By Dominic LaFratta

Mediocre Cafe is an indie pop, jazz, and alternative band from Sacramento, California. Last November, they released the album Print Me with Seattle based Independent label, Youth Riot Records. On February 24th, 2024, the lead member of Mediocre Cafe, Cooper, remotely chatted with me about the band’s latest release and their musical journey thus far. Enjoy the conversation. 

Dominic: I’ve been listening to your project since it came out! What was it, November 3rd of last year? 

Cooper: Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much. 

Dominic: It’s excellent. I got a little physical copy right here. 

Cooper: Oh, cool! 

Dominic: Congrats on such an awesome release. I feel like releasing a full album is such, I don’t know, an intense and committed process. I’m sure it feels pretty good.  

Cooper: Yeah, it definitely feels good to have it out. And, have it all done. It takes a long time, you know. It, like, takes too long. It was a good learning experience, for sure. It’s the second album that [Mediocre Cafe] has released. But, I took the first one down when I put this one up because I didn’t like it anymore. And, I just wanted this to kind of be the only thing that we had online or on streaming services at least.

Dominic: I did listen to some of the other songs on Easy Listening (Mediocre Cafe’s first album), over the last hour and a half when I was preparing for this… 

Cooper: Yeah, that’s sick. Yeah, that first one is, like, it’s very old to me now. I wrote a lot of those songs when I was 18 and 19 years old. And I’m 25 now. I think both of the records took about three years from start to release, like each, you know. So, by the time the first one came out, I think I was like 21 or 22 maybe. But, they were all songs I had written when I was a teenager, which is a weird feeling. So then, by the time I was putting this one out, it just felt like it was so old, but I still like the project name. So, I kind of wanted to erase it. But, I don’t mind if people like to listen to it and like it and stuff. I’m just not really promoting it. 

Dominic: Where did the name itself, Mediocre Cafe, come from? I saw that you work in a cafe? 

Cooper: I do. I do love coffee and I work in coffee, like a specialty, you know, like pretentious coffee shit. But I didn’t come up with it actually. And it doesn’t have anything to do with how I work in cafes. That kind of just ended up being a nice coincidence. My friend, Jake Middleton, came up with it. We were friends in high school. And he got sent away to like, what is pretty much kind of that camp in that movie Holes. Where they just dig holes all day long. 

Dominic: Wow.

Cooper: I don’t think he was necessarily digging holes all day long. But he basically got sent away to a camp like that because he was like doing some shit. But we didn’t see him for a couple of years because he got sent away when he was like, I don’t know, 15 or something. And then, when he came back, he had this idea for this thing called “Mediocre Cafe” where he was living out of his car kind of and just popping up at, like, antique fairs and farmers markets from what I understand. I never actually went to one and he would play his guitar or mandolin, like he would just play some folk style music and try to sell anything that he had. Like all of his clothing and belongings and stuff. He called that “Mediocre Cafe.” And the group actually originally morphed from something else I was doing. It used to be called the White Lighters. It was just me and my friend who played drums and then we got a saxophone guy. And it was just instrumental, just me playing whatever jazzy chords I wanted. And then the saxophone dude was just really good at saxophone. So he just made it all sound really good. And then when I started adding lyrics and kind of making more pop songs out of it. And then I didn’t want to go under that name anymore because it was just kind of cheesy and it was like a fun little fast idea I had. I wanted to find a cooler name that I was more about and I just thought of Mediocre Cafe. I always thought that name was really cool. So I asked my friend if I could have it because I didn’t really think he was doing anything with it. And he told me I could have it. And then he lived on my couch for like a month too, like shortly after that, and he wrote some lyrics for the first album. Kind of interesting.

Dominic: Talk about lore. 

Cooper: If anyone cares!

Dominic: Was that about four years ago or so that the band got established? 

Cooper: That was probably like six years ago. All that shit was happening when I was like 18 to 19 years old. So it was all happening back in 2018. 

Dominic: From the creation of “Easy Listening” to “Print Me,” are there lessons or something you took away from the creation of that first project? 

