Cosmos Sunshine

With a name like Cosmos Sunshine, I knew automatically that I was in store for something special that is far from derivative. That is exactly what I got when I listened to this new album titled ‘Comes With The Fall’. Perfect timing with the Autumn season right around the corner as Mr. Sunshine lights the way with vibrant notes falling from the sky.

Cosmos Sunshine has an interesting history and upbringing where he was actually born and raised on a settlement on the Connecticut River with no running water or electricity. And so, much time was spent in the quiet, serene forest area where the creative juices starting flowing early on for young Cosmos. Since then, Cosmos has released four albums and four EP’s and now rays of Sunshine are being spread left and right on the latest release, ‘Comes With The Fall’. I can’t say that I’m surprised that as soon as I hit play, I hear primitive acoustics along with an earthy, international appeal on “Doomsman of the Valar”. The next track, “The Bomb”, offers a draggy tempo that ain’t no drag to listen to. I’m picking up on a classic rock/Pink Floyd-type influence on this number as Cosmos Sunshine is blasting off! The next song, “Letdown”, has Sunshine rockin’ out and is not letting me down at all with the electric guitar riffs and energetic vocals. All I have to say is Get the Folk outta here with track four, “Mockingbird”, where the nature theme is in full effect. On this song, the listener will receive a calming & cool sensation that’s chirping with plenty of heart & soul. “Mockingbird” reminded a bit of the peaceful, Beatles classic, Blackbird”, because it had that same soothing feel that rushes over you. Moving along, we have “Black Eyed Soul” that is simply on fire where Cosmos is playin’ and singin’ like a champ. I’m particularly impressed with the guitar chord progressions & solos on this number because they drive the song and charge up the “Black Eyed Soul”. On track six, “Sink or Swim”, catchy guitar notes are floating through my eardrums as the steady current is pulling me right in. There are some real nice vocal harmonies on “Sink or Swim” where Cosmos is making a big splash here. On the following song, “California Smile”, I can’t help but not smile and feel good due to the big, penetrating sound that is pulsating. Get ready to clap along to the fast & furious beat and sing your ass off on the title track, “Comes With The Fall” that’s beaming with excitement. Track nine, “Hobbit Rock”, is woodsy rock at its finest with a Jethro Tull-like vibe in place thanks to the wonderful flute playing. The album ends on a high note on “Even” where the listener receives an inviting sound that brings everyone together in friendly fashion.

Cosmos Sunshine has a unique quality that comes pouring out of him and his music thanks in huge part to his distinctive background. This is a refreshing artist for Today that’s tapping into more than one style while incorporating a wide array of colorful elements. The stars and the planets are aligning just so and just right for Cosmos Sunshine and ‘Come With The Fall’. Just as the Autumn brings brilliant colors on trees, Cosmos Sunshine brings his songs to life like an artist would with his/her vivid painting or drawing. Cosmos is a painter of words and rhythms and ‘Come With The Fall’ is a true work of art.

http://www.cosmossunshinemusic.com/

By Jimmy Rae (jrae2@att.net) - Skope Mag

Strung out like Jason Molina, but skilfully contained within three-and-a-half minutes, this slice of alt-rock deserves to put Cosmos Sunshine Heidtmann on the map. A gentle flute is the perfect counterpoint to his shaky vocals on a song that is both beauty and beast. - Songwriting Magazine

Born Cosmos Sunshine Heidtmann on a commune-like hippie settlement on the Connecticut River, there’s an outpouring of influence behind the music that draws from years of reflection and observation. The settlement was a homestead farm with no electricity, no phones and an outhouse. Water had to be hand pumped from a well that his father dug and heated on the propane stove in order to bathe. The characteristics of this living situation had Cosmos spending most of his childhood getting lost in the woods and being surrounded by a multitude of colorful characters that matched this colorful lifestyle. Cosmos was introduced to the music that influenced his own craft when his parents took him to the Summer Jam Festival at Watkins Glen, featuring The Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead and The Band. He still recalls the music constantly playing in the background on his parent’s turntable as he looked out onto the river- remembrances of what he calls “vibey, acoustic, singer/songwriter music” that was very indicative of the seventies.

