"I think it is called New Wave because there is a new wave of performers returning to that basic idea of rock and roll," says Bert Smith, guitarist with the Cold.  "It is 60s music with an 80s attitude," adds Barbara Menendez, lead singer with the group.

People getting their first taste of the music expect something much more radical than it is.  "We get a lot of comments from people who say 'Oh, I thought this punk rock was going to be a real drag, but you all are just playing good music'.  "Those are people who have never seen punk rock and think that is what we are playing, but we aren't really."

"Even though it isn't radical "There is kind of an undercurrent of anger in New Wave," Smith elaborates.   Both members of the group agree that their performances provide them with some sort of release.  It is "like punching everybody in the world in the nose," says Smith.

With a record just released, the Cold has begun to receive recognition, at least on the New Orleans scene.  Smith describes "Three Chord City", one of the songs on the record, as "hard rock" and "You", the other song, as "pure pop - nothing over-powering, but blended."

Much thought goes into the costumes worn by the band.  "If people are going to pay to see us they want entertainment not just music, they can get just music from a juke box, so we're a show band," says Smith.

"We try to be a band with a lot of integrity who put some thought into what we are going to look like initially to the audience both visually and musically," says Menendez who was described by Cash Box Magazine as a cross between Blondie and Shelley Winters.

The band will be going to New York City early in September to try their luck.  Menendez who has lived in New York City thinks crowds there are not so easily moved as New Orleanians.  She says the attitude there is "Okay, you're here, now try and impress me."  They foresee the trip as a make it or break it situation for the group.

Even if New York City isn't impressed by the group, New Orleans has been.  The band has been performing regularly at Jed's and Jimmy's in Uptown New Orleans, the Dream Palace near the French Quarter and Ol' Man Rivers on the West Bank.  They prefer performing at places that are a bit rundown and more personal.  "We have trouble with places that are too nice.  They are sterile and you're too far away from the audience and too high up," says Menendez.

If New Wave ever became Old Wave, Menendez thinks the band could make the transition because their music is basically pop.   "What we do could be accepted at any time because we don't do anything file, or anything vulgar.  "We are not out to shock anyone," adds Smith.

The Cold's audiences aren't shocked and don't worry much about defining the kind of music they are hearing.  They just hop up and down and wag their heads enjoying the show.