CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with musician Jon King. Jon is best known as the singer-songwriter and founding member of the Leeds-based post-punk band Gang of Four. Gang of Four was one of the most influential and groundbreaking bands to rise from the British punk scene in the late '70s. Their 1979 LP, Entertainment, received triumphant reviews from critics and was a surprise hit in the U.K., while their third album, 1982's Songs of the Free gave them a commercial breakthrough in the United States as the single "I Love a Man in a Uniform" gained airplay on college radio and open-minded R&B stations. They folded after 1983's Hard, but periodically re-formed the band in the '80s, '90s, and 2000s for touring and recording projects that kept their singular sound alive. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician Pat MacDonald. He is best known for being the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for Timbuk 3, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. They scored a huge hit with The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades. They briefly appeared in the 1988 Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan movie D.O.A. His songwriting credits include collaborations Cher, Keith Urban, Stewart Copeland and Peter Frampton. Songs he has written or co-written have been recorded by Aerosmith, Jools Holland, Billy ray Cyrus and Night Ranger to name a few. He has also recorded 8 solo albums.

Steve Cooper talks with rapper Darryl McDaniels. Darryl is a legendary music icon who first impacted the world over 35 years ago.  From the first rap group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine to the first to appear on MTV, Run-DMC changed music, culture, fashion, language and made American history. It would be hard to overstate his influence on popular culture. Forty million record sales and ½ billion song streams later, and twenty years since the untimely death of his bandmate Jam Master Jay, DMC continues to create, inspire and motivate.  In 2009, as a member of Run-DMC, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2016 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy given to “performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.”

Steve Cooper talks with actor Denis O'Hare. Denis is known for his award-winning performances in the plays Take Me Out and Sweet Charity as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HBO's fantasy series True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in such films as Charlie Wilson's War, Milk, Changeling, Dallas Buyers Club, Garden State, Michael Clayton and The Proposal. In 2011, he starred as Larry Harvey in the first season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. He returned to the show in 2013 in American Horror Story: Coven and once more in American Horror Story: Freak Show the latter for which he earned a second Emmy Award nomination. For his performance in American Horror Story: Hotel as Liz Taylor, O'Hare received critical acclaim. Other TV credits include series such as The Nevers, The Good Fight, American Gods, Big Little Lies, This Is Us, The Good Wife, The Comedians and CSI: Miami. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician Mike Reno. Mike is best known for being the lead singer for the rock band Loverboy. Loverboy has four multi-platinum albums, including the four-million-selling Get Lucky, and a trio of double-platinum releases in their self-titled 1980 debut, 1983’s Keep It Up and 1985’s "Lovin’ Every Minute of It." Their string of hits includes, in addition to the arena-rock anthem “Working for the Weekend,” such staples as “Lovin’ Every Minute of It,” “This Could Be the Night,” “Hot Girls in Love,” “Heaven in Your Eyes,” “Turn Me Loose,” “When It’s Over," “Heaven In Your Eyes,” and “Queen of the Broken Hearts.” He also had a hit as a duet with Heart's Ann Wilson on "Almost Paradise" from the Footloose soundtrack.