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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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Category: Blogging
LA MUSIC BLOG http://lamusicblog.com/2009/10/19/johnny-cooper/
Johnny Cooper Interview by: Kristin Houser | category: Article, Review Don’t you just love it when you have high expectations for someone and they actually meet them? With all the buzz I’d been hearing about artist Johnny Cooper, I thought for sure at least a little of it must have been the LA hype machine at work. Not so. This 21-year-old’s performance at the Key Club’s Plush Lounge proved why his unique blend of rock, soul, and funk is worth talking about.
The young Texan kicked off the set with “Don’t Feel Like That Anymore,” a funktastic track that sounds like Maroon Five with bigger cojones. As Cooper says in this song, he’s “got a little swagger in [his] brand new step” and for good reason.
The song is the opener off his third album. That’s right. This 21 year old is already releasing his third album. The very next song of the performance, “Somewhere In-Between,” begins with the line “I wonder if I’m too young for this,” and if Cooper is referencing his music career, he should just quit wondering. He commands the stage like a seasoned performer, joking with the LA crowd for complaining about the two days of bad weather (“We get ice storms in ....Wichita..... Ice storms.”), and he reveals a level-headed maturity in his lyrics that will do him well in this crazy business.
A few songs later Cooper played “Follow,” the title track off his new album, and by this point, I was 100% with him. The Justin Timberlake-smooth voice, the sweet guitar chops, that soft Texan drawl that could convince a coyote to quit howling…this kid could lead me anywhere and I would be right behind him. His destination of choice was to the land of funk, closing the set with “Yes, My Love!” Cooper begins the song with a little Kanye before showing us what he can bring to the dance floor. This sexy, catchy track complete with hand claps (oh, how I love hand claps!) made me want to get up and move and allowed the artist to leave the audience with a little more of that swagger he mentioned at the beginning of the set.
Check out the new album for yourself and see what all the fuss is about.
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Before his performance, Cooper answered a few questions for LA Music Blog’s readers about the new album, visiting LA for the first time, and why he’s not still sitting behind a drumset.
Where and how did you get your start in music?It’s kind of funny actually, because I was fifteen years old and I was taking drum lessons from a guy in ....Wichita Falls.., ..Texas.... where I lived. He heard me sing one day, and he said “Do you think you’d like to open for this band? I’m booking some gigs at this pizza place.” And I said, “Well I really don’t know how to play anything on guitar.” He said, “Well do you think that you could learn about 10-12 songs and make it happen?” So I said that I could try.
I sat down with my dad, who’s a pianist, plays very well, and is good with notes. We sat down with my busted, first acoustic guitar that I had, and I learned about twelve songs in two and a half weeks. I played that gig, and played nothing but cover songs that were easy songs that were in G, C, D. Ever since that gig I’ve been playing music. I still remember the day that my dad looked at me, which was a month or two after we played that first gig, and he said, “You know, you could write your own songs.” I’ll never forget that day because it finally clicked in my head that I could just do it. From that point on all I wanted to do was write my own songs.
You mentioned that you actually started off with just drums. What made you stay with guitar?I think it was that it was difficult for me to drum and sing at the time. Also, I think that it was more of a frontman thing, and I wanted to play that role a little bit more. It felt more natural when I picked up a guitar with singing and playing.
Is this your first time playing in LA?It is our first gig in LA and actually the first time I’ve been in LA. It’s been an exciting past three days. We fly out tomorrow and have a gig in my hometown of ....Wichita Falls.., ..Texas..... We’re playing gig there in my hometown at a radio station’s big birthday party there.
You titled your newest album “Follow.” Why did you choose that title for the name of the album?Mainly because our “Ignition” album, which is our second studio album, and this album are quite different. I recorded Ignition when I was 16 years old and going in to record “Follow,” I just turned 20 years old. I felt that I was writing some different kinds of music and experimenting with different things. The whole main reason of choosing “Follow” was number one, there’s a song on there titled “Follow”, and number two, it was saying follow us to our next step in our musical experiment.