The tragic murder of John Lennon changed everything for Cosmos. This moment entirely swept Cosmos up by a new perspective. It showed him the power of words and music and the connection shared by people with great ideals. It was this moment when his destiny was written and he became consumed by the music. He only needed to find his instrument. The culmination of life experiences helped him paint the picture that became his future. Like every great painter, all the proper tools need to be present to create. Cosmos’ childhood experiences became his pallet, and at age 14 when he picked up the guitar, the guitar was the brush that moved the colors around to create beautiful strokes of art. By fifteen, Cosmos was writing his own material and playing professionally.
Cosmos’ days of getting lost in the woods were over. His younger years were ones of many restrictions, but with a guitar in hand, the possibilities seemed endless. After a brief stint at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Cosmos moved to New York City and began his tenure as lead guitarist, songwriter and bandleader for the 1990’s bands, Cherokee Sex Workshop and Walkinbird. The latter’s eponymous debut album was produced by the legendary Warren Haynes, who became a mentor to Cosmos, teaching him the ways of songwriting, studio production and guitar wizardry. Since that time, he has been an active solo performer and the front man for Cosmos Sunshine & the Butterfly Effect, Los Lotharios, The Cosmos Sunshine Band and Dan Patch.

Cosmos has amassed a discography of four full-length albums and four EPs and has played some of the best venues in New York City including Irving Plaza, CBGB, and The Knitting Factory and toured nationally opening for such greats as Gov’t Mule, Blues Traveler, and Lenny Kravitz. In 2018 Cosmos Sunshine was inducted into the Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame and will release his fifth full-length album, Comes with the Fall, at the end of May.

Glide is proud to premiere the album Comes With The Fall in its entirety a whirling dervish space rock album that makes for one of 2018’s true gems. Cosmos Sunshine combines thick, bleeding tones, tough riffs and enough blues and garage purism to create a much needed rock revival. - Glide Magazine

Hi Cosmos, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hi VENTS! I’ve been great. Enjoying the enthusiastic response to the singles and feeling like I’m gaining some traction lately. Getting psyched for the release of the new album!
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “The Bomb”?
The Bomb is a bit of surreal wordplay over a spacey, but rocking musical foundation. Like a lot of my tunes, there are layers of meaning and much room for the listener personalize the lyrics. To me, it’s a song of desperation turning in to resignation then, ultimately, triumph.
Did any event in particular inspired you to write this song?
No, nothing specific. A bit of relationship stuff and some self reflection. I deal in feelings and images, rather than events.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
It was a blast! Big props to my dear friends Tracy and Julia at On Deck Sound Studio in Northfield, CT. I recorded and mixed the album there and it was such a great experience that we have basically formed a little production team. Great facility and great people. ‘The Bomb’ was filmed with each player individually in front of green screen and it was neat to source the eery stock footage. Really rewarding to see the finished product.
The single comes off your new album Comes With The Fall – what’s the story behind the title?
Comes with the Fall comes from a scene in the Roman Polanski film ‘Rosemary’s Baby’. One of my favorite films, which I will urge all of you to go watch and enjoy!
How was the recording and writing process?
As I mentioned earlier, it was great. I really afforded myself the time to work it up to a level close to that which I hear in my head. The rhythm section came up from NYC for a couple days for basic tracking, after which I would show up once or twice a week for the following few months for guitar, vocal and ear candy overdubs. I’ve been much more accustomed to knocking out an entire record over three days in studios in NYC, so this was treat.
What role does Connecticut play in your writing?
So much of my creative sensibility comes from CT and the vibes in New England. It’s a haunted place where the natural world can swallow you up, if you’re not careful. New York plays an equal role, but for different reasons. The city has changed tremendously, but when I came up there was tremendous amount freedom and an artist could live and create without a trust fund or a sugar daddy/mama.
How your upbringing has influence your music?
Tremendously. I grew up in a very unique environment. Not quite a hippie commune, but something close to that. I have always known that there is a life to be lead outside the status quo.
What aspect of hope did you get to explore on this record?
Hope is really the central aspect to all of it. Aspiration is a less passive version of the same thing, and this record shot through with ribbons of hope and aspiration, with a few dashes of desire. Even the pissed off rockers offer some potential for resolution. I find that every song I write ends up being a self-help message to myself which often reveals itself long after it escapes into the public forum.
Any plans to hit the road?
Yes. Mostly in New York and New England over the Summer, although I will be in Sweden at the end of August. I’m doing lots of solo things and a handful of full band performances at strategic times and places.
What else is happening next in Cosmos Sunshine’s world?
I have a really exciting project that is nearing completion with a producer pal of mine, Matt Stein. It’s a songwriting/production partnership and the tracks are sort of a mashup of late ’70’s and early ’80’s crooning a la Bowie and Roxy Music, deep psychedelia and really modern electronic music. We have been working on it for about three years now and we plan to release our debut this Fall. - Vents Magazine

Cosmos Sunshine’s new CD Comes With The Fall finds the Connecticut indie rock artist being very independent of what everyone else is trying in Connecticut. Sunshine makes the most of his class rock influences and spreads them across the breadth, depth, and width of this fine piece of work.