Cooper: I think I just got older. It was pretty formative years, you know. I wrote a lot of the songs for “Easy Listening” when I was only 18 or 17 years old. And then basically all the songs that were on “Print Me” were written from like ages of 21 to like 23. So I had gotten older, and played more music. I think between both of the records, the main thing was I started writing almost all of the songs on piano instead of guitar. I just started playing a lot of piano probably when I turned 20ish years old. And I kind of started finding new chords, and it just completely changed the way I wrote music and, I want to say, pretty much every song on “Print Me” started on the piano and the guitar parts came later, which I think definitely changed the vibe. I think it sounds jazzy, or I think it sounds a little more fusiony–or, I don’t like the word fusion, but it’s definitely like a fusion of like a bunch of different things. We took a lot more time rehearsing for it too. It was during COVID when nothing was really going on, and everyone was on unemployment. And it was me and my friend Jamie and my friend Taylor. We would just meet up the three of us and play all the songs, like, drums, bass and keyboard. And since there wasn’t any reason to have band practices because there’s no shows going on, we would meet up and do that. And we’d do that like once a week for a couple months and kind of just really got like the grooves down for the songs, or at least for most of them. 

Dominic: You didn’t record it live, did you?  Or, did you only do one part at a time?

Cooper: We recorded the drums, the bass, and the keyboard all together. So like the trio. Then most of the time we would go and redo the bass and the keyboard but we recorded them all together, so the groove was really there. I think there was only a couple of songs where the original keyboard or bass take made it through to the end. We redid it all a lot. There was a lot of parts like little synth pieces that I would do or all the guitar parts I would put on afterwards and vocals and stuff.

Dominic: And then was it mixed on tape?

Cooper: I mixed it with this guy named Jason Kick. So he wasn’t doing it to tape, but he’s probably most well known for engineering and recording and mixing Mild High Club’s record “Skiptracing” it’s, like, a pretty big record in the kind of world that I would like our music to land in. I was pretty stoked to get to work with him. He’s recorded and mixed music for a lot of musicians that I look up to. He’s in Oakland, and I went out there and mixed it with him over, like, three sessions or something. And then I had it mastered on tape with a company called Stereophonic which is out of Portland. 

Dominic: I screenshotted this a little bit ago.

Cooper:  Oh, that’s for the next record. 

Dominic: Okay!? We’ll get into that later then. 

Cooper: Which is done actually. 

Dominic: We’ll for sure circle back to that. So, the title is “Print Me” and on the title-track the chorus is “print me, print me, print me again.” What does that mean to you? And why’d you choose that as the name of the record? 

Cooper: I guess that song and the time in my life when I was writing all this stuff was that I definitely liked to stretch myself really thin, or committed to too many things. I think around that time, especially when I was like, 21, 22, I was committing to hella things trying to make so many different people happy and then ending up, like, letting a lot of people down because I’m overbooking myself. Over the last couple of years, I’ve become a crazy scheduler, like, I use Google Calendar fucking religiously. And really try not to do shit like that anymore. Because I really hate the feeling of committing to something and then like, I don’t know, double booking yourself or also just committing to something that in reality you didn’t really want to do. So I feel like that song is kind of like–I mean, it’s not that deep–but it’s kind of just like the person singing it kind of wishing that there could be like 10 of you or something to do all the shit that you want to do. 

Dominic: You said something pretty interesting. You said “me” or “the person singing” In poetry they talked about the ‘Democratic I’…Are you familiar with that? 

Cooper: No, but I feel like maybe I know what you mean by that. 

Dominic: It’s kind of like the speaker and the author aren’t necessarily the same person. 

Cooper: Yeah. 

Dominic: Do you feel that in your work? 

Cooper: Yeah, I feel like I do want the songs to be relatable and I think I often write music, especially nowadays because I feel stuff that I feel would be cool for another person to pick up on and think about. Sometimes I write songs that are stories and there are like a couple on that record that are more story formatted. Kind of just more vague, broad relatable topic. At least that one is definitely, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be like “this is me,” like this isn’t a super personal experience. It’s just kind of like a feeling I feel that other people probably also feel. 

