MP3 Scott Cooper - A Leg Trick

Solo CD from Bay Area veteran is a mix of Dead-inspired jams and New Orleans vibes, featuring cameos from Bill Payne (Little Feat), Ben Ellman (Galactic), Barry Sless (David Nelson Band), Dale Ockerman (Doobie Bros), Matt Hartle (China Cats) and others.

11 MP3 Songs in this album (47:06) !
Related styles: Rock: Jam-band, Rock: Americana, Featuring Guitar

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Details:
Scott Cooper
A Leg Trick

Track by Track

1. Dance the Night â Written on the front porch of my friend and former bandmate Ben Ellman's house in New Orleans. Now with Galactic, Ben takes a baritone sax solo here. June Core from Charlie Musselwhiteâs band lays down a great drum track, and Jim Lewin (Great American Taxi, Harmony Grits) added some sweet slide. The under-appreciated Lachlan Kane plays piano, Bundy Brown from La Honda handles lead vocals, while Will Kahn (Sambada) and I throw in some harmonies. I play bass and tremolo guitar.

2. Down in the Slough â I was playing a gig once in Watsonville Slough when the banjo player said, âWe need a song about a slough.â So I wrote one. This recording features Barry Sless from the David Nelson Band on pedal steel and local character Al Frisby on vocals. I play drums, rhythm guitar and bass. This tune has become a staple within bluegrass circles.

3. Golden Coconut â Another tune inspired by New Orleans. Ben Ellman told me the story of the Zulus who used throw out painted coconuts from their Mardi Gras floats but the police made them stop because people were getting injured from coconuts to the head. Hence, they became even more coveted and rare. I let my imagination run from there. The drums and bass for this recording were originally done in the early â90s with my old band Deep Blue Sea, then cut and pasted for a re-arrangement in 2011. Then I got Bill Payne from Little Feat to add a piano track, Matt Hartle from the China Cats to add a guitar solo and New York percussionist Ray Hauck to spice up with some percussion. Former Mighty Clouds of Joy singer Henry âHawkâ Harris adds some deep deep bass vocals. You can still hear remnants of the original Deep Blue Sea recording such as the harmony vocals on the bridge by Phil McGee, and some slide guitar work by Keith Hamm. Stackabones covered this tune on the last Stackabonesâ CD, âThe Wax Still Drips.â

4. Girl in the Garden â This tune is straight Deep Blue Sea, my old band from the 90s. We recorded this around â93 and never properly mixed it until now. Thankfully the master 2â analog tapes were still in good enough condition to be useful. Keith Hamm plays fabulous lead guitar and Phil McGee brings it to life with his sweet vocals.

5. Nothin' Comes For Free â Listening to this tune, you can hear the direct Allen Toussaint influence, as filtered through a Santa Cruz Deadhead. Dale Ockerman (Doobie Bros, Quicksilver, Ziggy Modeliste) brings the New Orleans piano to the track, and I play all the other instruments including the enveloped lead guitar. New Orleans native Al Frisby colors the tune with his lead vocals, and Jerry Brown from Shady Groove helps out with harmonies.

6. So Right So Long â I recorded the skeletal tracks with me on rhythm guitar and Mike Schermer (Marcia Ball) on lead guitar playing oh so sweetly. Then later I added drums, bass and keys. Bundy Brown nailed the lead vocals on the first take and Tammi Brown (Eric Clapton, MC Hammer) duets.

7. Playing My Part â This song has been hanging around my repertoire for quite a while. Recorded with AJ McKinley on lead guitar and bluegrass belle Sheila Golden (The Backbeats) on harmonies. I played the rest (drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead vox, tambourine).

8. Play Her Song â I once knew a beautiful woman but couldnât tell her how I felt about her for a number of reasons. So I thought maybe I could tell her through a song that she may hear on the radio. I play all the instruments on this one, aided by Gary Gates' nice lead vocals. My buddy Jim Brighton from Stackabones helped me out writing the Beatle-esque bridge.

9. Accidentally Like a Martyr â The only cover on the CD is a Warren Zevon tune that I always wished Jerry Garcia would have performed ⦠until I found an obscure studio recording of him doing it, but his version was never finished. Hence, I felt someone had to take the ball and run with it. I arranged the tune similar to how Jerry did it, but added extended guitar solos, swelling organ and harmony vocals, as Jerry would have done if he had played it live. My China Cat bandmates Matt Hartle and Steve Sofranko play lead guitar and keys respectively, and I handle drums, bass, rhythm guitar and harmony vocals. Jerry Brown takes lead vocals.

10. Caboose on the Loose â Previously titled âDawgâs Barkâ or âRock Feverâ this instrumental started out with a riff I came up with on the beach in Hawaii. All sorts of changes and parts, but still influenced (unconsciously) by the Dixie Dregsâs country side as well as (consciously) Garcia-Grismanâs instrumental stuff. I played all the instruments then had Barry Sless come in and top it off with a masterful slide solo. Engineer Rich Williams says it sounds like a track from Steve Howeâs first solo record, which I listened to A LOT during high school so no surprise there.

11. Bye Bye â This was one of a handful of tunes that I recorded a long time ago at Gary Martinâs Mother Earth studios in Bonny Doon, CA. This one came out with so few mistakes and just plain worked, that I felt it was ready to release. I play all the instruments except Keith Hammâs exceptional lead guitar work. A tune about the hurried pace of modern relationships where a couple doesnât get to spend enough time together, particularly in the mornings when everyoneâs rushed to get to work. Beside the obvious Dead flavor and subdudes grooves, you would probably never notice a couple other influences on this one: Michael Franks and Pete Hamm (Badfinger).

BIO:

Scott Cooper is a veteran of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He started out as a drummer backing blues legends such as Johnny Shines and Luther Tucker, as well as regional artists Robert Lowery, Lady Bo (Bo Diddley's lead guitarist) and Rusty Zinn. Then played in a band with Ben Ellman (later with Galactic) and Luca Fredericksen (later with Wolfman Washington). In the 90s, he worked with a popular jam band called Deep Blue Sea, which allowed him the vehicle to write original material. From there it was on to play with Relix Records jam band Stackabones, where Scott eventually moved from behind the drums to playing bass. Scott has recorded three CDs with Stackabones where he plays drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. Once established as a bass player Scott started working with the Gary Gates Band. Scott has been playing with Gary for nearly a decade now and is on Gary's popular "At the San Gregorio General Store" CD produced by John Nowland (Neil Young, Jewel). For the past 4 years, Scott has fronted the popular Grateful Dead tribute band the China Cats, where he handle the Bob Weir rhythm guitar parts. Scott is well known for having more musical projects than anyone, including leading a monthly bluegrass jam, performing solo gigs, playing children's music with the Banana Slug String Band, and a side project called the Secret Chimp with Jim Lewin (Great American Taxi) and Bill Laymon (NRPS, David Nelson Band, Kingfish). When he's not gigging or recording his prolific repertoire of original material, Scott sells djembes for Drumskull Drums and teaches guitar at UC-Santa Cruz.