Bill and Lisa Roe of CoCoComa
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People are always asking us to help plug something of theirs—an upcoming show, a new record, some book they wrote. Because we’re not in the pandering business, we think there should be a trade-off. Debaser allows these folks to plug whatever they want, with one caveat: They also have to tell us something embarrassing about themselves. This week, we talk to Bill and Lisa Roe, the husband and wife team behind CoCoComa. Aside from releasing a new album on Oct. 20 (streaming now on our site), the Roes are also the founders of a new label, Trouble In Mind, which puts out 7-inch singles from garage-rock bands. The A.V. Club sat down with Bill and Lisa to talk about their album, label, and the birth of their now 6-month-old child.
The A.V. Club: What do you have to plug?
Lisa Roe: Our new LP comes out on Oct. 20 on Goner Records.
Bill Roe: It’s called Things Are Not All Right.
LR: Yep. And our record-release show is on Oct. 21 at the Empty Bottle with Sonic Chicken 4 and The Yolks, and we’re super excited about that. Especially about getting to play with Sonic Chicken 4, 'cause they’re one of our favorite bands.
BR: So favored, in fact, that we’ve released a record by them.
LR: Oh yeah! And we have a record label. We have a lot of things to plug! [Laughs.] We have four releases so far.
BR: It’s called Trouble In Mind Records. We have a CoCoComa single that we put out, obviously. The second one was a single by an Ottawa band called The White Wires, the third was The Fresh & Onlys, and the fourth was from Sonic Chicken 4.
LR: And we have four more coming out on Nov. 22.
BR: It’s one of those things where we’ve been in this band for a little while, and we’ve gotten to know some bands pretty well, and a few bands who are kind of hitting it big these days.
AVC: And you guys just did a taping for Chic-A-Go-Go, airing Oct. 27 and 28 at 10 p.m.
LR: It’s the Halloween episode. It’s on CAN TV—channel 19, I believe.
BR: Is that all we have to plug?
LR: I think so.
AVC: Now, let’s hear that embarrassing story.
BR: You wanna tell the labor story?
LR: I guess. In the situation, like being in labor, you don’t really give a shit because it’s so awful. But in retrospect, it’s kind of hilarious. I had been in labor for two days, hadn’t slept for two days, I finally got checked in, and we’re in the very first room that you can be in of all the hospital birthing rooms. So I’m in there and it’s getting awful. They break your water and it gets seriously awful. The door was wide-open.
BR: The nurse was coming in to do periodic checks. So the door is open.
LR: I can only imagine the terror for the people who are only sort of in labor, and I’m deep in labor.
BR: Moaning, screaming, you know. So me being the concerned expecting father and husband, I read up on things that you’re supposed to do while your wife is in labor. You’re supposed to be supportive and tell them nice things, but the other thing I read was to keep reminding them to breathe, 'cause it’s really important that they don’t hold their breath while they’re in the labor process.
LR: But in reality, it hurts so bad that you literally can’t breathe.
BR: So anyway, throughout the whole first couple of hours, they break her water and it gets really intense. So finally, she’s laying in bed, and we’re waiting on the epidural, and another really strong contraction hits. And she screams at the top of her lungs, “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck,” you know, for a minute and a half.
LR: Yeah. The longest “fuck” on record.
BR: And then it’s over. Then, it’s just like, [mimes passing out] “Ehh.” And I chuckled. [Laughs.] Not because I’m insensitive, but in the situation, it was really hilarious.
LR: And I was like, “What?” I didn’t even realize it. I was on another planet. And he’s like, [affects man voice] “You just screamed ‘fuck’ for a minute and a half.”
BR: At the top of your lungs.
Here's that Chic-A-Go-Go appearance:
