‘CCSHRED’ Courtney Cox Livestream
CCShred Courtney Cox Live Tuesday September 10 at 7pmEST right here!
Courtney Cox, a musician originally from Philadelphia, is a guitarist for, and full time member of, all female Swiss metal band Burning Witches, Femme Fatale and The Starbreakers and former member of The Iron Maidens. Having first picked up a guitar at around the age of 13, she started touring at 15 and never looked back. Courtney is currently working on her first release.
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https://www.burningwitches.ch/
Steve: Courtney, thanks for sitting down with me. I know you’ve been busy, so I appreciate the time. You started playing guitar really young, right? I remember hearing about your School of Rock days.
Courtney: Yeah, I started when I was 13, pretty randomly. I think you and I actually went to school together, didn’t we?
Steve: That’s right! I started at 13 too. I remember the first time I played in public—it was at Mrs. Hunt’s coffeehouse back in high school.
Courtney: No way, I remember that!
Steve: Yeah, I was a freshman, super nervous. I just sat in a chair with a list of riffs and ended with the solo from “Creeping Death.” I feel like you might’ve been there.
Courtney: I probably was! That was definitely a time when all the musician kids hung out.
Steve: Yeah, good times. After that, I just locked myself in the garage, trying to match notes to CDs. How did you go from starting out to doing something like School of Rock?
Courtney: My mom saw an article about Rock School in Philly—it had just opened. Fun fact: the Jack Black movie School of Rock is based on that original one.
Steve: That’s wild.
Courtney: Yeah, I signed up and ended up in a show called Iron Maiden vs. Judas Priest. They handed me three songs, I learned them fast, and showed up to rehearsal the same day. I think everyone hated me because I was the only one who knew the songs, but it was such a cool experience.
Steve: That’s intense. Did you take lessons there, or was it more about the experience?
Courtney: Honestly, I wasn’t a great student. I’ve always been self-taught, so lessons weren’t really my thing. But the touring experience at Rock School was eye-opening. We got to play with Adrian Belew and Jon Anderson—not my favorite music, but playing with those monster musicians taught me a lot.
Steve: So the touring was through the school?
Courtney: Yeah, they had this elite group called the School of Rock Allstars. We toured all over, playing with these insanely talented kids. The youngest might’ve been 10, and no one was older than 18.
Steve: That’s incredible. I actually taught at a School of Rock for a while. Same performance-based teaching approach, I assume?
Courtney: Exactly. It’s sink or swim when you’re up on stage. If you didn’t do your homework, it showed immediately.
Steve: How did you make the leap from that to playing professionally? Did the school help connect you to an agent or something?
Courtney: Not really. The school tours were my first taste of the professional world, but the rest was on me.
Steve: Got it. So when did Queen Diamond happen?
Courtney: Around the same time. Gina Gleason, who plays for Baroness now, and I grew up together in the Allstars group. We were both metalheads, and after years of playing prog rock, we said, “Screw it, let’s play King Diamond.” We were obsessed.
Steve: And that snowballed into something bigger?
Courtney: Kind of. It was just cool to find other badass women who were as into metal as I was. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve always surrounded myself with people who share that passion.
Steve: That’s what’s so great about your journey. By the way, before we wrap this up, I’ve got to ask—do you miss Pennsylvania?
Courtney: A little. I thought we were going to do this interview in person, so I was looking forward to some tea cooler.
Steve: Swiss Farms tea cooler?
Courtney: No way. It’s Wawa tea or nothing for me.
Steve: Fair enough! Thanks for taking the time to chat, Courtney. This was awesome.
Courtney: Anytime, Steve. Let’s do it again soon.