“Doomsman Of The Year” opens the disc with an Eastern flavored guitar and sitar duo. The brief piece catches the ear with its finger tapped notes and drone. It opens the mind for “The Bomb,” a down tempo swagger loaded with alluring flute notes. Sunshine’s raspy drawl contrasts well with playful flute notes. In the back drop a creative electric guitarist gets eccentric but accessible.

“Letdown” gets it starchy energy from a rippling rhythm guitar. Lead and harmony vocals sweep across a mesh of classic rock instrumentation with swaggering aplomb. The angst in the male lead vocal reminds of all the great garage bands of the 1970s. One can easily imagine Cosmos Sunshine and his band opening for Television at CBGB. One cannot help but to tap one’s toes or to nod one’s head to the simple but assured driving rock going on here.

The more mellow “Mockingbird” is built upon a tastefully restrained acoustic guitar and the gentle vocal approach of Cosmos Sunshine. Mayu Saeki’s mellifluous flute melody travels the length of this song while adding its own gentle message. This tune is an invitation to join these artists at a private party.

Cosmos Sunshine cranks things up with the edgy “Black Eyed Soul.” Sunshine’s raw, emotive vocal recalls all of the local bands who tried to make an impression in the 1970s with local recording studios. There is something so earnest and sincere about this song that it shines within its simplicity. One hears this tune one time and wants to add it to a mix tape and to play it at many parties. This tune eventually moves into an extended workout of rhythm guitar crunch and lead guitar cleverness. All that guitar gruel could make Sunshine Cosmos one of their local favorites in the Connecticut music scene.

Carried foreword with a cutesy, understated guitar riff, “Sink Or Swim” skitters across the listener’s consciousness as Cosmos Sunshine’s lead guitar line peaks when it races gloriously ahead of its rhythm section. Craig Robison’s electric bass and Jeremy Caristedt drum work nudges thing forward with a nimble talent as the electric guitar skitters across that smooth but pushy landscape.

“California Smile” gets it soul from the organ work from Michael Parrish. Parrish keeps a soulful boil just beneath the surface of this tune. It serves as perfect foil to a mellow lead vocal and Beatlesque rhythm guitar line. This track, like many others on this disc, but more so, might remind one of the kind of bands they might have been hearing in recordings of major artist while those artists were up and coming.

Tile track “Comes With The Fall” burst in with rapid drum fills and catchy guitar riffs. Sunshine’s running rasp coats the song with something cool before an instrumental break fills the sonic landscape with fun, garage excess. This one makes it on a spinning top kind of energy, something that has to play itself out before it crashes.

“Hobbit Rock” Finds Cosmos Sunshine unleashing several on target guitar riffs and lead lines that run like the rapids to God knows where. Mayu Saeki’s flute, much speedier here, darts through this hard rock landscape with a sharpness that enhances the tune while matching wit’s with the lead guitar. An instrumental break cuts through things like a diamond on glass, with a juicy fun 1960s influenced sound.

Cosmos Sunshine close out their disc with “Even,” a down tempo movement packed with nifty lead guitar touches and tight harmony vocals. Sunshine’s repeated chorus on the ride out catches our attention with its neurotic repetitions.

Recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Tracy Walton at his Northfield, Connecticut On Deck Sound Studio, Cosmos Sunshine has managed, on this disc, to mesh classic rock vocals, garage band impulses, and even a few harmony vocal influences. This disc could go over well with stoners looking for something to get high to or to classic rock aficiandos who would enjoy throwing themselves into the task of trying to identify exactly what inspired each piece. The production value makes it something that sounds good, from the lead vocal to the electric guitar parts to that elusive but tangible flute sound. - Bill Copeland Music News

Cosmos Sunshine Heidtmann was born on a commune-like hippie settlement located on the banks of the Connecticut River. It was a stripped-down simple life, with no electricity, no phones and an outhouse. Instead of the buzz of electronics and the bustle of city life, he found his time being occupied by long walks in the surrounding woods and losing himself in the stories of the colorful characters who also lived there. He was first introduced to music when his parents took him to see the Summer Jam Festival at Watkins Glen, which featured performances from The Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead and The Band. His was a life of innocence and unfiltered experience, but that all changed when John Lennon was killed.

