Meet Coupons

Hailing from Albany, New York Coupons is a fantastic group of friends churning out shoe kicking headbanging fun rock tunes. Their latest “Up & Up” is a nonstop emotional rollercoaster chock full of refreshed, rock motifs. Listen to their tunes and get to know Coupons in our latest interview.

Would You Rather

be able to lift things a hundred times your weight, or have control over all of the ants in the world? Why?

Shan: all the ants - i want to wield the ultimate hive mind

Dylan: Ants. Always better to be part of a team.  

Collin: So evidently an ant can carry 5,000 times its weight (had to google this). Average weight of an ant is 1-5 mg (knew this one off the top of my head). So average ant can carry 12,500 mg or 12.5 g. I weigh 81 kg (don’t judge). 100 x 81 = 8,100 kg. 12.5 g = 0.0125 kg. 8,100 kg / 0.0125 kg = 648,000 ants. I’m willing to bet there are way more ants in the world than that. Therefore, I’m team ant controller all the way. 

Dan M: The ants thing seems like too much power, if it were utilized, even for good, it could disrupt entire ecosystems. Plus the lift 100 times your weight thing seems like something you could monetize or use to help your friends move. But then are you creating your own prison of friend-moving... hmmm. Also would be good for moving gear... I would then own an 8x10 ampeg no question.

Some questions with Coupons

What was the inspiration behind using the tootsie roll pop illustration style for your upcoming album cover “Up & Up”?

Shannon: I think simple, familiar aesthetics can be really effective, you're drawing on this reaction most everyone has but feels unique. Also I'm new to illustrating cover art and I find endearingly ripping something off is a great way to learn anything.

How did all of you come together?

Dan M: Just some pals in Albany, in 2016 everyone was without a band and we decided to write some music.

Dan L: SUNY Albany, baby!

Collin: We came together by being in bands in Albany, NY and playing music and drinking together. Dan M and I used to play in a band called Party Boat together. I remember seeing Dan LaFave play in a band called Secret Release and thinking, “wow this dude is such a gifted writer.” The songwriting prowess, intelligence, and sense of humor and humility was palpable. I wanted to make music with someone like that. 

What compels you to keep writing and making music?

Dan M: The desire to crush our enemies

Dan L: The attention. 

Dylan: That feels almost like asking why you sleep with a pillow. You never really plan to not do it but you miss it when you don’t.

Collin: I’ve been writing music since I was 13 years old. At this point, I feel like it’s just something that I do. I would feel less human without it. It’s what makes me feel the most connected to people and gives me a tremendous amount of fulfillment. We live in such a consumer culture. Creating stuff is the antidote to that and makes me feel free. 

What is your favorite outfit to wear when performing and why?

Dan L: We like col to perform in whatever scrubs he’s got people’s body juice all over (he's in med school). The rest of us express ourselves by looking like substitute teachers who want their 10th graders to believe they understand youth culture.

Are you involved in any other musical projects? Have those experiences brought anything to Coupons?

Dylan: There’s a decent-sized list of projects that‘ve involved at least two of us but my favorite is Geoff Gordon with Dan and Shan. They put out an album earlier this year that I’d love no matter who they were to me. Check out this song Dan sings called Neighbors, this song Shannon sings called bb gun, and this song they sing together called Moonlight. Truly three of my favorite songs of the year and ever. They’re better than you think they’ll be. I can’t overhype them enough. We’ve all been fans of each other’s music since before we started making any together. We’re excited to play together whenever we do. 

Dan M: I also play in a band called The Abyssmals, Dan L plays in a band called Hospital Corners. Every project brings little bits of knowledge. We've all been at this awhile so you'd think we know a lot but we don't.

What should people expect to find on your upcoming release “Up & Up”?

Dan L: We can shoot for “suitable for most barbqeues” and if you get anything else out of it we can be pleasantly surprised together. 

Collin: People should expect to remain interested. This is the type of record you could put on at a house party and everyone would be happy. It’s diverse, genre-hopping, and can be listened to in different arenas. It can be casual, or you can take a deep dive and find some rewards with the lyrics and musicality of it. I’m a fan. 

Thank you guys for covering this release. We are super proud of it and hope it gives some reprieve for folks amidst all the crazy shit that’s going on in the world.

Can you remember the last time you saw a scary movie in the theaters? What was that like?

Dan M: The movie Us. Well actually maybe Uncut Gems? But I guess that isn't a SCARY movie really. Either way I went with a crew and had a blast. Hit a diner afterwards. I am not really a scary movie guy so I was kinda shook. TV and movies suck me in. My brain is small so if there is a screen playing media I'm likely all in. Add a subwoofer to that and oooweee that's show biz baby!

Dan L: When I saw the Cohen brothers picture  “Hail Caesar” I thought it was a delicious romp. How I laughed! I was there with my parents and approximately 5 senior citizens. None of them had any reaction whatsoever. If I hadn’t done my customary two pees, there would’ve been no sound and no movement. I read The NY Times review the next day and they remarked upon how you’d really have to be of a certain age to appreciate it.  For the first time in my life, I questioned if large media companies really understood me or even cared about the working class. It was terrifying. 

Collin: Last scary movie I saw in theaters was Hereditary and it was FUCKED! Big horror fan when it’s done right. Didn’t sleep well for a while.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.) 

Dan M: We just want to say how thankful we are to have the opportunity to make music and to make this album. We feel super proud of this release and we need to give a MAJOR shoutout to Scoops Dardaris for engineering and producing the absolute hell out of this thing. He took these songs and pushed it all to a whole new level. This record was always gonna be solid, but he sculpted a piece of art. Also we feel so blessed to have Counter Intuitive putting it out and we're so excited for people to hear it! We hope you love it as much as we do! Be good to each other. Black Lives Matter.