CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with Danny Goldberg. Danny has worked in the music business as a personal manager, record company president, public relations man and journalist since the late 1960s. He wrote Serving The Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain (2019), Bumping Into Geniuses (2008) and How the Left Lost Teen Spirit (2005), which appeared in a shorter form as Dispatches From the Culture Wars (2003). Earlier in his career he formed and co-owned Modern Records, which released Stevie Nicks’ solo albums including her number one album Bella Donna. Prior to that he was Vice-President of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records and worked with the band from 1973 through 1975. In 1980, he co-produced and co-directed the rock documentary feature, No Nukes starring Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Browne among others. He was also CEO of Air America Radio from 2005 until mid-2006; chairman and CEO of Mercury Records, a division of Polygram from 1995 to 1998; chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records in 1995; president of Atlantic Records from 1993 to 1994; and founder and president of Gold Mountain Entertainment, whose clients included Nirvana, Hole, Sonic Youth, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers and Rickie Lee Jones from 1983 to 1992. He began his career as a music journalist at the age of 18, writing for Rolling Stone, Billboard and The Village Voice. He is currently is the president of Goldve Entertainment (GVE), an entertainment company representing artists in music, touring, books, films and other media.

Steve Cooper talks with singer Lisa Lisa. Lisa in one of the greatest RnB/Pop divas to come out of the 1980's music scene. She and her band, Cult Jam, produced 5 albums and scored top 10 hits with songs like I Wonder If I Take You Home, All Cried Out, Let The Beat Hit Em, Lost In Emotion, Little Jackie and Head to Toe. After disbanding in 1994, she released the funk-soul album LL77 which included the Top 40 hit Skip To My Lu and her first Spanish-language track Cuando Me Enamore which peaked at #1 on Puerto Rico radio stations. In the 90's she starred in Broadway and off Broadway plays such as Barrio Babes and West Side Story and in 2001 starred in the Nickelodeon series "Taina" playing Gloria Morales, Taina's young and sharp witted mother. She also made a guest appearance on Law & Order's 300th episode in 2003. She is currently recording new music and tours with Taylor Dayne and Jody Watley.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/producer George Pelecanos. George was the co-creator of the HBO series The Deuce and was nominated for an Emmy and a WGA Award for his work on The Wire. He has served as a producer/writer on shows such as Treme, The Pacific and Bosch and is the author of twenty-one novels set in and around Washington, D.C. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men From Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line and is also an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Joe Pantoliano. Joe has amassed an impressive catalog of classic American film, theater and television titles, collaborating with some of Hollywood’s most prestigious filmmakers including Christopher Nolan (Memento), Steven Spielberg (The Goonies, Empire of the Sun), The Wachowskis’ (The Matrix), Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Steal Big Steal Little), Michael Bay (Bad Boys), and Martin Brest (Midnight Run). His theater credits include John Patrick Shanley’s Italian American Reconciliation, Lyle Kessler’s Orphans, and Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune. His television appearances have included the hit TV series The Sopranos, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He can also be seen in the recently released Bad Boys for Life alongside Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Bruce Watson. Bruce is best known for being a guitarist in Big Country. Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it retained a cult following for many years after. They have recorded nine studio albums and had hits with the singles Big Country, Harvest Home and Fields of Fire (400 Miles.) Currently Bruce is with the band WKW which includes his son, Jamie. They just released the album Men of Steel and are playing live dates.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Chris Hayes. Chris is best known for being lead guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News. As well as playing guitar and singing backing-vocals, he became an established rock songwriter, and would often put Huey’s lyrics to music. He left the band in the year 2000, to spend more time with his family; although has occasionally filled in for the News’ current lead guitarist, Stef Burns.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Josh Pais. Josh had a very busy 2019. He brought back his character Stu Feldman in Ray Donovan, was recurring as Barry in HBO's Mrs. Fletcher and appeared in the hit movies Joker and Motherless Brooklyn. He got his first big break playing Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and has constantly worked since then. He has been seen in shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Maniac, Younger, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, The Good Wife, Psych, 2 Broke Girls, How to Make It in America and Law & Order and in many movies including Confess, Reunion, Adventureland, Price Check, Arbitrage, I Saw the Light and Going in Style. He can soon be seen in the HBO mini-series The Plot Against America and also heads up the acting school Committed Impulse. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician/songwriter/producer/professor/author Richard Barone. Richard pioneered the indie rock scene in Hoboken, NJ as frontman for The Bongos and then helped launch the chamber pop movement with his solo debut cool blue halo. He has also produced countless studio recordings and worked with artists in every musical genre. Collaborators have included Tony Visconti, Beach Boy Al Jardine, Sean Lennon, Dion, John Sebastian, Alejandro Escovedo, Donovan, Moby, the late Lou Reed, and American folk icon Pete Seeger. He has scored shows and staged all-star concert events at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and New York’s Central Park. His memoir Frontman: Surviving The Rock Star Myth was published by Hal Leonard Books and is affiliated with the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University and The New School University of Jazz & Contemporary Music. Plus he serves on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy and on the Board of Advisors of Anthology Film Archives.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic Jamie Kennedy. Jamie is best known for playing Randy Meeks in the Scream franchise and playing various characters in The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. He wrote and starred in the movie Malibu's Most Wanted and has been seen in other films such as Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell, Tremors 5: Bloodlines, Extreme Movie, Son of the Mask, Boiler Room, Bowfinger, Three Kings and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. His TV credits include Criminal Minds, Lucifer, Heartbeat, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Kingdom, The Cleveland Show, Entourage and Ghost Whisperer.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Taylor Nichols. Taylor is best known for his roles in the Whit Stillman movies Metropolitan, Barcelona and the Last Days of Disco. He also appeared in the films Boiler Room, Congo, The American President, The Big Easy, Chappaquiddick and Jurassic Park III, as well as episodes of several TV series such as Murder She Wrote, NewsRadio, Chicago Hope, Judging Amy, The Mind of the Married Man, NCIS Criminal Minds, Dirty John, PEN15, The Rookie, Bones, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Mentalist, Perry Mason and many more.