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A few days before his depart with Silent Force to their next tour on Europe with Angra, D.C. Cooper gently picked up the phone to talk with me for a while about the beginning oh his career since he was a teenager.
At what age did you start singing? Did you play any other instruments?
At the age of 14, before I use to be a drummer, but I wanted to be close to the people, so I decide to sing.
Do you have any family or relatives into music?
My uncle was a guitar player, in fact, the first time I was on stage was at the age of fourteen with the band of my uncle. He had a kind of rock band.
Did you take any lessons of singing? Who were your teachers?
I studied music theory and I took opera training for five years as Rob Halford suggested me, I have been on some classes and seminaries but I think the best training is the experience. Direct experience is the best thing for developing your singing, working on stage and work hard.
Which were your previous bands before Silent Force and Royal Hunt?
My very first band was Excalibur, then I had the Tost Band, and then the Tung Band.
You told me in the interview I made to you in Germany that you took an audition for Judas Priest? Tell us about it.
I get inside the four finalist, if I would be selected I didn't know, if I would say yes, because I was very happy with Royal Hunt by that time. Any way this was one of the highlights of my career, it was an honor to me.
What reasons did Judas Priest gave you?
They just called me and told me they had find the perfect singer, and that singer was Ripper Owen, I totally agree, Ripper can duplicate Rob Halford one on one.
Do you know Ripper Owen?
Yes, I know him like a couple of years before he was picked by Judas Priest. We are friends, he is a great guy and he had a cover band of Judas Priest. And they once open for the Tung Band. His home town is like 30 minutes from Pittsburgh.
Tell us about your plans for the future.
My plans for the future are to survive as much as possible. Music business is like any business, many people think that, if your are into music business you'll get a life of a Rock Star with sex and drugs, but that's not true! Music is like any other job and you need it to survive and you try to have a normal life.
Right now, I have two side projects. I can't tell you many details, I can't make any kind of announcement. I just can tell that one of this projects would be with Gary Werkamp, guitar player of Shadow Gallery and the drummer of my solo album and it would be into progressive style.
I also have an old project that finally will be ready named Missa Materia.
What about your solo album?
Right now I have a very tight schedule. I think it would be ready for the end of the year.
What about the musicians of your next album?
I will have a guitar player from my home town that I can't believe that I find. The only musician that would repeat from the line up of my 1st album would be the keyboard player Günter Werno.
So it's now all wait and see.... The European shows ahead and what comes afterwards... I'm sure, we will hear from D.C. Cooper and Silent Force again soon. At least when D.C. is back with his solo album!
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