Dominic: There are so many cool moments, musically speaking, like the pretty funky guitar on “Copycat”, especially the heavier guitar solo towards the back half. The transition from “Copycat” to “Facade” is crazy.  The vibraphone solo on “Cycle.” I wrote down so many, I mean the horns on “Acting Out Of Reason.” There’s so many cool moments that keep the project, I think, really refreshing and interesting. 

Cooper: Thank you so much. 

Dominic: I guess, with the horns, for example, on “Acting Out Of Reason” , did that just come to you, like “this is something I want to add” or was that a musician that you had available? 

Cooper: Well for that one, and also the song “Beatrice,” both have the same trombone player on it. His name is Miguel Resendez. When I wrote both of those songs, originally I wanted a saxophone to play that lead line. And then me and my friend, Miguel, who goes by Mickey, had just been around each other more and I asked him if he was interested. He just came through and did it. Like he just improved that solo. He actually plays in a more jazz group called the Lab Rats, which is from Sacramento. He plays in that group with the guy that plays vibraphone on probably like half of the songs. The vibraphone player, who is like an amazing drummer, is named Jacob Smith. They play in the Lab Rats, which is kind of like, at least to me, I would compare them to, like, BADBADNOTGOOD. Very like hip hop, jazz, kind of thing. I saw a video of Jacob playing vibraphone on Instagram because I knew he was a good drummer. But I didn’t realize he played vibraphone. He went to like, I can’t remember the name of the school, but like one of those crazy fucking jazz schools like Bard, or like, Berkeley School of Music. I brought him over one day and we recorded that in my bedroom. Like all the vibraphone stuff. And the solo at the end of “Cycle” is like fucking ridiculous. I had kind of come up with a version on a MIDI vibraphone and it was the very last that was actually the last thing we recorded on the whole album. He killed it. 

Dominic: Do you have a favorite song on the album? Does it change?

Cooper: “Cycle” might be my favorite one just because I really liked that groove and it always was one of my favorite ones. That’s probably like the one song on the record too that is a really specific story. It’s probably the one song that’s not a very broad thing that like a bunch of people could relate to. I still think it’s relatable. But that one has a lot of little easter eggs in it that I think only me and some of my really old close friends that I don’t talk to at all anymore would understand.  That was always kind of fun because it feels like there’s some secrets in that one. 

Dominic: So, the lead single was “Coolpix Sled Jam,” what made you choose it as a lead single? I love the video also. Like, the band in the bathroom, and just the whole movie theater thing was great. 

Cooper: Thanks. That one I felt was, I don’t know, it just felt palatable. I thought it would be an easy one for people to listen to. I knew that I thought that one and I thought “Copycat”–I thought those two were probably the more catchy ones or whatever. And like really hit the indie vibe. So I knew I wanted those to be the singles and I thought “Copycat” was maybe even better, so I saved that one for later, I guess. I made all the music videos for this release–we did three. We did the one for “Coolpix”, the one for “Copycat” and the one for “Cycle.” And I made those all with the same guy. His name is Adam Purvis. And he was just a friend who wanted to collaborate on some stuff. And it was a lot of fun making those. That theater is the Crest Theater in Sacramento, and I used to work there. They were cool with me doing that, my friends are like the managers there and stuff. And my friend Adam, who shot the video, was working there at the time, too. It’s like one of those places that’s just like everyone ends up working there. It’s a cool grungy old theater. I actually shot a video for “Awful” in the basement of that place that never came out. I just didn’t put it out. 

Dominic: But are there any plans to?

Cooper: I don’t really know, I think I’m probably past it. Maybe, I’ll just silently upload it to YouTube one of these days or something. I didn’t really have any creative control over it. I made it with a different person. He kind of did what he wanted with it. It’s good, but I liked having creative control. 

Dominic: The video for “Cycle” when you’re on and off the subway. I love the one shot of, like, you missed it. So logistically, did you just have to hop on the next one or did y’all meet up somewhere after? 

