Ross Cooper photographed at
The Landmark Bar in Fort Worth, TX by Alan Mercer
Ross Cooper is the rare country musician who has actually lived the life of a cowboy. The former professional bareback rider was still bustin' broncs when his music career began. Though a knee injury sidelined his rodeo career, Ross drives a band like he's still wearing spurs and holding on for eight. His new album, ‘I Rode The Wild Horses,’ pushes country music way past traditional territory just for the rush. It's the new Nashville sound: glimmering pedal steel, rollicking & rocking telecaster riffs, soulful keys, and gorgeous harmonies.
Ross Cooper grew up surrounded by music taking piano and guitar lessons. By the age of ten he'd written a gospel song with his mom and set his mind to playing guitar and a life of music. He's been in Nashville for five years, but Ross hails from Lubbock, Texas, the hometown of Buddy Holly, and Holly's influence upon Cooper's music is clear. Every country song rocks, and every rock song has an unmistakable twang.
Ross Cooper's rodeo lifestyle provides great material for his songs, but this isn't just a rodeo record. A fan of both indie-rock and country-folk greats like Guy Clark and John Prine, Ross draws largely upon small town life and the simplicity it affords. It's this eclectic taste in music and his time in the trenches with other talented songwriters that makes ‘I Rode The Wild Horses’ special. The sound of the record ranges from country torch bearers to dirty garage rockers, and from the first note you know this is something different.
Photo: Jody Domingue
The album opens on the title track, and his "Coming out" song establishes him as an anomaly among Nashville musicians, an actual cowboy. His belt buckle is no longer shiny, his body still aches, and he's got stories to tell about it. "I ain't got much to show," he sings, "But I rode the wild horses." The opening track ends in a fuzzed out electric solo and Cooper ad-libs a rodeo announcer's cadence. It's a hypnotic induction to a country-rock record.
‘Heart Attack’ struts in on a cinematic whistle and a muted electric riff. Ross Cooper describes an object of affection, singing, "Is this who you are, or how you act?" as drums and electric guitar build into a tense orchestra. Ross sings about self-medication, a pounding pulse, and living on pins and needles. It's just the second song but there's a perfect bridge with a tempo change, a haunting chorus and piano stabs. Cooper sings "What doesn't kill me keeps me comin' back." And you're hooked.
Embedded in the Nashville song writing community, Ross has made some talented friends, many of whom appear on ‘I Rode The Wild Horses.’ The album was made at The Casino, Eric Masse's recording studio. Cooper sought Masse out for his recent work with acts like Andrew Combs, Robert Ellis, Rayland Baxter, and Miranda Lambert. Combs even helped Cooper write ‘Lady Of The Highway,’ a traveling song with a country-politan polish. Other co-writers include gospel country rocker Paul Cauthen, who helped Cooper finish ‘Old Crow Whiskey And A Cornbread Moon,’ a folk song that illuminates his complex inspiration for the album: the emotional intelligence of country folk that allows them to appreciate the simple things, and having the common sense to avoid expensive habits by drinking cheap whiskey.
With so much talent at hand, Ross Cooper took care to put together songs he's written that develop into an album meant to be listened to cover to cover.
Songs like "Damn Love" and the autobiographical ‘Living's Hard Loving's Easy’ are classic country heartbreakers, in the hands of a writer talented enough to twist them into love songs. ‘Another Mile’ and ‘Strangers In A Bar’ elucidate the leathery toughness of Ross Cooper's soft voice. He is also acutely aware of the dichotomy between actual cowboys, and the urban cowboys of Nashville as addressed in ‘Cowboys And Indians.’
Ross Cooper maintains a songwriting integrity and honor that he learned in West Texas and in the rodeo circuit. If you want to hear a story, there's nothing like getting it straight from the source, and ‘I Rode The Wild Horses’ is a refreshing take on cowboy music. It's a showcase of this former bareback rider's talents as a songwriter and musician.
Alan Mercer: Ross, is ‘I Rode The Wild Horses’ your second album?
