Twang Nation – The Best In Americana Music

Mike Cooley is a perfect counter to his fellow Drive-By Trucker founder and former roommate Patterson Hood. Cooley’s tales of male rites of passage (Daddy’s Cup) and tales of contemporary Hatfield and McCoys  (Where The Devil Don’t Stay) for right alongside Hoods more contemplative work making each Drive-By Trucker a deeper and richer refection of The Dirty South.

Cooley’s debut solo album, The Fool On Every Corner, will be released December 11, 2012. The album was recorded by longtime Drive-By Truckers’ producer David Barbe during a three-show run last March, beginning with a two-night stand at the Atlanta rock club The Earl and The Melting Point in Athens, GA .

The record features live acoustic versions of Drive-By Truckers’ favorites like “Carl Perkins Cadillac”, “3 Dimes Down”, and “Marry Me” as well as one new song, “Drinking Coke and Eating Ice. ” There’s is also a cover I’m very much looking forward to Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors”.
Playing without his DBT band mates left Cooley and little uncomfortable. “When you don’t do it normally, it’s terrifying,” Cooley admits. “I try to relax, but I’ll probably never be able to sit down in a chair on stage as easily as I sit down on a toilet behind a closed door. That’s the goal—somewhere in between,” he deadpans. “I set the bar high.”

On this release Cooley abandons the guitar pick he expertly wields with The DBT and finger picks.
“Strip it, strip it, strip it down,” he says, alluding to the mantra that guided these performances. “What’s left is the song and nothing else.”

Cooley will continue to play select solo dates throughout 2013.

Track Listing:
1 – Loaded Gun In The Closet
2 – Cottonseed
3 – Guitar Man Upstairs
4 – Cartoon Gold
5 – Pulaski
6 – 3 Dimes Down
7 – Eyes Like Glue
8 – Carl Perkins Cadillac
9 – Behind Closed Doors
10 – Marry Me
11 – Where The Devil Don’t Stay
12 – Shut Up And Get On The Plane
13 – Drinking Coke And Eating Ice