Randy "The Arsonist" Cooper (born ) is the former guitarist for American rock band Emperors and Elephants as well as American red dirt

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

band

Texas Hippie Coalition Texas Hippie Coalition (sometimes stylized THC) is an American heavy metal band from Denison, Texas. History The band was formed in Denison, Texas by Big Dad Ritch, along with his friend John Exall and other friends. Several lineup changes ...

. Cooper also acted as a session guitarist on American

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

band Shotgun Rebellion's debut album'' Train of Pain ''in addition to performing on a limited number of dates with the band.

History

Cooper moved to

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. The population was 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one ...

when he was 16 years of age. Having met

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

shortly thereafter, and opening for them as part of Texas Hippie Coalition, he became attracted to

Dean Guitars Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply as Dean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Its products include solid-body electric guitars, bass guitars, and acous ...

, and played the same Vintage 82 DEAN from 1989 until at least 2009. In 1991, an automobile accident in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

turned the guitarist into a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

, confining him to a wheelchair and forcing him to regain his stride. After regaining motion in his right arm and both legs, Cooper spent additional time in rehab, recovering only one finger on his left hand. This contributes to the musician's unique style of playing.

Texas Hippie Coalition

In mid-2012, Cooper tore a tendon in his right arm, which required extensive rehabilitation. With a pair of cysts under his arm that encircled the tendons, he could only play guitar for a few minutes at a time, which rendered him unable to tour later that year.

Departure from Texas Hippie Coalition

Following Cooper's departure from Texas Hippie Coalition, the veteran guitarist joined rock band Emperors and Elephants. Additionally, Cooper performed a select number of tour dates with

band Shotgun Rebellion while assisting the ensemble with their debut studio album. Randy Cooper's work also includes a guest appearance on Hell Rider Recording Artist, Scattered Hamlet's debut full length, ''Skeleton Dixie'', where he played lead guitar on "Falling Off the Wagon.". He's also been known to make unannounced guest appearances with the band to play that song live. In October 2015, it was announced that Emperors and Elephants would begin the new year by starting work on a new album with producer Scott Wilson. Two months later, Cooper and the band announced that they had decided to part ways. In 2016, Cooper performed a show with American rock band Coming Up Zero. In 2018, the guitarist started a new band called Victory Season.

Influences

Cooper's influences include

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

and

as well as guitarists

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo alb ...

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy meta ...

and

Darrell Abbott Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his ...

Equipment

Cooper uses Dean Guitars and EMG-81/85 pickups. In 2012, the musician was quoted as using a Dean ML.

Discography

Texas Hippie Coalition

* ''

Pride of Texas '' Pride of Texas '' is the first studio album by American metal band Texas Hippie Coalition. It was released on February 12, 2008. Production The album was produced by David Prater, and was mastered by David Zycheck at Largemouth Recording Stu ...

'' (2008) * ''

Rollin Rollin or Rollin' may refer to: Music Albums * ''Rollin (Bay City Rollers album), 1974 * ''Rollin (Freddie Hubbard album), 1982 * ''Rollin (Texas Hippie Coalition album) or the title song, 2010 * ''Rollin (B1A4 EP) or the title song, 2017 * ' ...

'' (2010) * ''

Peacemaker Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to: Individuals and groups * UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators * Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...

'' (2012)

Emperors and Elephants

*'' Devil in the Lake ''(2014) *'' Devil in the Lake – Deluxe Edition ''(2015) *'' Moth ''(2017)

Shotgun Rebellion

*'' Train of Pain ''(2013) (session musician)

Scattered Hamlet

*Skeleton Dixie (2013) (guest appearance)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Randy American heavy metal guitarists 1967 births Living people People from Denison, Texas Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists