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Features
INTERVIEW
A couple of years back we raved about Peter Cooper
and his guitar raves. So, with a new album on the horizon, this
seemed an opportune time to find out a little bit more.
MP3 Zone
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Peter Cooper Interview July 2005 Z: Who are you and how would you personally describe your music? I am the brainchild of the Peter Cooper Band. It has been in existence since 1999 and is still going strong. I originally come from Brooklyn, NY and have toured and lived in other parts of the states and abroad, and now am based in the New Orleans area. I suppose I would personally describe my music as a chameleon fucking. The ability to change and adapt to the given situation while always maintaining a sense of primal animal instinct. Z: When writing, where do you begin? I can say that being a guitarist at core I always look for good riffs and progressions. What I'll do is put together a bunch of riffs, grooves and progressions in relative keys, sometimes over a dozen. Then slowly I will piece them together like a puzzle. I think verse riff, bridge riff and chorus riff. They all have to relate to each other and flow nicely and in a cohesive fashion ya know? The ideas that I don't use may get thrown out the window or saved for another time if I feel it will work somewhere else. Then on top of those I work on the vocal melody or I'll work on the bass line underneath it. Which one comes first depends on the vibe and feeling of the piece. Very rarely do I start with a bass line and work from there but it does happen now and again if it really grooves and I never start a piece with a vocal melody. I just can't seem to build from the top down. I can go from the middle and work sideways ya know? Start with guitar and sprout out to bass and vocals based on that or I can build from the bottom and work upwards, but never from the top downwards. In cowriting situations it is completely different because you feed off of each other, but about ninety percent of the original material you hear is written on my own so there you have it. That is my process. Z: Which groups, artists and/or bands inspire you? Wow! Where do I begin ya know? There are so many that I can't say all of them in one sitting. What I can do is spout off some from the front of my lobes. Roth era Van Halen, KISS from 73 to 79, AC/DC, Groove Assault, Malmsteen, John Carpenter, Steven King, Hendrix, Andy Aledort, Mark Tremonti, Satriani, Vai, Paul Gilbert, Ritchie Kotzen, Al Pacino, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Nirvana, Beethoven, Mozart, J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Vivaldi, Paganini, Lez Warner, Buddy Guy, Cream, The Cult, Albinoni, Kane Hodder, The Undertaker, Roddy Piper, Godsmack, God, Satan, Micky Lynn, Kaitlyn Ashley and Asia Carrera are all that come to mind at the moment. Z: Are you influenced by art and literature at all? Absolutely. Of course there is the question of "What is art?" I define art as anything that promotes and triggers an intellectual, emotional, physical or spiritual response as long as it does not cause anyone harm as a result. I think a full moon, sunset, sunrise, mountains, oceans, rivers, trees and canyons are art. That is my favorite and most inspiring of art. Nature. Nature is art in it's most pure and beautiful form. The great thing about that is that you don't have to have any money or go to a building to experience it. Just look outside or take a walk and you can absorb at least some of it. I'll be honest and say that painting does not really inspire me all that much. A full moon or sunset is the most awe inspiring painting in all of known creation. Writers such as Dumas, Twain, Faulkner, Poe and others do affect me in strong ways. Z: Are there any songs/tracks that you have heard and thought, I wish I'd written that? There are certainly songs and pieces that I'v heard and been totally blown away, but I don't think I'v ever said to myself I wish that I had written that. Everything happens for a reason and there is a reason I did not write those particular things. It was meant for that artist to do it. Z: Do you push yourself to write, or do you have to wait
until you're Both. They both kinda go hand and hand together. It all starts with inspiration for me though. I find it hard to push myself to do anything without some sort of inspiration behind it. Inspiration comes from things sometimes not even palpable by the human senses so I don't know where it comes from many times. It just is. It is a total yin and yang kind of concept. Pushing myself to write and the inspiration factor are completely woven together. It just doesn't manifest itself without one or the other. Right now I am pushing myself to write lots of songs, some of which will be out on the new record in the winter or spring of 2006. But I am inspired to push myself to do it ya know what I mean? Z: What was it that made you go into into making music? If I had to say the one reason it would be simple. Pussy and lots of it. Z: Do you feel the internet is a good way of helping/promoting
your No question about it. We are doing it right now. It has really enabled artists to take the reins of their own career without being at the mercy of selfish, cut throat majors like in the past. Of course the majors are now looking into cyberspace for their new big thing. The only worry that I have is that the net will become oversaturated with bands that are not very good because of the accessibility, and so will diminish the accomplishments of the good and great ones. Z: Has the computer age, and its use in creating, editing
and I have yet to aquire my home studio but once I do I'm sure that I will be releasing about three or four albums a year. The only reason I haven't yet is because of the financing. I can't afford it right now, but it is not for lack of material I assure you. In some ways I think it has inhibited other bands though. I mean back in the day bands used to release an album every single year and sometimes muliple albums in a year. Now because of the new technology, bands seem to over analyze everything and it takes longer and longer to put out records. Don't stray too far. Keep it simple and go for the gut. Don't be the anal in analyze! Z: Give me three good reasons why someone should buy your
CDs, barring (Laughs) That eliminates that! Just kidding! One would be that the musicianship is very good. Two would be that it is uncompromising. I do what I feel like doing and the only other people I take to heart are my fans and friends. Third would be that without the fans buying my music I would be nothing. I need them and love them! Z: Finally, If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? No! He knows exactly where he is headed and what he wants, and he won't compromise to reach those things for anyone. He has the balls to go for his dreams and not be someone else's puppet. He won't do what I want him to do and he lives his own life without looking back. He is his own man and I hate him for that. Thanks to Peter for his words, now head over to his website, download
some tunes, then get your credit card chapping. It's well worth
it.
Peter Cooper contemplates the future of rock |
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