Malcontent

Malcontent goes magnanimous for cancer patient
By Amy Maginnis-Honey
VACAVILLE — It’s been 15 years since Malcontent took the stage as a band.

That ends Sunday. The original quartet has reunited for a benefit concert.

Proceeds will benefit Ashley Ulibari, a single mother of four who has cancer.

Anthony Ferrentino came up with the fundraising concert for a woman he met through the local music scene.

Seeing her posts about her cancer treatments on Facebook reminded him of a friend who died from cancer.

“I kind of backed away. I didn’t know how to be there for her,” he said. “I live with a lot of regret. When she passed, it tore me up that I didn’t do more to help her. I felt I could have done more for her.”

He sent a message to Ulibari and asked if he could put together a benefit for her. The answer was yes.


Ferrentino met fellow Malcontent member Heath Coppock when they were sophomores at Fairfield High School. They started playing together and the band formed in 1997. They called it quits in 2004.

There was a span of about a decade when the pair didn’t speak. Then, Ferrentino reached out to ask Coppock if he knew where there was some rehearsal space. Coppock wanted to know if the band needed a bass player.

For the past few years, they’ve been playing together in Brkn Spkrs.

The pair said it’s been fun being back together as Malcontent and playing the tunes they penned 20 years ago.

It’s also a little nerve-wracking with the concert so close, Coppock said.

“It’s been so long,” he said. “I’ve been on stage with other bands. My first love is this band. This is so special being able to perform these songs again.”

Ferrentino writes the music; Coppock the lyrics.

Some music was penned when Coppock was going through a divorce and Ferrentino a break-up.

“I was a little angry,” Ferrentino said. “It was more aggressive music at the time. It was like he was writing how I felt. He was able to say what I wanted to say.”

Coppock said most of his lyrics are “emotionally charged” and driven by personal experience and “just the normal stuff we go through in life.”

Malcontent will perform their first two albums in their entirety at the show.

Their sound is hard rock, close to metal, Coppock said. He said the band wasn’t really pigeonholed into a certain genre.

Ferrentino said Ulibari is a fighter.

“What’s great about her is that she doesn’t want people to treat her like a cancer patient,” he said.

It was Ulibari, a pirate fan, who come up with the concert name, “Surrender Yer Booty.” After all, it’s to raise money for colorectal cancer and awareness of the disease.

“She’s a fun-loving person,” Ferrentino said. “That makes it even easier to want to help her out.”

“She still looks great,” Coppock said. “You wouldn’t know from her outward appearance (she has cancer).”

Any future plans for Malcontent?

“For me, I love to play with the guys in my band,” Ferrentino said. “It all depends on if everyone has the same passion and still wants to do it.”

The band will be joined by Cornelio Escoto on guitar, who is also a member of Brkn Spkrs. Alan Roble will handle bass duties while Matty Goss plays the drums. They are original members of Malcontent.

Also on the bill are The Beatles tribute band Hey Jude and Yosemite Bob & The Fallen Pinecones.

‘Surrender Yer Booty’ - The Daily Republic

Malcontent ready to release new music New Year’s Day
By Amy Maginnis-Honey
VACAVILLE — Members of Malcontent found it the perfect time to sit down and do some writing as Covid-19 took over and gigs were canceled.

The band got together in June 2019 to raise money for a friend dealing with cancer. It had been 15 years since they had been on stage as a band. And, just as things got humming again, the novel coronavirus pandemic hit.

“When it looked like gigs weren’t going to get rescheduled, we put everything into writing,” band member Heath Coppock said.

The result is some new tunes, including one slated to debut New Year’s Day.

“Digital Soapbox” is the first to be released among the five new songs the band has recorded. They hope to release a single a month in the new year.

“Digital Soapbox” looks at what happens on social media, Coppock said.

“I get up on the old soapbox and stand up with the bullhorn,” he joked.

People use their cellphones as a digital soapbox today, Coppock said.


“It was almost too easy to write the lyrics with all that’s going on today,” he said.

The message the listener takes from the song should be their own interpretation, Coppock said.

Coppock met fellow bandmate Anthony Ferrentino when they were sophomores at Fairfield High School. They started playing together and the band formed in 1997. They called it quits in 2004.

Ferrentino composes the music, Coppock handles the lyrics.

The band had recorded an EP in 2002.

The new music was recorded at Pug’s Cavern in Sacramento.

“The engineer is great and it feels like home,” Coppock said of the studio.

It was there a call came into the engineer from Dave Buckner, Papa Roach’s original drummer. Malcontent had opened for Papa Roach and members of both bands stay in touch via social media.

Soon Buckner was in the studio, recording, and even offering some advice.

“He had ideas for a song we were working on,” Coppock said. “Dave is a super cool guy.”

Writing has been cathartic, Coppock said. And, band rehearsals are an opportunity to see each other and dive into the music, he said.

“The creative juices have been flowing so well,” he said.

When live shows return, Coppock said he can’t think of any better place than Vacaville.

“It’s always been our hometown. It’s a great place to start,” he said.

“Having each other is a pretty big part of coping with 2020,” he said of being able to rehearse and record with his bandmates. “It’s been tough for everyone. But here we have the fruits of our labor and I think it’s the best music we have written to date.”

“In the beginning, I wanted to play music,” Ferrentino said of the shutdown. “I resisted. But the creative stuff we have done is the best.”

Ferrentino lays the foundation and the rest of the band contributes.

“It’s a little more hands on,” he said. “It’s changed our sound so I’m not so dominant.”

Having Buckner record with them “validated us as a band,” Ferrentino said.

Band members didn’t see each other for six weeks when Covid-19 restrictions first went into place.

“It’s the only thing besides my family that kept me somewhat sane,” Ferrentino said.

He said he was also happy to report the beneficiary of their June 2019 concert just welcomed a grandchild. - The Daily Republic