Dana Scott / Winonan
One week after “Resting Bitch Face” was formed, the four band members held their first performance at Ed’s No Name Bar Saturday, Jan. 23.
“Resting Bitch Face” includes Winona State University seniors Alex Kopperud, Alex Courrier, Jacob Carlson and fifth-year student Phil Robin.
Kopperud’s cat inspired the name of the band. According to Kopperud, Courrier is also known for displaying this facial expression.
Kopperud is one of the vocalists in the group. He also plays piano, drums and has taught himself how to play the guitar.
Courrier is the bassist in the group. He began playing guitar in 2006 but then transitioned to bass. He still considers himself “a guitarist at heart.”
Robin, a public relations major, is a guitarist and vocalist.
“If rock star doesn’t work out, [I’ll] work at a firm in Minneapolis.” Robin said regarding his career aspirations.
Robin started playing the guitar when he was 13, and eventually started playing the bass and drums in addition to vocals.
Carlson plays the drums, and has also been the drummer in another band, “Fail to Decay,” for the last six years.
Kopperud and Courrier grew up together, and Robin met Courrier in tech support, where Courrier works. They started talking about music and, “the rest is history,” Courrier said.
Robin overheard Carlson in class talking about going on tour, and approached him about playing drums in the band.
A fellow student, Sam Atkins, recently approached the band about the event happening at Ed’s No Name Bar the following week and encouraged them to perform.
Carlson said it was difficult to memorize the songs in a week. They played one of the songs together for the first time four hours before the show. Robin said that they were able to pull it off because punk rock is all about speed.
This was Kopperud’s first time doing a live show on guitar and vocals. He said he was nervous going on stage, but after the first song and seeing people in the crowd moving around, he was fine.
Courrier said he dealt with his nerves at first by not looking at the crowd and just focusing on the bass. Courrier eventually took use of the microphone in front of him to do some vocals, which was not planned.
“It feels good after a show,” Carlson said. “You feel very accomplished.”
They all expressed this is something they would like to do again and are looking into opportunities at Ed’s No Name Bar and Midwest Music Store in downtown Winona.
They did not start the band with long-term goals, they just want to have fun now.
“But you never know,” Kopperud said, regarding the band’s future.
Kopperud shared one of the goals he has is to create one album and have it pressed into a vinyl record.
“I’d love to make music my career,” Carlson said. “But I’ll go everywhere life takes me.”