When news spread of Lennon's death, Cosmos' entire perspective shifted, and he became fascinated by the connections that could be created between people through the power of music. He picked up his first guitar at 14, and by 15, he was writing his own songs and performing professionally. After a brief tenure at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he moved to New York City and became the frontman for Cherokee Sex Workshop and Walkinbird. After musician Warren Haynes handled production duties on Walkinbird's debut record, Cosmos and Haynes developed a mentor-apprentice relationship, with Haynes offering advice and guidance on songwriting, production and guitar theatricality. Amassing a handful of albums and EPs over the years, he'll release his fifth record, "Comes with the Fall," under his Cosmos Sunshine moniker on May 25.

On his latest single, "Letdown," he delivers a jolt of pure rock 'n' roll that rides up your spine before settling down into the deepest parts of your brain. The guitars shake the ground while the drums hammer away at your senses. It's also etched with the dense grooves of vivid psychedelic rock music, a loud and cacophonous rattle that hearkens back to the late '60s and early '70s. But he's not interested in simple nostalgia -- this expansive hard rock roar is its own beast, a careening explosion of emotion and heartfelt experience. "Letdown" seems intent on smashing our assumptions about modern rock and reveals the intrigue and undiscovered depths of a familiar sound. - The Southern Sounding

"I was this kid, Cosmos Sunshine, living in a little cottage on the Connecticut River, with no electricity, and at the end of a long dirt road. Sometimes when it would flood, I would have to take a canoe to the bus stop. It was a hard scrabble sort of existence, so I for sure knew, and I for sure always felt on the outside."
It's a bright day. Trees line the street, and the sun is warm, when it manages to peek through the Fall stained leaves. There is a chill in the air, a warning that winter will be settling in soon.

I just emerged from the G train, and the remnants of Halloween are everywhere. A partially wrapped candy bar on the sidewalk, slipped from tiny cold fingers and crushed under the heels of tricker-treaters. Pumpkin shards, evidence of a teenage dare, litter the street as I walk. I'm on the border of Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy, and it’s clear the neighborhood is in flux. Empty lots are being built on, and there seems to be a renovation on every block. I'm on my way to the home of Cosmos Sunshine.

I met Cosmos shortly after moving to New York. It was immediately clear to me that he was driven by a passion for music. It seems to me that dedication is better measured by someone's actions than their words, and I was struck by the amount of hustle he put into the pursuit of his craft.

I know I've reached his home by the array of intricately carved pumpkins staggered up the steps of his stoop. I am greeted by Cosmos and Sadie, he and his partner's infectiously happy border collie. Music is everywhere. Guitars are propped on stands against the wall and hanging above the piano in the corner. The soft crackle of tunes, lifted from vinyl grooves, fills the living room. It's a perfect place to sit and talk. I came here to speak with him about his music, his life, and an exciting new project he's working on. Here's our conversation...

Filter & Funnel (F&F): I'm sure you get this one all the time, so let's get it out of the way first. Your full name is Cosmos Sunshine Heidtmann. I’m sure there is a story in there somewhere. Can you talk a little about how you came by that name?

Cosmos: As I understand it, I was going to be John IV because my dad was John III, and back and back it goes. My mother sort of put her foot down, and you know, I’m a child of the Seventies. My background is very much a back to the earth hippie kind of a thing. It was my mom’s invention, and she was brave enough to name her kid Cosmos Sunshine. So that’s that.

F&F: The second question is kind of a followup to the first. Carl Sagan or Neil deGrasse Tyson?

Cosmos: Carl Sagan. I was definitely aware of the book as a kid and then the tv series. We had a tv that we ran off a car battery, so my television watching times were very limited. It was Bugs Bunny cartoons on Saturday morning, The Muppets, and a few other things. Then, of course, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos was fully sanctioned. So yeah, I’m going Carl Sagan. I still admire him.

F&F: How long was it before you guys had electricity?

Cosmos: We never did. Even when my mother sold the place seven or eight years ago, still there was no conventional electricity. At some point in the Eighties, we got solar panels and marine deep cell batteries, so that brought some electric lights into the house. We had a hand pump on a well outside, and then, eventually, a hand pump to the same well inside. Then, we got a marine pump to bring cold water into the house, which we heated on stoves to bathe. This was in rural Connecticut. We lived like we were in the tundra in Alaska, but we were a stone’s throw from other people.

