Bay Area veteran Scott Cooper plays a mix of original Americana mixed with covers from classic rock, classic country, blues and bluegrass. His first CD reached #5 on the jam band radio charts and gets regular airplay on KPIG radio. His acoustic duo includes upright bassist Terry Shields.
Multi-instrumentalist Scott Cooper is a veteran of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Though best known for playing rhythm guitar in the popular Grateful Dead tribute the China Cats, Scott is has his hands in multiple projects simultaneously. His own band Scotty & the Barrelmakers showcases his songwriting in a jam band setting. Scott's solo debut "A Leg Trick" (2012) reached #5 on the jam band radio charts, despite no label or publicity support. He has been playing bass with Bay Area jam band the Gary Gates Band for over decade and plays on Gary's heralded CD "San Gregorio General Store" produced by John Nowland (Neil Young, Jewel). Scott’s other current projects include bluegrass combo The Intangibillies, as well as performing solo and duo gigs. An in-demand sideman, Scott has also worked with the Banana Slug String Band, Stu Allen, Jim Lewin, as well as members of the Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, David Grisman Quintet. Scott has performed with Donna Godchaux (former singer for the Grateful Dead) and Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band).
A native of St. Louis, Scott began his music career as a drummer backing blues legends such as Johnny Shines and Luther Tucker, as well as regional artists Robert Lowery and Lady Bo (Bo Diddley's lead guitarist). Then he played in a band called Mean Business with Ben Ellman (later with Galactic) and Luca Fredericksen (later with Wolfman Washington). After that, he played in Little Danny & the Rollercoasters with Rusty Zinn and Marc Carino, later of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. In the 90s, he worked with a popular jam band called Deep Blue Sea, where he honed his songwriting craft. From there it was on to play with Relix Records jam band Stackabones, where Scott eventually moved from behind the drums to playing bass, and contributing original material. Scott has since recorded three CDs with Stackabones, on which he plays drums, bass, guitar and keyboards.