Ross Cooper: It’s actually my fourth album. I put out my first record when I was eighteen. That’s a little-known fact. I recorded it in Lubbock and it sounded really good, but a lot of the songs were written when I was fourteen years old. A lot changes between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two. Those were stepping stones. The first album where I felt I knew at least half way what I was doing was the ‘Give It Time’ album. That one came out in 2013.
AM: How did you fill your time in between the release of ‘Give It Time’ and ‘I Rode The Wild Horses?’
RC: I was completely enveloped in the songwriting scene in Nashville. It took moving there and figuring out exactly what I wanted to do. I didn’t really have a plan. I released a record without a tour behind it and I tried to work radio by myself.
Photo: Kelsey Wynns
AM: How did that work out?
RC: (Laughter) Well, it didn’t. I didn’t realize the importance of a team. A lot of people are able to do this by themselves, but those different little facets are all full-time jobs. So, the album fell flat and I was a little let down, but then I realized there was a way to go about these things. That’s what made me decide to take the time to just write. That’s all I wanted to do so I could chase after a publishing deal.
AM: What made you decide it was time to make another record?
RC: I wrote all these songs but a couple of them really felt like they were my songs and those songs made me want to record again.
AM: Was one of the songs the title cut?
RC: Yes, I knew after writing ‘I Rode The Wild Horses’ that I would make that the title cut of the new album.
AM: You have so much personal style in your music. I love it! What types of music do you listen to?
RC: Thanks, that’s a huge compliment. I listen to so many different styles of music that it’s hard for me to say, “This is what I listen too.” I don’t listen to any one genre exclusively. I am a bigger fan of the song than I am the genre. My approach in recording is what is best for the song. Hopefully if you listen to my album from beginning to end, which is how I like to listen to them, you will hear this cohesive story that has different musical pieces that fit together. There are songs that are on opposite ends of the spectrum and that’s alright because they fit together, and the songs work off of each other. I have songs that are Country and songs that are Rock n Roll.
AM: I like all the colors in your music and I also like that little “dark tone” element.
RC: (Big smile and laughter) I don’t remember how long ago it was, but it was a few years back. I played this show and a guy who stayed for the whole show made a comment that I was a really dark songwriter. He didn’t say that he liked the show and I didn’t know how to take it at the time. Then I was talking to my mother and I told her about what the guy said about me being a dark songwriter and she said, “You didn’t know that!?!”
AM: (Laughter) Awesome!
RC: I guess I did, but it took somebody else saying it, but I do like the darker subject matter. I think it works better in stories too. I’m not a fluff type of guy. There is a time for happiness, but I think the best songs that I have written have come from some kind of anguish or mental despair.
AM: That seems to be the case for many artists. It’s always about balance.
RC: I’m in a good spot in my life. I am really happy, and I love what I’m doing but the songs don’t come as easy. That’s such a funny thing to me. This has been a good year for reflection too.
AM: Are you happy with the way the album is doing so far?
RC: Absolutely, it’s doing what I expected it to do. It’s only been out for four months. It’s such a nebulous spot for music these days. Younger people listen to Spotify almost exclusively and older people still buy albums. I don’t know if anyone listens to the radio anymore. You have to shotgun blast in every single direction and hope that something hits.
AM: What was your goal for this album?
RC: I want this album to open some doors and see growth. I want to go into markets where if I had 5 people at the last show I want 10 people at the next show. I feel good as long as we’re growing. I’ve got some great things coming. I think I’ll be able to look back at this year and be very proud of what has happened. There really isn’t a great way to analyze a music career. There are different versions of success. It depends how you define it.
AM: My idea of success is personal peace of mind.
RC: Yes, totally, that hits the nail on the head. Self-fulfillment is really important.
AM: Success is about more than just money.
RC: For me personally…if I can have a few acres outside of town with a couple of horses and I can support a family, that’s what I want. I was talking to my brother and I told him it’s funny but the older I get, the more I want what we had while we were growing up. We didn’t have anything, but we were happy. As long as I can take care of a family, then I’m successful.
To learn more about Ross Cooper visit his web site https://www.ross-cooper.com/