CO-OP

13. Co-Op: Co-Op – There is a new generation of rock stars coming into their own today, and Dash Cooper is one of them. As the son of Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper, Dash leads his own creation to the promise land. Co-Op has a very exciting hard rock sound that is a cross between Soundgarden and Alice Cooper. Dash has a powerful, rustic voice that sounds very down-and-dirty, ready to fight with his words. Guitarist Jeremy Tabor provides the debut LP with delicious licks and solos. I really enjoyed the thumping power of bassist Justin Swartzentruber, who is simple, but decisive. Dash’s own pops actually collaborated on one of their songs, “Old Scratch,” which is a fitting “father and son” moment. Aerosmith axe man Joe Perry got in on the action by lending his services on “Howl.” Along with “N.O.W.,” “Desert Dreams,” “Sleep,” “Condemned,” “Secret Scars,” and “Overdrive,” I see Co-Op as a future Hall of Famer if they continue making impactful records like this one. - Uncivil Revolt

Upstart Phoenix rockers Co-Op, led by vocalist Dash Cooper, are teaming up with Loudwire to exclusively premiere their new lyric video for "N.O.W."

Cooper is the son of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper, who you can hear introducing the track at the top of the clip. That's not the only Alice assist, as father will join his son's band for guest vocals on "Old Scratch," a track from the band's upcoming debut disc. Alice says of Co-Op, "One thing that Dash’s band has that I absolutely love, is dynamics. I told them one time early on, I said, 'Guys, right now you have great parts, but everybody is playing at the same time. You have no dynamics, it’s one big solid line of blast, and I can barely hear the vocals.' The very next time I heard them play, they figured out how to make it dynamic, where they’d go down to one guitar, doing a chug, with the vocals going, and they would come right in with a B section, with everybody, and it was so powerful. And I said, 'Guys, you have no idea how hard it is to do that.' But they did it on every song. And they still do it.”
Alice adds of "N.O.W.," “The single, it’s really great. Even on my radio show I said, 'I’m not just playing this because it’s my son’s band, it’s playing because I really like this.' I really like this music. It’s a band with some fire.” The clip was shot by director Melody Myers.

Along with Dash Cooper, the band features guitarist Jeremy Tabor and bassist Justin Swartzentruber laying down that hard-grooving backing. The group is signed to David Ellefson's EMP Label Group, who will release the band's self-titled set on June 15.
"Alice Cooper took Megadeth out on our first big tour, and we’ve always had a great relationship. Alice wrote the foreword to my book My Life With Deth. So it’s been really exciting to be able to bring that relationship full circle and work with Dash and Co-Op, who have grown into an incredible rock band,” says Ellefson.
Look for the band playing an album release party June 16 in Phoenix at Club Red and stay up to date with Co-Op via their website and Facebook page. The disc is available for pre-order here. - Loudwire

If you will allow us to start with the blindingly obvious, Co-Op have Alice Cooper’s son, Dash on vocals.

Mentioning that at the beginning would – usually – be lazy, but not in this case. It’s not like Co-Op sound anything like Alice, either (aside from the fact that ALL great rock music should sound a little like the great man) but neither are Co-Op shying away from the connection. Not only does Coop Snr appear on the record – lending his vocals to the wonderful “Old Scratch” wherein he, as he always says at the end of his gigs, plays the part of Alice Cooper to perfection – but they’ve toured with him, use him on their video for opener “N.O.W” but even more crucially listened to his advice a couple of years ago.

On the information that came with this, there’s a small interview with Alice, where he explains: “I told them one time early on, I said, “guys, right now you have great parts, but everybody is playing at the same time. You have no dynamics, it’s one big solid line of blast, and I can barely hear the vocals.” The very next time I heard them play, they figured out how to make it dynamic, where they’d go down to one guitar, doing a chug, with the vocals going, and they would come right in with a B section, with everybody, and it was so powerful.”

