CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with musician/novelist/radio personality Greg Kihn. Greg is best known for being the front man for the group The Greg Kihn Band. In 1981, he earned his first bona-fide hit on The Billboard Hot 100 with the # 15 single, The Breakup Song (They Don't Write Em'), from the Rockihnroll album. He continued in a more commercial vein through the 1980s with a series of pun-titled albums: Kihntinued (1982), Kihnspiracy (1983), Kihntageous (1984), and Citizen Kihn (1985). His biggest hit was Jeopardy, which reached # 2 Pop, in 1983. The groundbreaking video became an MTV favorite and was spoofed by Weird Al Yankovic as I Lost on Jeopardy. Over his career he has released 17 albums, the latest being Rekihndled in 2017 and the band still tours to this day. From 1996 to 2012 he was a morning radio host for the classic station KUFX in San Francisco and he has also published 6 novels.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Joey Allen. Joey is best known for being lead guitarist for the band Warrant. Warrant experienced major success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their 2× platinum debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its singles, Heaven, reached No. 1 in Rolling Stone and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band continued its success in the early 1990s with the 2× platinum album Cherry Pie which provided the hit album titled song and music video. Throughout their career they have recorded 9 studio albums. Joey left the band in 1994 but came back in 2004. Lately Warrant is busier than ever, recording a new album in 2017 and performing over 60 live dates a year.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Robin Wilson. Robin is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Gin Blossoms. The Gin Blossoms rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, New Miserable Experience, and the first single released from that album, Hey Jealousy. Hey Jealousy became a Top 25 hit and went gold, and New Miserable Experience eventually went quadruple platinum and four other charting singles were released from the album. Their follow-up album, Congratulations, I'm Sorry went platinum and the single, As Long as it Matters was nominated for a Grammy. The band broke up in 1997 and reunited in 2007. Over their career they have recorded 6 studio albums and still tour nationally. Besides fronting the Gin Blossoms, Robin recently signed on to front a few concerts by The Smithereens.

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Franke Previte. Franke is best known for writing Hungry Eyes and (I've Had) The Time of My Life for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. The latter won him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and he also received a Grammy nomination. His professional music career started with the band Bull Angus which toured with such acts as Rod Stewart and the Faces, Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac. Later in his career he started the band Franke & the Knockouts that released three albums and were known for their high energy live performances. He recently wrote the uplifting musical Calling All Divas which is currently playing in theaters all around the country.

Steve Cooper talks with actor David Pasquesi. David can currently be seen in HBO's Veep playing Andrew Meyer, in AMC's new hit Lodge 49 and in At Home with Amy Sedaris. His list of movie credits include The Fugitive, Groundhog Day, Natural Born Killers, The Ice Harvest, Leatherheads, Angels & Demons and To Rome with Love. He has been recurring or a regular on shows such as Superior Donuts, The Jamz, Chicago Fire, The Mob Doctor, Boss, Factory and Strangers with Candy and guest starred on Empire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, According to Jim and Madam Secretary to name a few. A veteran of the Chicago improvisational scene he performed at The Second City, iO Theater, Improv Institute and The Annoyance Theater.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/director Rob Burnett. Rob is a five time Emmy winner who is best known for being a writer, then head writer then executive producer for Late Night with David Letterman/Late Show with David Letterman. He also created the TV series Bonnie, Ed and The Knights of Prosperity. He recently wrote and directed the film The Fundamentals of Caring which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is available on Netflix.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Megan Gallagher. Megan is probably best known for her roles as Catherine Black in the series Millennium and as Jeannie Sanders in The Larry Sanders Show. She has been a regular or had recurring roles on shows such as Hill Street Blues, The Slap Maxwell Story, China Beach, Pacific Station, Life as We Know it, 24 and Suits. She has guest starred on countless series like Designated Survivor, Major Crimes, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Mentalist, Boston Legal, Without a Trace, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Picket Fences and L.A. Law. She also appeared on Broadway in the original production of A Few Good Men.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/director Eric Blakeney. Eric is best known for creating the Fox show Booker as well as writing and directing the film Gun Shy starring Liam Neeson and Sandra Bullock. He was nominated for an Edgar Award for his work on Wiseguy and wrote for other shows including Crime Story, Moonlighting and 21 Jump Street which he ended up being the show runner on.

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer Mark Valadez. Mark got his start by writing comic books and published four short novels in the "Fright Time" series for young readers. In 2009 he earned a spot in the prestigious ABC-Disney Television Writing Program. Since then he has written on the shows Scrubs, Gang Related, Ice, The Oath, Shadow Show and Queen of the South.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Roger Earl. Roger is best known as one of the founding members of the legendary band Foghat. He is the only band member to have performed with the band throughout all of its various incarnations. He still tours with them and is also a member of the band Earl & The Agitators.