This interview series is a summer-long series spotlighting the bands performing at Asbury Jams every Thursday at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Produced by ElmThree – Asbury Jams brings rising local, regional and national touring bands from the jam scene to the City that Bruce Built.
Cool Cool Cool, is … well … incredibly cool.
The seven-piece band, featuring former members of the band Turkuaz, have found a way to take funk, R&B, and house music and blend it into a joyous explosion of sound.
Recently, we caught up with Chris Brouwers (trumpet, keyboard and synthesizer), Shira Elias (vocals), Greg Brodhead (guitar, keyboard, synthesizer), and Sammi Garett (vocals, percussion) about the band’s origin story, their musical feature, and why they love being part of the band.
Let’s start with the obvious question — Cool Cool Cool is a great name for a band. What is the origin story behind the name?
Chris Brouwers: It was a bit of a motto that we would use amongst ourselves while touring, akin to the phrase ‘the show must go on’. When you’re out on the road, oftentimes things don’t go quite as planned … and so when a major twist or turn would rear its head, our response to each other would be “Cool. Cool cool cool.” It stuck.
Members of this band were in Turkuaz for a number of years. Can you talk about the decision to form this band?
Shira Elias: Well, the funny thing is that we never actually made the decision to form a band at the beginning. It was a crazy time filled with a lot of uncertainty for all of us and surprisingly enough, a few gigs just sort of appeared and fell into our laps and we unintentionally formed a band to fill these gigs! And then, of course, it felt so good to play with each other that we eventually decided to continue as a band.
In 2025, CCC dropped the single “Dynamite” — is this a taste of things to come (sonically and lyrically) for the band? If so, when can we expect a new record?
Sammi Garett: Yes! Releasing “Dynamite” was super fun for us. Something I love about our band is that we really lean into a mix of genres and vibes. While “Dynamite” gives a little glimpse into where we’re headed, it’s truly just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve been deep in the writing process and have a bunch of new songs in the works, all leading up to a full-length album. So stay tuned! We can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on.
Can you describe the live experience that is Cool Cool Cool?
Chris Brouwers: The live show is what we pride ourselves on. It’s what we do best, and the reason we live this wild life of touring musicians. Our live show is intended to be a dance party for all involved. Doesn’t matter if it’s a late night at the club, or midday at the farmer’s market with the family- we will get everybody dancing. There’s singing, there’s dance moves, there’s face-melting guitar solos, we got a little something for everyone.
What do you love about being in this band?
Greg Brodhead: This is a great question! There are so many levels here to go into, but to start off, I love that we are all obsessed with what it means to be touring and recording musicians. There is nothing quite like connecting with a group of your favorite people, digging into a song or tour, and knowing that we are trying to make the best possible music and vibe, for each other, and all the listeners. This feeling, for me, has only been possible by trusting and believing in the band, which is something that I definitely love about being in Cool Cool Cool.
What are five things you’re excited about for the band for the rest of 2025 and into 2026?
Chris Brouwers: We are actually just finishing up some time in the recording studio that has been an absolute blast for us. We’re so excited to continue to put our music together and share it with the world (when it’s ready). We’re always excited to get out and play shows, and we’ve got some really special ones coming up later this year and early 2026. Any chance we get to spend time together and do our thing is an honor for me personally, so the excitement never ends in Cool Cool Cool world.