F&F: I’m sure you had exposure to mass culture because you were around other people. You had to know your lifestyle was different from those around you.

Cosmos: Oh yeah, I definitely knew. It was challenging going to a public school in a fairly conservative community in Connecticut. I was this kid, Cosmos Sunshine, living in a little cottage on the Connecticut River, with no electricity, and at the end of a long dirt road. Sometimes when it would flood, I would have to take a canoe to the bus stop. It was a hard scrabble sort of existence, so I for sure knew, and I for sure always felt on the outside. I had some friends, but I knew I was definitely the subject of conversation. To my mom’s credit, I look back on it and admire her greatly for sticking with it as long as she did. She walked it like she talked it, which is pretty rare.

F&F: Yeah, it seems like there's a lot of interest in that lifestyle these days. It almost feels like a little resurgence of the Seventies.

Cosmos: I hope so. I see it in my town and around there. I was telling you about this organic farm of a friend of mine, and I have other friends who have a yurt and a land trust. They’re doing all manner of musical, artistic, and spiritual endeavors, and holding workshops. That stuff was never ever there as a kid. There were farmers, old money, and blue blood puritan types. So, it’s really nice to see. I love the area, and I’ve always gone back. My mom’s still there, but in a different house with electricity.

"I’d always hung out with my mom and dad’s social set. I’d always hung out with fringe characters and older people. You would have to see where and how I grew up. There were lots of characters, you know, swamp yankee weirdos."
F&F: Do you feel that growing up without constant electricity influenced the kind of music that you gravitated towards?

Cosmos: Interesting that you say that. Yes, for sure. When my Dad was still alive, we had a functioning stereo and a turntable. There was Led Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones, and Grateful Dead. All that stuff was on regular rotation. My parents had a really great combined record collection. My recollection of the music that I’d hear at night on the river, when there was no light pollution, are songs like Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water”. I have all these remembrances of really vibey, acoustic, singer/songwriter, Seventies kinds of things. Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” is one that I always remember. It definitely colored my sensibilities as a musician and a songwriter later on, and I still feel it. - Filter & Funnel

The pure, blues sound made by Cosmos Sunshine Heidtmann—yes, that’s his real name—comes from his hippie-style upbringing on the Connecticut River. (No phones, no electricity, no bathrooms, water that had to be hand pumped, etc.) He started his music career as teenager and has continued to create new recordings since then, with four albums and four EPs under his (presumably homemade) belt. Heidtmann has seen success opening up for artists like Gov’t Mule, Blues Traveler and King Crimson, and this exposure just landed him in the Connecticut Blues Hall Of Fame. His latest album is called Comes With The Fall, and you should check it out right now. But if you have to wait, you can instead check out this awesome mix tape that Heidtmann made MAGNET. It’s all great stuff, but given his name, Chris Bell’s “I Am The Cosmos” is a glaring omission.

Fleetwood Mac “Hypnotized”
I’ve always been a huge Mac fan. I was five years old when Rumors came out, and it was part of the fabric of my childhood. As got in to my teens and started playing guitar, I naturally gravitated to the Peter Green era. In fairly recent years, I have discovered and become obsessed the Bob Welch middle period. Such an amazing run of albums. Great tunes, great performances and that rhythm section … My favorite album from that period is Future Games, but “Hypnotized” from Mystery To Me is my favorite track.



Thee Oh Sees “Nite Expo”
At a time when I was thirsting for some downright nasty, evil rock music, I discovered The Oh Sees and their latest album, Orc. Sonically, “Nite Expo” is a marriage of psychedelic sludge and punk rock with a dash of jittery electro pop. The vocals atop it all are an absolutely sinister chant, extolling all the glories of an orc’s night out on the town.



Fairport Convention “Matty Groves”
Fairport’s album Liege & Lief is a stone-cold classic and had a huge influence on their rock and folk contemporaries. They seemed to breathe the air of a glorious pagan British past, while rocking it right in to what was then the cutting edge. Great playing throughout, particularly the guitar of the great Richard Thompson and the unequaled vocals of Sandy Denny. “Matty Groves” is a good, old-fashioned murder ballad, chock full of intrigue, rumpy pumpy and swordplay.