Cooper: Yeah, we basically did that shot and then I got on the next train that came three minutes later. He got off at the next stop and we planned to just meet at the next stop. And then we got on together. Yeah, that was silly. So my friend Adam, who made the first two videos and for “Copycat” and “Coolpix”, we made those in Sacramento when he was still living here. And then he moved to New York. And then I was visiting New York in October.  And we just were like, “let’s make one more while I’m out here.” So we shot and edited that one in one day. Like came up with the idea for it and shot it and edited the whole thing in like six hours. Because I didn’t know if I was gonna see him again. I don’t know if I did. We edited it in his apartment that he was in the middle of  moving out of, on top of a box as the desk and it was silly. 

Dominic: Could you tell me a little bit about the song “Awful”? The jam on there is so interesting. 

Cooper: A lot of the grooves on the record could definitely be attributed to the person that played drums and recorded it, Taylor. He’s like a fucking crazy drummer. If you ever want to listen to his music under Taylor Cole and also his band Quinine. He makes kind of harder rock or heavier music, but it’s kind of hard to put in a box just because it’s really weird, but in a really good way. And his new project is kind of leaning into like a little bit of shoegaze stuff. But he’s just a fucking insane drummer. He’s like one of the freakiest drummers in Sacramento for sure. He definitely just made all the songs groove in a completely different way than I would have. And more interesting than something that I could come up with. He’s a fucking crazy drummer. I remember with [Awful], especially, I think that one has the really long drum fill intro thing. We kind of wanted to make that one groove really hard. That was another one that keyboard player, Jamie, made the keyboard stuff weirder on too.

Dominic: So the album was released with Youth Riot Records. How did that relationship come about? 

Cooper: I was, like, not really knowing what I was going to do with the album. I had had it done for probably like six months. I finished it, like, at the beginning of 2023. And then, I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. Our previous record label had just shut down. I was sending it around, wasn’t hearing anything back. It is really hard to shop around your music. It’s kind of all about who you know. And I was hanging out with my friend Aaron, who played in this band called Winsome. He was like, “dude, you should send your stuff to the Youth Riot guys, they’re really nice dudes.” I knew that [Winsome] had put out an EP with [Youth Riot Records]. [Aaron] sent Daniel our music video for “Coolpix Sled Jam”. And they wanted to talk to me about it and they were just like, “Yeah, we really like it. We’d be like, hella down.” And I was just like, “Yeah, sure”. I didn’t really have anything else going on and it’s really nice to have someone that wants to make you stuff. And I really wanted to get it out and I didn’t want to sit on it for a really long time. They seemed like really, really nice guys. And, I decided to go with them and they made us really pretty tapes and some tote bags. 

Dominic: Have you all gotten a chance to play live much or do a mini tour? I watched the little 25 minute set you did with “The Sesh” that’s on YouTube, which was awesome.

Cooper: I think that was the last show we played actually was “The Sesh” one, which was about a year ago. We kind of slowed down. We were playing all the time and I mean, like we played a lot of the songs from the album for a whole year, year and a half before the album came out. So we definitely got to play the album live quite a bit. But, I kind of decided I wanted to take the band in a new direction, which isn’t out at all yet or anything. So we haven’t played in like a year or so. But I do want to play live with Mediocre Cafe again. I just wanted to dial it back again. And that’s kind of what I’m doing right now, I’m taking it another step forward where I’m working with just myself now basically, kind of doing it all on my own. And not because of any crazy band arguments or falling outs or anything, just kind of that I’m realizing I don’t want to spend another three years making an album. In the last year, I’ve completed a whole nother record, which is the one you saw getting mixed. And then I also, just this last week, finished another one. The way I’ve been doing these new ones is I’ve just been doing everything by myself in my apartment, and then taking it to my friend to play just the drums on it. That takes a couple of times meeting up and going over it and doing it in the room together. It feels better. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with taking three years to make an album, but I consider myself pretty young in my musical career. There’s no reason why I should be taking that long to release stuff. Like, I should be putting shit out like, actually. So I’m trying to do that. I’m also moving. So, the band’s gonna have to change.

