Black Coffee’s Ehab Omran & Nick Fratianne On Why They Proudly Call Columbus, Ohio Their Home

The Columbus, Ohio-based rock band known as Black Coffee formed in late 2017 and consists of drummer Tommy McCullough, singer Ehab Omran, guitarist Justin Young, and bassist Nick Fratianne.

The band already has a major buzz around them, with major festival appearances at Epicenter and Sonic Temple having taken place this month. Meanwhile, Black Coffee’s first demo, Take One, was released on April 21st, one day following the release of the single “I Barely Know Her.”

While on-site at the aforementioned Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival at Columbus, Ohio’s MAPFRE Stadium — which also hosted the likes of the Foo Fighters, System Of A Down, The Prodigy, Ghost, Disturbed, Papa Roach and Killswitch Engage, to name a few key artists — I had the pleasure of interviewing both singer Ehab Omran and bassist Nick Fratianne from the group.

Highlights from our Q&A from the Saturday of Sonic Temple 2019 are below, while tour dates and more information about Black Coffee can be found online at www.officialblackcoffee.com.

You guys are hometown heroes of sorts at this festival…

Ehab Omran: I don’t know if we’re hometown heroes.

Nick Fratianne: We are hometown. And we’re humble as f**k to be here. (laughs)

What are some of your favorite bars and restaurants in town?

Ehab Omran: Out-R-Inn is one of my favorite bars. I like a place called Ace Of Cups, another one of my favorite bars.

Nick Fratianne: Brothers [Bar & Grill]…

Ehab Omran: Brothers is cool… Go to [The] Shrunken Head. Pasquale’s [Pizza and Pub] has the best goddamn pizza you’ve ever had in your life.

Nick Fratianne: If you’re in Columbus, go to Late Night Slice. Go to Mango’s [Cafe], get yourself a hookah. Go to Skully’s Music-Diner.

Ehab Omran: Shrunken Head has good drinks. Nick Montague at the Shrunken Head, he’s the man.

Nick Fratianne: Shout-out!

To you, has Columbus changed a lot in the last 5 years? 10 years?

Nick Fratianne: The last five years, this music scene has blown up like a brick of dynamite.

Ehab Omran: Columbus has always been a gem, but in the last five years, yes. A lot of spotlights, a lot of bands have come up. Columbus has always been true to rock & roll. We’ve got Beartooth, Twenty-One Pilots, Starset — shout-out to Dustin [Bates from Starset], trying to go on tour with him later, there’s another story. So many good bands out of Columbus.

Nick Fratianne: Red Sun Rising.

Ehab Omran: But it’s always been a great scene.

Nick Fratianne: It’s not too big. There’s a lot of bands, but Columbus know how to promote them properly.

Ehab Omran: You’ve got Bravo[Artist], you’ve got PromoWest [Promotions].

Nick Fratianne: At the end of the day, the last five years, a big spotlight has been put on here because of the bands that have come out of here. Because of the fact that rock & roll lives here. L.A. is dead for rock & roll.

Ehab Omran:We were there last month and honestly, L.A. is dead for rock & roll…

So what’s coming up for the band after Sonic Temple?

Ehab Omran: We’re going to L.A. to record a record. It’s gonna be sick. It’s gonna be as raw and pure rock & roll as you can find.

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Tags: Beartooth, Black Coffee, Columbus, Foo Fighters, Ohio, Sonic Temple, System Of A Down, Twenty One Pilots

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."