And, essentially, Cooper has summed the album up right there. Because right from the second that the aforementioned “N.O.W” kicks in, the five-piece deal with arena ready anthems. “We’re self-inflicted slaves, digging our own graves” roars Dash – and Dash roars most things – and this sounds dark and muscular, and yeah, at the risk of slagging Brent Smith and the boys off in every hard rock review, what Shinedown would sound like if they had any balls whatsoever.

If Dash gets most of the spotlight, then it is bass player Justin Swartzentruber who propels the thing. “….Scratch” like the opener has a chorus you can yell from the get go, while the even better album highlight “Howl” (featuring Joe Perry, if you don’t mind….) is as forthright as it gets. You can imagine in a decade’s time, say, 10,000 people at some gig somewhere, screaming “this is my battle cry, I am not afraid to die” along fists in the air. That’s where this record is headed.

Happy to take its time to get the job done, “Desert Dreams” marries a bass rumble with some fine lead from Kolby “Beetus” Peoples and Jeremy Tabor, who provides the riffs to send the album soaring mostly, but are in understated form here.

“Theme For Ignorance” has something a little menacing, maybe a little Stone Sour about it, while “Sleep” shows a different side to them. From Phoenix, Arizona they perhaps know a little about the desert, and here they are straight in for something a little monolithic and stoner rock.

“Condemned” is another which makes you think this is a band with limitless potential. Kicking off with the desire to smash the doors down, it finds something melodic to say in the chorus, while “Secret Scars” has a hook that is headed off down the fast lane and leaving you in its wake.

Listening to this album the same bands keep coming into mind, Stone Temple Pilots for one, and Soundgarden for another, and on “Whisper The Truth” Coop Jnr finds a real chest beating bravado about his work. The closing song, “Overdrive” is a masterclass in hard rock – the sort of thing a band on its first album should not do, frankly – and as its solo finishes things off with an effortless cool, you are left wondering how far this outfit can go.

Think about it like this. if Co-Op were no good then it wouldn’t make any difference if the lead singers dad was Elvis, but that’s not the case. Even if this was just A.N. Other US rock band you’d be excited by them, it’s just here, when you add in the advantages that the surname gives – and last week I saw Alice get a bigger cheer than Johnny Depp while he was fronting the Hollywood Vampires – then the sky’s the limit.

Rating 8.5/10 - Maximum Volume Music

Phoenix hard rockers Co-Op, featuring Dash Cooper, son of legendary rock icon Alice Cooper, are preparing to release their self-titled album on June 16th in the US via EMP Label Group, June 29th in Europe via Ellefson Music Productions/SPV. The album features guest appearances from Alice Cooper on “Old Scratch”, and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry on “Howl”. The band has also announced an album release party for the LP, Saturday, June 17th at Club Red in Phoenix.

Co-Op has released a full-streaming-audio video for their new single “Howl”, featuring a guest appearance from Hollywood Vampires/Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. Check it out below.

Says Alice, “One thing that Dash’s band has that I absolutely love, is dynamics. I told them one time early on, I said, “Guys, right now you have great parts, but everybody is playing at the same time. You have no dynamics, it’s one big solid line of blast, and I can barely hear the vocals.” The very next time I heard them play, they figured out how to make it dynamic, where they’d go down to one guitar, doing a chug, with the vocals going, and they would come right in with a B section, with everybody, and it was so powerful. And I said, “guys, you have no idea how hard it is to do that.” But they did it on every song. And they still do it.”

He adds, “It’s really great. Even on the radio show I said, “I’m not just playing this because it’s my son’s band, it’s playing because I really like this.” I really like this music. It’s a band with some fire.”