Dominic: Are you moving out of Sacramento? 

Cooper: Yeah, I’m moving to New York next month, actually. 

Dominic: I saw that on your Instagram story. I also saw the shit ton of instruments you have in your house. All the pianos and what not. I understand how you’re able to record at your place. 

Cooper: I think that was what I’ve been saying over and over again. It’s like, you know, a couple years ago, I wouldn’t have had the confidence or like, the ability to do it all by myself. But now I’m older and I feel more confident in the shit that I like and I feel more confident making decisions where it’s like in the past I really needed help from my friends. Now I want to do it and have it feel really personal.

Dominic: Can we expect any of that new music soon?

Cooper: I would really like to put out new music soon. I have one record that’s completely done. I just need to master it. I’m kind of planning on moving to New York and seeing if I can spend the next year kind of like trying to network and play music with new people. I feel like my newer material is like more, like, patchy or almost more like Spotify algorithm music. But, I don’t think it’s boring or necessarily like, sellout. I’m just making, like, indie pop now. But, I do think I’m trying to kind of make stuff that’s just better, more palatable stuff that people will like. Maybe something you could hear in the background somewhere. Not that the last record isn’t that, but I think the last record is real crazy, like it’s kind of really insane. This one is really chill. Like in the pocket. Which I like. It’s still weird, but it’s in-the-pocket weird. 

Dominic: I’m really excited for that. 

Cooper: Thanks. 

Dominic: Probably this calendar year?

Cooper: I would hope so. I definitely don’t want to sit on it for too long. But also, I think it’s really good and I don’t want to rush it either. 

Dominic: We’ll definitely keep our eyes out for that. Last two little questions for you. What do you think of The Beam? (Note from the Interviewer: For context, “The Beam” is an actual purple light beam the Sacramento Kings professional basketball team installed in their stadium last year. Whenever the team wins, the beam is activated and a purple light beam is projected from the Kings’ stadium into the sky.)

Cooper: In Sacramento? 

Dominic: Yeah. 

Cooper: Oh, it’s great. I can see it literally from my window. I live like eight blocks from the fucking stadium or whatever. I haven’t met a single person in Sacramento that doesn’t like the beam. Everyone loves. When the beam is on everyone is just like, fucking stoked, like, running around like crazy. It’s so fucking silly dude. On a clear night, you can see it from 15 miles away. The first time I saw it, I was in my friend’s backyard. We were having some sort of party or something. And we’re all like “what the fuck is that?” And then the next day in the paper, it was like “Kings are testing a new thing.” It’s also like, if you’re from Sacramento, you just know that like, my whole life the Kings have sucked. I’m not even into sports like that. But now they’re pretty good, I guess. They’re at least just decent, like they made it into the playoffs for the first time in like 20 years or something last year, so people are stoked. People are like, really juiced about it. It’s hella fucking stupid.

Dominic: It’s great that people are excited. 

Cooper: I love it. I think everyone really likes it. 

Dominic: My final question for you, this one is kind of a silly one. But, in the “Copycat” video, by the sink you have a spam container holding your sponge.

Cooper: Damn, you have like some crazy attention to detail

Dominic: What are your thoughts on spam? I’m from Hawaii, so that is what prompts this question. 

Cooper: I love spam. Spam is fucking delicious. That’s why I kept that container to hold my sponge. Because I like everything about spam. The can looks good. I went through a spam phase last year where I was eating it like a lot. I definitely eat it like every once in a while now. 

Dominic: It’s a lot of sodium. 

Cooper: I get the low sodium one, but also, I don’t care. I’m down for the sodium. 

Technical difficulties interrupted the final few moments of my conversation with Cooper, however, it was an absolute pleasure chatting with him and learning about the creation of his band’s latest release, Print Me. Huge thank you to Cooper for taking the time, and I can’t wait for some new music from Mediocre Cafe soon!