Meet Philadelphia’s Own KOSER

Meet Philadelphia's own KOSER, MMR's Local Shots artist of the month.

KOSER is a high-energy 5-piece rock/blues/funk band from Philadelphia. The supergroup meshes the powerful contralto vocals of Kara Koser with a heap of instruments– guitars, bass, saxophone, keyboard, synth, percussion, drums, and more, every show.

KOSER pairs well with the soul of Lawrence, Amy Winehouse, and the grit of Nirvana, Paramore.

Koser - frontwoman, synth, harmonica
Justin Niemiec- bass, keys, percussion
Chet Williams- saxophone, guitar, bass, keys
Michael Trischetta- guitar, keys, harmonies
Collin Montgomery- drums, percussion

Kara Koser has been writing songs since she was nine years old and has always dreamt of following in the footsteps of strong female-led sensations: such as Paramore, No Doubt, and Fleetwood Mac. Early on she identified challenges with mental health, including debilitating bouts of performance anxiety and substance use disorder.

Even though this made pursuing music extremely difficult, she would still sing, write, and compete. In 2018, she openly found sobriety, which unironically led her to a 3-month-long singing contest; the most difficult of its kind and the first time she’d take the stage sober. A surprised, exhausted, and grateful Koser finished with first place.

This ignited and supported inextinguishable fire to pursue a singing career long-term.

In 2020, Kara’s plans to move fell through. The only spot in the city on such short notice was in Manayunk– which she wasn’t initially thrilled about. However, her new abode happened to be down the street from The Grape Room, one of the town’s most vibrant open jam clubs. Koser would go alone every Wednesday to work on her improvisation skills. It was there that the soon-to-be 5 piece pop/rock/funk formation found each other.

The musical chemistry was immediately apparent! They spent a short 2 months working, writing, and playing together and unanimously decided (well, besides Kara) to name the new crew after the lead singer. Month 3 of being together saw a win in a national contest to perform at a 15,000-person festival catering to women and queer folk. The band played cross-country for a week, which solidified that they had the potential to be a great band and amazing friends.

Whether you’re in the mood for dancing with strangers or crying in the car alone, this band’s got a tune for you.

Mike Trischetta, the band’s resident shredder, toured with All That Remains right before lockdown began. Chet Williams, who mainly plays saxophone, can easily pick up any of the other instrumentation the band provides and blow the roof off. Collin Montgomery, played competitive ice hockey before trading skates for drumsticks. Justin Niemiec is another virtuoso who they aptly named the band’s Musical Director.