COOPER, a native of Pennsylvania,
finds himself these days in the seemingly unlikely position
of globetrotting to the four corners of the Earth. His humble
birth in the Appalachian Mountains gave no clue that someday
he would find himself traveling the world and performing top
quality, vocal oriented music. His formative years in the
music business saw DC playing with several local area bands
in his current hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.
It was during this period that DC would begin to extend his
reach by studying with renowned opera teacher Charlotte Coleman.
This formal training helped to give DC the discipline that
he needed to expand his control and overall vocal ability.
DC paid his dues for several subsequent years on the local
club circuit which, though gratifying to a point, would ultimately
prove itself to scratch just the tip of his desire. It wasn´t
long before the siren song of the road would begin to take
to its hold him.
For
DC, the 1990´s brought with it new goals and new ambitions.
He began a search that would take him across the country and
across the oceans. He found himself as a finalist in the auditions
for a job left vacant by Rob Halford in the legendary British
heavy metal band, Judas Priest. During these auditions word
of DC´s vocal prowess began to circulate throughout the industry
and particularly within the Hard Rock community. As a result
of this buzz DC was contacted to handle the vocal chores for
numerous bands from Europe and the US. After carefully weighing
all of his options DC would decide on Danish rockers, Royal
Hunt.
Prior
to finding DC, Copenhagen based Royal Hunt found themselves
in the unenviable position of having no singer and being just
2 months in front of the beginning of their first ever Japanese
tour. An agreement was reached between DC and the band in
November of 1994. On December 26th, the day after Christmas,
DC left for Denmark to meet the band for the first time and
to begin rehearsals for the Japanese tour which was to begin
on January 20th, a mere 3 weeks away. There was only to be
12 formal rehearsals for DC to learn the songs, most of which
were from Royal Hunt´s Clown in the Mirror and Land of Broken
Hearts albums. Only 4 days after their final rehearsal together,
DC would find himself in Osaka, Japan standing in front of
2,500 Royal Hunt followers.
"I
had notes and lyrics taped all over the stage", said DC
but the shows, which also included
performances in Tokyo and Nagoya, were all really great. He
had passed the close scrutinizing of Royal Hunt´s loyal and
loving Japanese fans; He had been accepted. If the normal
pressures of playing in Japan only weeks after joining the
band were not enough, the tour also began just 5 days after
a tragic earthquake killed thousands of people on and around
Kobe and Osaka areas of Japan. As a tribute to those who lost
their lives and loved ones, The band wrote and dedicated the
song Far Away. This song quickly went to #1 in polls and on
numerous charts in all over that country;
It
then quickly spread across Europe. As a result of the successful
shows and the single, there was an instant demand to hear
DC´s voice on a full length album.This led to the recording
of Moving Target, an album which would obtain unprecedented
first week sales in Japan and then go on to help the band
obtain recording contracts in Europe and South America. The
next several years would prove to be very successful for DC
and Royal Hunt. A second album called Paradox was recorded
with the band. Paradox garnered both impressive sales and
critical acclaim. Extensive tours of both Japan and Europe
then followed. Eventually DC´s talent began to stand out on
its own and he went on to win the prestigious and coveted
#1 Top Vocalist Award in the annual readers´s poll of BURRN!
Magazine, Japan´s most influential music publication. DC achieved
this - not once - but 2 years in a row !!Royal Hunt´s success
had helped to establish DC as one of the top singers in the
hard rock world. However, something was still left undone.
It was now 1998 and DC felt weighted down with 4 years of
un-sung words and 4 years of un-expressed musical ideas; It
was time for something different. A new venture was proposed
- A solo project. DC began to surround himself with a team
of people that he met during his previous years - people that
he had come to respect.
This would include a new personal manager and a new group
of musicians. The team was assembled to participate on the
recording of his first solo album. The writing process began
in January of 1998 and consisted of a collaboration between
DC, guitarist Tore Ostby from the Norwegian band Conception
and guitarist Alfred Koffler from the German band Pink Cream
69. The trio worked diligently. Frequent flyer miles and express
mail charges were accumulated and slowly the project began
to take shape. The recording band was rounded out with Dennis
Ward on bass and Kosta Zafiriou on drums - both from Pink
Cream 69 - and Gunter Werno from the German band Vanden Plas
on keyboards. By June the demos were completed and everyone´s
thoughts could then be focused on recording the actual album.
House Audio studios in Karlsdorf, Germany was selected for
the recording and came complete with an attached apartment
in which DC could live, a full time cook, and all the amenities
of home.
DC says, "The 74 days spent there were
great. I was able to eat, sleep, drink,........everything
music !!! There were virtually no days off in all of that
time for myself and Dennis Ward, and Kosta Zafiriou who produced
and assisted respectively," says DC, "but, we´re all proud
of how it all turned out."
The
venture was done in part with Bottom Row Promotions and Jan
sBayati as project coordinator and manager. With all of the
factors considered and with the groundwork now firmly in place,
a deal was then struck with JVC Victor Entertainment to release
the record in Japan. JVC then set the album for a December
9th release. A subsequent promotional tour of Japan was then
scheduled which consisted of many personal appearances, interviews
with the print, radio, and television media. It also featured
special acoustic performances by DC accompanied by Koffler
on the guitar. "The promo tour was a huge success," said DC.
"We feel that it helped to renew a spark for both of our bands."
The collective opinion of all those involved was have the
album self titled but, DC likes to refer to the group as The
Alliance. "I believe that this project truly is an alliance
between 4 bands, 2 management companies, and numerous attorneys
to create this album. The fans of Royal Hunt, Pink Cream 69,
Conception, and Vanden Plas will all be able to enjoy this
record. When it comes time to tour I think it will be awesome
!!!!." The response of the fans and the media has been great!