Coughdrop, a University of Rhode Island student band, will release its first album “Everything I’m Not” on Friday.
The album features a single titled “a wasp flew into my car at 90 mph and it almost crashed,” released on Oct. 2, Instagram post published by the band. Members fourth-year Ryan Baudisch, fourth-year Peter Tolmei, fourth-year Sam Riccio, fourth-year Gavin Drew and URI alumni Julien Turner ’25 created the album. The band will perform “Everything I’m Not” in full at the 193 Coffee House on Thursday, Oct. 16.
“I wanted to get a record, a full LP, out of this project from the start,” Drew, vocalist and frontman of Coughdrop, said. “I even took an audio engineering class, just so we could have access to the Ranger Hall studio over the summer.”
The album runs 20 minutes and 41 seconds long, according to guitarist Tolmei. The band used Ranger Hall’s audio production studio to mix and master the album. Additionally, they used the URI makerspace to create T-shirts promoting the release. Drummer Riccio burned CDs of the album himself, copies of which will be available to buy at future shows.
“Every day we left the studio and had a new thing,” guitarist Baudisch said. “Everyone would listen to it, they would take notes on it about what they liked and didn’t like. And we would try and incorporate that. It was an ongoing process; it was never set in stone.”
The sound is dynamic, according to Baudisch. Coughdrop is influenced by genres like hardcore, punk, Midwest-emo, math-rock and grunge. The album oscillates between screaming vocals and twinkly guitar riffs – pulling from each member’s respective musical background.
The band emulates the sound of Atlanta-based post-hardcore band Microwave, according to Drew.
“Even if our sound isn’t always hardcore, the messaging and what we stand for is,” Riccio said. “Supporting marginalized people, supporting queer people, supporting trans people and upholding that hardcore, punk culture.”
One of the songs on the album was written before Coughdrop formed, according to Drew. While lyrics speak on topics like sadness and isolation, they also reflect on nostalgia and hope. The album is most influenced by Drew’s relationship to Rhode Island, his home state, especially as the vocalist prepares to graduate from URI.
“I feel very stuck here,” Drew said. “And at the same time, like, we’re all moving on. There’s a weird hopelessness about that – and at the same time, there’s hope.”
Members of Coughdrop originally met at URI’s Musician’s Guild, which provided a supportive space for the musicians to experiment and express themselves, according to Tolmei.
“If I never met the people I did at Musician’s Guild, I would 100 percent not be playing music,” Tolmei said. “It’s opened many doors for me, and I’m eternally thankful for it.”
Members of Coughdrop found community and support within URI’s music scene, according to Riccio.
“I remember my first Musicians Guild show,” Riccio said. “It was like a totally new experience. Seeing local music entirely put on by our fellow classmates was a great experience; it just feels like real community.”
Upcoming shows include Thursday, Oct. 16 at 193 Coffee House with URI-based bands Eardum Cinema and Rosebud Thorn. Future shows can be found on the band’s instagram, @coughdro. The album “Everything I’m Not” will be available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music on Friday.