No strangers to performance, since forming in 2014, with a current lineup featuring Dash Cooper (Lead Vocals) Jeremy Tabor (Guitar), and Justin Swartzentruber (Bass), Co-Op quickly amassed a following in the local Phoenix scene. Despite just rounding the corner into their full-length studio debut, Co-Op are already seasoned Rock veterans, having opened massive shows for the likes of Motley Crue, Hollywood Vampires, and KISS, and played backup band to the likes of Alex Lifeson from Rush, Don Felder of The Eagles, and of course Alice Cooper (in addition to frequently performing as Alice’s backup band, and Alice coming to jam at Co-Op shows, the band recently played halftime at the Phoenix Suns game where they performed Cooper classics “School’s Out” and “I’m Eighteen”, with co-vocals by Alice and Dash). Not bad for a band who hasn’t even released a record yet.

In 2017, the band signed to EMP Label Group, the label of David Ellefson of Megadeth, and released an EP while setting out to work on their full-length debut.

Says Ellefson, “Alice Cooper took Megadeth out on our first big tour, and we’ve always had a great relationship. Alice wrote the foreword to my book My Life With Deth. So it’s been really exciting to be able to bring that relationship full circle and work with Dash and Co-Op, who have grown into an incredible rock band.”

2017 also brought the band on their first tour with One Eyed Doll, and labelmates Doll Skin, and the spent the first half of 2018 doing a mix of headlining dates and support for Flaw.

(Photos - Melody Myers) - Brave Words

Alice Cooper's son Dash will step into the spotlight with his band CO-OP later this year, when the band is scheduled to release its debut album.
Even though the self-titled CO-OP release, which is due in stores June 15, represents the band's first official album, they've been around for some time, building an audience through steady performing and recording. Although Dash Cooper's second-generation rocker status isn't exactly a secret, he insists it isn't something they've gone out of their way to exploit.
"We’ve been trying to do this on our own," Cooper told I'm Music Magazine. "Yes, I am Alice’s son, but it’s not one of those things that we’re going to absolutely rely on in order to get us to that next step. I think we have the talent to get there on our own and with that being said, we also love the input and direction that Alice gives us. He works with us every now and then and we jam with him; those are great times and we wouldn’t trade those for the world."
Still, those family connections proved fruitful. "Alice Cooper took Megadeth out on our first big tour, and we've always had a great relationship. Alice wrote the foreword to my book My Life with Deth," said EMP co-founder and Megadeth bassist David Ellefson. "So it's been really exciting to be able to bring that relationship full circle and work with Dash and CO-OP, who have grown into an incredible rock band." - Ultimate Classic Rock

Phoenix hard rockers CO-OP, who are fronted by Dash Cooper, son of rock legend Alice Cooper, will release their self-titled debut album on June 15 via EMP Label Group, the U.S.-based label of MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.

Featuring artwork by Melody Myers (ESCAPE THE FATE, ASKING ALEXANDRIA, Marc Rizzo), CO-OP's first disc is a weighty slab of solid hard rock, Cooper's powerful vocals mixing a timeless classic rock undertone with the grit of modern hard rock and melodic hooks over a bottom-heavy foundation.

Since forming in 2014, CO-OP — whose lineup also includes Jeremy Tabor on guitar, Justin Swartzentruber on bass, and Nick Spann on drums — quickly amassed a following in the local Phoenix scene by sharing the stage with rock legends like MÖTLEY CRÜE, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES (featuring Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp), KISS and ALICE COOPER. The band eventually got the attention of Thom Hazaert and Ellefson, who signed CO-OP to EMP Label Group and released CO-OP's debut EP in 2017.

Says Ellefson: "Alice Cooper took MEGADETH out on our first big tour, and we've always had a great relationship. Alice wrote the foreword to my book 'My Life With Deth'. So it's been really exciting to be able to bring that relationship full circle and work with Dash and CO-OP, who have grown into an incredible rock band."

Outside of band pursuits, CO-OP has often put its skills to work, helping raise funds for Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Center, which has brought with it opportunities to perform as a back-up band for other philanthropic volunteers such as Alex Lifeson (RUSH), Danny Seraphine (CHICAGO), Don Felder (EAGLES) and Tommy Thayer (KISS).

CO-OP will head out again in 2018, doing a mix of headlining dates and support shows with FLAW. - Blabbermouth.net