Jacob Alonzo Cooper, also known as Jacob Safari, is an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, remixer,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, and occasional DJ. Cooper has been a drummer of the bands Wavves, The Mae Shi, Cold Showers, Har Mar Superstar, and previously had a band called Bark Bark Bark. He currently has a project called Heaven, which first appeared in 2012.

History

Bark Bark Bark (2003-2013)

Bark Bark Bark is an experimental, cut and paste electronic punk project formed by Cooper using the alias Jacob Safari. The project consists of Safari and guest artists and producers. Bark Bark Bark was discovered by Los Angeles-based

Retard Disco Retard Disco is an American, Los Angeles-based record label. The label launched with two debut releases by 14 Year Old Girls and Hawnay Troof in 2003. The label subsequently released over two dozen records by artists including Partyline, Epsilons, ...

after Safari played a show at The Smell and gave the label a cassette tape that later turned up to be completely blank. They have so far released one full-length studio album, several remixes, and a mixtape, ''Tour Girlfriends'', released both digitally and as a limited physical release in early 2009 on Retard Disco. The studio album, ''Haunts'', was described by

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Stewart Mason as "an uneven, occasionally frustrating exercise, but Safari evinces enough solid ideas to make it a worthwhile listen." A Steregoum article stated the title track has "a dirty, dark electro-pop vibe, with digi beats and distorto- vox that moan along to fit its name." Bark Bark Bark had a quiet ending after playing only 1 show in 3 years on top of a parking garage roof at 2008's

SXSW Music Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

, coincidentally the same year The Mae Shi played a record-breaking 19 shows in 6 days. Jacob "re-united" to play his last Bark Bark Bark shows ever in his home state of Arizona in 2013 with long-time drummer Michael Sanger.

The Mae Shi (2007-2009)

Cooper joined

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

The Mae Shi in 2007 after replacing Marcus Savino on drums. He, along with bandmates Bill Gray and Jon Gray, left a year later due primarily to founding member Jeff Byron's substance abuse issues. Cooper explained in an e-mail statement, "Helping hands were extended; we were supportive and respectful about the time to heal and even tried reaching out to Jeff when we were specifically told not to contact him by those closest to him." Cooper and the Grays formed a new band, Signals. Cooper later joined the

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

/ surf punk band Wavves.

Wavves (2010-2013)

Jacob replaced Billy Hayes of Wavves in November 2010 and immediately began an arena tour supporting the French band, Phoenix (band). After several US/international tours and television appearances on David Letterman and The Daily Habit with

GZA ''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...

( Wu Tang Clan, Jacob left the band in 2013. Brian Hill ( The Soft Pack/

The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower was an American four-piece punk/noise band from San Diego, California, United States, that formed in 2001. After disbanding in 2006, drummer Brian Hill now plays with The Soft Pack, while singer Brandon Welch ...

) began playing drums soon after.

Heaven (2012-Present)

Jacob premiered several demos for a new solo project he had been working on between tours with Wavves called Heaven and formed a live band to play their first show at the Echo on Halloween night of 2012.

Discography and appearances

Official releases and appearances

* Cold Showers - ''Plantlife'' (

Dais Records Dais Records is an American independent record label founded in August 2007 by musicians Gibby Miller and Ryan Martin, based in Los Angeles, California, and Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Drab Majest ...

/aufnahme + wiedergabe), 2015 * Cold Showers - ''Matter of Choice'' (

), 2015 * Wavves - ''TV Luv Song'', on the Wavves/

Trash Talk Trash talk is a form of insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their abilities as to win e ...

split 7-inch ( Ghost Ramp Records), 2011 * Signals - ''Silverfish / What Dreams'' (

Moshi Moshi Records Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label founded in 1998 by Adrian Pike, Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass. The label has released music by bands including Lykke Li, Fimber Bravo, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Hot ...

/Retard Disco), 2010 * Signals - ''Vacation'', appears on ''LA COLLECTION'' split 7-inch with The Franks (

IAMSOUND Records Iamsound (stylized IAMSOUND; formerly Iamsound Records) is an American entertainment company based in Los Angeles and founded by Niki Roberton. Iamsound comprises a creative and marketing studio, visual artist management firm, and independent rec ...

), 2010 * Bark Bark Bark - ''Tour Girlfriends'' (Retard Disco), 2009 * Bark Bark Bark - '' Haunts'' on (

), 2007

Mixtapes

* ''SMJWTWTTB'' SoundCloud stream, 2019 * ''Pizza The Hut Mixtape'' SoundCloud stream, 2010 * ''Hott Summer Traxx'' CD-R, 2006 * ''Noose and a Fire'' cassette tape, 2005 * ''Worst Dotted Line'' CD-R, 2004

Remixes

* "Endless Summer (Jacob Safari Remix)" for Batwings Catwings, 2011 * "Throwing Shade (Jacob Safari Remix)" for Abe Vigoda (band), 2011 * "Catcher In The Riot (Signals Hot Dog Remix)" for Cubismo Grafico Five, appears on the Japanese release of ''Life Is Like A Season 7-inch'' (Niw! Records), 2010 * "See Spaces (Jacob Safari Remix)" for TEETH, appears on the digital release of ''See Spaces'' (

), 2010 * "You Are Free (The Mae Shi Remix)" for Mates of State, appears on ''Re-Arranged: Remixes Volume 1'' (

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

), 2009 * "Your Control (The Mae Shi Remix)" for

Crooked Fingers Crooked Fingers was an American indie rock band, led by the former Archers of Loaf frontman Eric Bachmann. A vehicle for Bachmann's songwriting, the band's lineup changed between each record. Crooked Fingers released albums on WARM Records and Merg ...

(Feat. Neko Case), appears on ''Your Control EP'' (Constant Artists), 2009

Other appearances

* Jacob Safari collaborated with

Isaiah Toothtaker Isaiah Toothtaker (born 1981) is an American rapper, designer, and tattoo artist. He is a co-founder of the indie hip hop collective Machina Muerte. Biography Toothtaker is of Mexican and Native American heritage, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz ...

on ''ИOTHING'', solely using unlicensed

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

samples and premiered on Vice Magazine's

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

, 2013 * Heaven premiered "Hanging Out" and "Can't Grow Up With Poison" on Vice Magazine's

, 2012 * Jacob Safari produced and played drums on the tracks "Breaking Down" and "Glare" for Kid Static, featured on ''It Gleams'' (Metal Postcard/Cobra Music), 2012 * Jacob Safari produced the track "Intruder" for

, featured on ''Yiggy'' (Wordemup Records), 2010 * Jacob Safari produced the track "Pool Party" for

Wallpaper. Wallpaper (stylized as Wallpaper.) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and pop music project, fronted by producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Eric Frederic (better known as Ricky Reed) based in Oakland, California. Wallpaper is sig ...

featuring Kid Static, 2009 * 9 original sequences were created for

Job For A Cowboy Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album ''Genesis'' was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first we ...

on their Radio Rebellion Tour as segues between songs, 2007 * 13 original tracks were created for Tucson-based pyrotechnic troupe Flam Chen for their ''Kaboom'', 2006

References

External links

Jacob Safari on SoundCloud

Heaven on SoundCloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jacob Musicians from Tucson, Arizona Musicians from Los Angeles American male musicians American rock drummers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Record producers from Arizona Songwriters from Arizona American male songwriters Retard Disco artists