CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with doctor/musician Neil Ratner. Neil learned the music business working as a tour manager, assistant manager and producer for groups like Edgar Winter, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd and T-Rex, among others. After a number of successful years working in the music biz, he had an epiphany and decided to pursue his other childhood dream of becoming a doctor. He finished coll...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Chris Ballew. Chris is best known as the former lead singer and 'basitarist' of the band The Presidents of the United States of America. Their debut album has been certified triple Platinum and contained the hits Lump, Peaches and Kitty. In their 23 year existence they recorded 6 studio albums, toured the world and appeared on such TV shows as Late Show with David...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Martin Page. Martin is responsible for writing and co-writng massive hits including We Built This City (Starship), These Dreams (Heart), King of Wishful Thinking (Go West, featured in Pretty Woman), Fallen Angle (Robbie Robertson), and many more for such artists as The Commodres, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Paul Young, Brian Ferry, Phil Collins, Josh Groban and Ro...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Ricky Byrd. Ricky is a well-recognized musician who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the lead guitarist and former original member of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts. He played with Joan from 1981-1992, and has also recorded or toured with Roger Daltrey, Ian Hunter, Southside Johnny and many other talented musicians since that time. He most recentl...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Vinnie Dombrowski. Vinnie is best known for being the lead singer of the band Sponge. Sponge has released 8 studio albums and recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of their debut, Rotting Pinata, which achieved platinum status. The band’s music has been featured in popular movies such as The Craft, Chasing Amy, Mall Rats and Empire Records and they have made net...

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Glen Sobel. Glen is best known for being the drummer for Alice Cooper since 2011. He has also worked with other musicians/groups including Motley Crue, Hollywood Vampires, Richie Sambora, Orianthi, Beautiful Creatues, Gary Hoey, Tony MacAlpine, Vasco Rossi, Paul Gilbert and Saga.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Steve Hackett. Steve is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his years with Genesis. He played with them from 1970 until 1977. During his tenure with them he helped create their sound and was an early proponent for the guitar methods of two-handed tapping and sweep picking. He left the band to pursue his solo career. He has recorded over 20 studio albums an...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Wally Palmar. Wally is best known for being lead singer and founder of the band The Romantics. The Romantics were one of the most popular American bands of the 80's scoring a gold album with In Heat and releasing the two classic hits What I Like About You and Talking in Your Sleep. They have recorded six studio albums and still tour the USA. Wally is also the found...

Steve Cooper talks with musician/actor Gary Kemp. Gary is best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for Spandau Ballet. He wrote all 23 hit singles for the band including True, Gold, Through the Barricades and Only When You Leave. His songs were hits all over the world when Spandau Ballet became one of the biggest British bands of the 1980s, generating over 25 mi...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Derry Grehan. Derry is best known for being lead guitarist for the band Honeymoon Suite. He is their primary songwriter and is responsible for their huge hit New Girl Now. The band hails from Canada where they still headline festivals and play to sold-out arenas. They have recorded seven studio albums over their career and are currently working on a new one. In 201...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Kathy Valentine. Kathy is best known as the bassist for the band The Go-Go's. She co-wrote the hit songs Vacation and Head Over Heels that were on the band's second and third albums. She has also played in the bands The BlueBonnets and The Delphines and recorded a solo album.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Simon Phillips. Simon is best known for being Toto's drummer from 1993 until 2009. He was the drummer for The Who during the band's American reunion tour in 1989 and played on Pete Townshend's Empty Glass album. To date he has toured and recorded with many bands and artists, including: Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Peter Gabriel, Joe Satriani, Tears for Fears,...

Steve Cooper talks with musician John Ford Coley. John is most revered as half of the Grammy nominated duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. With double platinum and gold records behind him he has shared the stage with many of the music industry’s famous hit makers. Some of those include: Elton John, Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Carole King, Bread, Loggins and Messina, Led Zepplin, Carly Simon, B...

Steve Cooper talks with actor Saundra Santiago. Saundra is best known for her role as Gina Calabrese on the iconic television show Miami Vice. She made her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's 1st Tony award nominated revival of A View from the Bridge as Catherine opposite Tony LoBianco. She has continued to move in and out of theatre and TV, being seen in CBS's Person of Interest and the short lived...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Stu Cook. Stu is best known for being bassist and one of the founding members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. CCR has sold 28 million albums and their numerous hits include Suzie Q, Bad Moon Rising, Who'll Stop the Rain, Proud Mary, Fortunate Son, Born on the Bayou, Have You Ever Seen the Rain and Down on the Corner. The band bro...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Jim McCarty. Jim is best known for being the drummer and one of the founders of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Yardbirds. Besides performing and recording with the Yardbirds, he has played with Together, Renaissance, Shoot, Illusion, the Yardbirds reunion band Box of Frogs, Stairway, the British Invasion All-Stars, and Pilgrim, as well as under his own name...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Robert Berry. Robert came into the spotlight in 1988, when he teamed with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame) and formed the band 3. They recorded one album, The Power of Three and disbanded in 1989 after a successful tour supporting the album. In 2015, him and Emerson signed with Frontier Records and began working on a follow-up to The P...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Martin Barre. Martin is best known for being lead guitarist for the legendary band Jethro Tull. He was with Tull for 43 years and his sound and playing having been a major factor in their success. Album sales have exceeded 60 million units and they continue to be played worldwide, representing an important part of classic rock history. His guitar playing has earned...

Steve Cooper talks with guitarist Jim Babjak. Jim is best known for being lead guitarist for The Smithereens. The Smithereens are a band out of New Jersey that has recorded 11 studio albums and are known for their hits such as Only a Memory, A Girl Like You, Blood and Roses, Behind the Wall of Sleep and many more. Their television credits include Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien,...

Steve Cooper talks with musician/novelist/radio personality Greg Kihn. Greg is best known for being the front man for the group The Greg Kihn Band. In 1981, he earned his first bona-fide hit on The Billboard Hot 100 with the # 15 single, The Breakup Song (They Don't Write Em'), from the Rockihnroll album. He continued in a more commercial vein through the 1980s with a series of pun-titled albums:...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Joey Allen. Joey is best known for being lead guitarist for the band Warrant. Warrant experienced major success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their 2× platinum debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its singles, Heaven, reached No. 1 in Roll...

Steve Cooper talks with musician Robin Wilson. Robin is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Gin Blossoms. The Gin Blossoms rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, New Miserable Experience, and the first single released from that album, Hey Jealousy. Hey Jealousy became a Top 25 hit and went gold, and New Miserable Experience eventually...

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Franke Previte. Franke is best known for writing Hungry Eyes and (I've Had) The Time of My Life for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. The latter won him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and he also received a Grammy nomination. His professional music career started with the band Bull Angus which toured with such acts as Rod Stewart and the Faces, Deep Purple a...

Steve Cooper talks with actor David Pasquesi. David can currently be seen in HBO's Veep playing Andrew Meyer, in AMC's new hit Lodge 49 and in At Home with Amy Sedaris. His list of movie credits include The Fugitive, Groundhog Day, Natural Born Killers, The Ice Harvest, Leatherheads, Angels & Demons and To Rome with Love. He has been recurring or a regular on shows such as Superior Donuts, The Jam...

Steve Cooper talks with writer/director Rob Burnett. Rob is a five time Emmy winner who is best known for being a writer, then head writer then executive producer for Late Night with David Letterman/Late Show with David Letterman. He also created the TV series Bonnie, Ed and The Knights of Prosperity. He recently wrote and directed the film The Fundamentals of Caring which premiered at the Sundanc...