Cousin Simple Returns
As I've mentioned a few times, my brother Ryan is the lead guitarist in the band Cousin Simple. On February 29th, 2020, Ryan and his bandmates, Will (Frontman), Mitch (Pianist/Ukulele), and Joel (drummer) played their 100th show. Mom's college roommate was coming into town for the show. Shannon, and her husband, Tim, got to my house on Meadow Park Drive, at about 5:30.
Fifteen minutes later, my parents, Shannon and Tim, my other brothers Luke and Josh, and I drove to a pizza place in downtown Columbus. At the pizza place, we met up with Will's parents, Mitch's parents, a few people from Mom's side of the family, as well as Mom and Dad's college best friends, Ron and Anita Wallace. We ate dinner and talked until 8:00, an hour and a half before Cousin Simple was scheduled to play.
We walked into the A&R bar where Cousin Simple was playing and went to the very back and I put my coat behind the merch table. Mitch's sister, Tessa, and his cousin, Rachel, were running the merch table. I talked to them for a few minutes before my friend Marshall texted me and told me he was at the door because I had his ticket. I ran to the door, got Marshall in, and introduced him to the members of my family and friends that he had not met yet. After another hour, I got a text from a friend from grade school named Anna, who told me that she had arrived with her parents, and a friend.
Another friend joined our group, and we spent the next 30 minutes working our way through the crowd of fans to get as close to the stage as possible. At 9:29, I saw Luke and Josh on the stage where they put the last few things into position, and the band slowly walked on. Will's sister Helen turned on the lights, and the boys started playing.
Over the next hour, Cousin Simple played original songs such as "Song to Emma," "Strangers," "Honeybee," "Star Destroyers," and many others. The crowd danced to the music the whole time, mirroring the boys' energy on stage. A week later, on March 7th, Marshall, and I flew to Colorado to surprise my "sisters." immediately when we returned to Ohio, the governor shut down schools because of COVID-19. In other words, the last thing I did in my home state pre-covid (besides work) was go to that Cousin Simple show.
Cousin Simple did a few things over the quarantine. I orchestrated a zoom concert with Will and Sam's Fans in late April. The entire band did an Instagram live through WNCI, a local radio station, in support of the class of 2020. Lastly, the boys wrote new music and Joel left the band.
As I stated in the Christmas special, on the week of Christmas, everyone in my family except for myself, tested positive for Covid-19. I ended up in the attic, where I Isolated from my family.
At midnight on January 8th, 2021, Cousin Simple released their newest song, "We Know." As I listened to the song from the attic, I got excited! Suddenly the last big thing that happened for Cousin Simple didn't happen at the end of February; it was happening now, and I had to take that as a good sign! It's no secret that 2020 wasn't the best year, and I'm not expecting 2021 to bring its "A” game. The only thing I want from 2021 is to see some positive trends, and I genuinely believe that this is the start of one!
Have a Greattastic day and be safe!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
You can listen to “We Know” and all of Cousin Simple’s other songs on Spotify or wherever you listen to your music. You can find them on social media as Cousin Simple on Facebook, Instagram, and @cousinsimple_ on Twitter!
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