Skip James “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues”
Skip James always stood out amongst the Delta greats. His guitar playing was exquisite, which was a hallmark of the genre, but it was his high, mournful vocals that hooked me. I recently learned to play this song for my induction to the Connecticut Blues Hall Of Fame, and I feel like my playing, singing and, really, my entire life have been enriched by the experience. This is the work of an absolute master.



Suzanne Vega “Small Blues Thing”
A better singer/songwriter than Suzanne Vega you will not find. This song transports me back to a time in NYC that was lived right on the edge. I was a close friend of Suzanne’s brother, the great artist Timothy, who sadly passed away about a year after he had called in sick from working an event at the World Trade Center on the morning of 9/11. It was an incredibly sad irony. In the ‘90s, a mutual friend of ours, Jaik Miller, would cover “Small Blue Thing” with his great band Xanax 25. Jaik was my brother in arms and an absolutely mind-bendingly gifted singer/songwriter. Jaik, too, departed this plane of existence some years back. Jaik and Timmy left giant holes in the fabric of my life, and this beautiful song reminds me of them both, which is a most welcome thing.



Jimmy Page “Lucifer Rising”
Twenty-odd minutes of druggy, bad-vibe freakout music designed to entice The Son Of Morning to join us for tea. A Halloween favorite of mine.



Cowboy “Please Be With Me”
For a time in my life, I was lucky enough to have close proximity to the Allman Brothers Band in the Warren Haynes/Allen Woody era of the 1990s. Warren was a mentor of mine and produced my old band’s debut album, the eponymously titled Walkinbird. It was an amazing time, and I am blessed to have lived (through) it. Rather than share a Brothers track, which I’m sure everyone will have heard, I give you this beautiful love song featuring the brilliant slide guitar of Duane Allman. - Magnet Magazine

In the late 1980s and early 1990s New York’s Nightingale’s Bar served as an incubator for countless second generation jambands, including Blues Traveler, the Spin Doctors, God Street Wine, The Authority, Jono Manson, The Other Half, Xanax25, the Dreier Bros., First House and Choosy Mothers. moe. once opened for The Authority at the club and God Street Wine even immortalized the bar with the song “Nightingale” off their 1994 Geffen album, $1.99 Romances.

Though the club has long since aged into a swanky East Village watering whole, the room still occasionally hosts live music and, last night, a number of former Nightingale’s denizens hosted a pre-Christmas reunion at the space. Several musicians were also on hand and took the stage at various points throughout the night, including Chris Barron (Spin Doctors), Cosmos Sunshine (Cherokee Sex Workshop) and Jaik Miller (Xanax25), the latter of whom led an ad hoc group through favorites like Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer” and Jane’s Addiction’s “Jane’s Says.” A number of other familiar faces were also in the house, including The Authority’s Dave Masucci, photographer Steve Eichner and countless others who once helped make the room more than an average bar. - jambands.com

COSMOS-New York, NY
Rock the Universe
Sometimes it's the simple things that work best; this seems to be the approach of the trio COSMOS. Hard-hitting hookladen rock of the power-trio fashion is what they serve up. The trio is fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Cosmos Heidtmann and rounded out by drummer Jim Riordan and bassist Jamie Jackter. All are seasoned professionals and veterans of the New York club scene. Heidtmann is also an experienced engineer and that shows on this superb six-song disc that was recently released- it sparkles with energy and vitality and rocks hard, notably the gritty "Rain" and riffy rocker "Falling Down" which boasts some blistering slide guitar. Fans of Blues Traveller and Gov't Mule should find plenty of interest here. - Relix Magazine

After witnessing the musical carnage of BDS on Thursday, I travelled down to Middletown to catch the heartfelt rock of COSMOS. Bandleader Cosmos Heidtmann describes his songwriting approach as deeply personal, but in a way that anybody can relate to. It's a classic approach to songwriting and it works well. "Trees" - which is about Jeff Buckley, who was an inspiration to Heidtmann- is a somber tune that is buoyed by some subtle melodies and an extended solo. While "Granted," written about a friend who was paralyzed in a car crash, is equally emotional. On this song, Heidtmann implores the listener not to take anything for granted, and given the subject matter, you can really see where he is coming from. In fact, both songs were written on the same day- a day in which Buckley died and his friend got into the car crash. From these two incidents, he was able to craft a bunch of songs about staying positive and centerd in the face of tragedy. Cosmos, the band and the man, manage to offer a hard-won sense of hope among all of life's trials. - The Hartford Advocate