Going Stateside – New Zealand’s Maggie Cocco Returns to Michigan for Science for Sociopaths Show and Girls Rock Detroit Benefit Concert

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Maggie Cocco performs at Aretha’s Jazz Cafe in Detroit on Dec. 12. Photo – Micky Nogher Photography

After four years of living out of state and abroad, Maggie Cocco is back in Metro Detroit making some new musical memories.

The pop singer-songwriter is visiting her home state during the holidays and playing two live shows: Dec. 18 at The Ark in Ann Arbor with Joanna Sterling and Dec. 22 at Tin Roof Detroit for the Music Mavens of Michigan, a fundraising concert to benefit Girls Rock Detroit featuring a lineup of local femme artists.

“The Ark will be a very special show for me. It’s my only show on the Michigan leg of the Analog tour where I’ll play through the entire song cycle as it is on [my new] album, [Like a Moth],” said Cocco, who now resides in Whangārei, New Zealand and performs under the moniker Science for Sociopaths.

“I’m [also] ridiculously stoked about this [Music Mavens of Michigan] lineup. Tin Roof Detroit has a capacity of 400 people, and we’re hoping to reach it! With a lineup like this, I think we can. We’ll be holding what’s called round robins with each artist offering two self-accompanied songs and sharing the stage with three to four artists at a time.”

For the Music Mavens of Michigan show, Cocco will be performing alongside Audra KubatCarolyn StrihoJulianne AnkleyCoko ButtafliFay BurnsGwenyth HayesJulia Rose PagacJacki Daniels and others.

“Even if you’ve seen any or all of these artists live, this will be a truly unique and collaborative experience,” said Cocco, who grew up in Sterling Heights. “We’ll also have a couple of youth performers to open the show and a finale featuring all participating artists, plus an open jam to end.”

I recently spoke to Cocco about living in New Zealand, visiting the U.S., working with Girls Rock Detroit, preparing for The Ark and Music Mavens of Michigan shows, writing and recording her Like a Moth album and looking ahead to 2024.

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Motor City Homecoming – Science for Sociopaths Returns for Feb. 13 RAW Detroit Reflect Show at Saint Andrew’s Hall

Science for Sociopaths artwork by Taylor Ruffin

Science for Sociopaths will return to Detroit Feb. 13 for a one-night only show at Saint Andrew’s Hall.

The San Francisco indie pop-rock singer-songwriter, aka Maggie Cocco, will perform during RAW Detroit’s Reflect along with Honeybabe, Farrah Mechael and Dmack313rd for the event, which also will feature fashion, photography, and visual and performance art.

“Saint Andrew’s is a great venue, and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity,” said Cocco, who originally hails from Sterling Heights. “It’s a fun homecoming for me, and what I like about RAW is that it’s not just about music. I’ve always thought of Science for Sociopaths since its conception as a multimedia project. For each project that I’ve done, I’ve worked very closely with an artist.”

Maggie Cocco of Science for Sociopaths

Hosted by RAW Detroit, an international artist collective, Reflect will be the first show Cocco has played in the Motor City since relocating to the Bay area in September. She will reunite with Detroit bandmates Neil Eby (guitar), Alex Marshall (bass) and J Durrell Gibbs (drums) for her set.

“I’m bowled over by their willingness to play with me,” Cocco said. “I’m going to do some of the favorites from ‘Love & Life,’ and then I’m going to do a new song, ‘Where I Belong,’ that I’m going to release right before the show.”

“Where I Belong” will be Cocco’s first new Science for Sociopaths single since releasing her double EP “Love & Life” in June and the first of 10 new tunes she’ll be sharing throughout 2019 to her Patreon supporters. All 10 tracks will be released as part of an official album later this year.

“It’s a love song, just like ‘Love & Life,’ which I felt was very aptly named. My music compulsions are divided between philosophical shit that I’m figuring out in my brain for myself with how life works with boundaries and then my romantic life,” said Cocco, who’s influenced by Carole King, Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow. “I’m a very romantic person, it sort of overflows, and it’s always about half and half.”

Cocco recorded the untitled pop-rock project with Benjamin Warsaw, a Nashville-based producer and sound engineer, over four days in Ohio. She also worked with Warsaw on “Love & Life,” her heartfelt nine-song ode to the trials and tribulations of life and love.

Throughout 2018, Cocco released a new Science for Sociopaths song each week through Patreon, an online platform that allows artists to receive funds directly from their fans.

Her songs included covers of Rhiannon Gidden’s “Love (That) We Almost Had” and “City of Stars” and “Audition Song (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land” as well as new tracks “Hey Sunshine” and “Hey Friend.”

“It was a very prolific year for me,” she said. “I think I grew a lot as a musician, but this year I’m trying to dedicate more time and resources to getting the music I already have in front of more people.”

Show Details:

RAW Detroit Reflect presents Science for Sociopaths

Wednesday, Feb. 13

Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St. in Detroit

Event: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Tickets: $22.50 for presale general admission

Science for Sociopaths — Detroit’s Maggie Cocco Gets Personal on Upcoming ‘Love & Life’ Double EP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DETROIT – For Science for Sociopaths, writing and singing about romance and growth is a labor of love.

The Motor City indie pop-rock singer-songwriter, aka Maggie Cocco, digs deep and gets personal on her new nine-song double EP, “Love & Life,” which drops June 1.

On “Love & Life,” Cocco’s inspirational lyrics and soulful, powerhouse voice are reminiscent of Carole King, Patti Smith, Kelly Clarkson and Emmylou Harris rolled into one. Her richly-layered songs unravel relatable situations for fans who have experienced the trials and tribulations of life and love.

Cocco is releasing her first single, “I See You,” today from her upcoming double EP. “I See You” brings an acoustic foot-stompin’, finger-snappin’ tale of an unexpected love facing personal triumph despite life’s ongoing challenges.

“‘Love’s four heartfelt songs explore infatuation, confidence, insecurity, frustration, anger and loss as it pertains to romantic love. I was inspired to draw personally from my own love life and pulled a ‘Taylor Swift’ of sorts,” said Maggie Cocco, who formed Science for Sociopaths in 2016. With ‘Life,’ I dealt with the deep stuff bordering on existential. Everything from self-love and being our best selves to life’s toughest questions and big decisions. It’s real, and so sometimes it’s dark, but it’s always hopeful.”

Continue reading “Science for Sociopaths — Detroit’s Maggie Cocco Gets Personal on Upcoming ‘Love & Life’ Double EP”