You had a chance to work with Glenn Rosenstein and Dexter Green, who has worked with pretty much everyone, on this album. What was that experience like as opposed to what it was like working on your first album?Dex and Glenn let me be a huge part of everything that was going on with the record. When I made “Ignition” with a guy named Mike McClure, I kind of let him do most of it because I was so young and really didn’t know much. This go round I had a better idea of what was going to happen and how things were going to go down, so I got to play a bigger role in this record, which was a lot of fun for me. Also, Dex is one of those guys that, for some reason, we’re suppose to get together and make records. There’s something that happens when me and him get together, write songs and record stuff, that to me is just amazing. Same with Glenn. Glenn’s that guy I feel that was perfect for this record. He kept me and Dex, without putting us in a box, from getting too out there. Because you put two musicians together like me and Dex, and we can get weird on you, man, so it was good to have Glenn. With Glenn’s structure and knowledge of all the people that he’s worked with and all the hits songs he’s been a part of, it was good to have his two cents and his guidelines of everything that was going on. It was like having a good roll of duct tape. He held everything together.
You sold 25,000 copies of your last record. Now working with these producers and growing up, what can people expect from this album? I think finally for the first time in my life I have some songs and have put out a record that I feel is totally where I’m at in my life right now. The lyrics are a little bit different. Some of the lyrics in the last record, to me, sound like a 16 year old kid, and this record, to me, doesn’t sound like that any more. I think that’s the biggest thing that you’ll notice more than anything.
Was the recording process any different working with the two producers you worked with opposed to the original album.It was a lot different, mainly because we recorded everything in Dexter’s basement. It was cool because it was a lot different environment. It was relaxed. We pretty much started around 11 each morning and would go until about 11 each night. We took it pretty much at our own pace. Before, we had a studio and there’s only so many hours that you could be in that studio, so you felt more cramped to get a bunch of stuff done. Where with this go round, we had a lot more time and felt more relaxed. It comes across especially in the music. You can tell that we were having fun, everybody was relaxed, just chilled, and you can hear that when you listen to it.
It sounds like a mix of what you would consider red dirt music, ....Texas.... country, blues, and rock and roll. Who would you say are some of your influences, and where do they show up in your songwriting?Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, and Justin Timberlake. I look up to those guys because they do something different than other people do. Sly and the Family Stone and Stevie Wonder were doing it 30 years ago, and you’re starting to see some of that funk, rock, and a combination of bunch of things put together. Overall what we’re going for more than anything, and they were going for as well, is we just want to move you. They just want you to get up and start moving. Even if you don’t want to, you just do it. I think that’s what we’re going for more than anything. Music that makes you feel good.
Tell us about your songwriting process.It changes every day. Sometimes it starts out with a few chords and chord progressions on guitar. Some days it might start off with a lyric or something that gets stuck in my head. A lyric passage that keeps going over, and over, and over in my head, until I find the right words to fit in there. Overall if you go back and listen to my songs, I tell everyone that I hope to be a 70-year-old man some day, and you’ll be able to go back and see my whole life on CDs, but you’d get to listen to them. I think that’s something that I write my songs about more than anything. Everyday things that happen to me and everyday life experiences. I feel that when you write songs that are more like that, someone like you that’s a hundred miles away will have that much better chance of relating to it. More than anything, that’s what I go for when I write songs.
What have been some highlights this past year for you?I got to put out a third record. If you would’ve asked me when I was 16 years old if I’d get to do that, I’d tell you that you were crazy, so I’m excited about that. We’re getting to play in LA, and we’re getting a bunch of shows in North and ....South Carolina..... We’re starting to branch out of our comfort zone, and our comfort zone is ....Texas..... It’s nice to have that opportunity to even have a chance to branch out. That’s the highlight more than anything. We’re getting to have some cool opportunities, and it’s been really fun to play for a whole different crowd.
I noticed that you’ve played about 800 shows, and that averages out to be about 200 a year. That’s absolutely ridiculous.We’re on the road constantly. We fly out to ....Wichita Falls.... tomorrow [a Wednesday] and have a gig there tomorrow night. Then we play Thurs., Fri, and Sat. night as well.
What would you like to say to your fans?I just hope that everyone enjoys our music. We’re here for one reason and that’s to play music and try to make sure that our listeners have a good time. I can guarantee that if you come out to our concerts, you’ll leave that night with a smile on your face and glad that you came out. For more info on Johnny check out:
4:38 PM
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