a new cable always ended up the same – with me in the keyboard section ogling the synths.
Later on, I started playing the guitar and started experimenting with pedals. The pedal boom got me hooked on the more oddball pedals from companies like Chase Bliss Audio and Hologram Electronics. I eventually made my way to synths.
I started listening to electronic music with my older brother when I was in elementary school. We were listening to compilation albums that Rhino Records put out, for example Street Jams: Electric Funk. We also picked up a couple of albums from Techmaster PEB. We were also listening to hip hop albums like Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill and Run DMC’s Tougher Than Leather on cassette! Those albums was hugely influential in shaping our musical taste.
