2. Did your drummer really go to prison?
Yes. Judas’s legal troubles began in 1994 as a member of the band Bruthafiend. He was arrested by the Oxford, Mississippi Police Department after Bruthafiend’s band house, the Padded Cell, was raided. The band was set up by a former Vietnam veteran who gave the band lights and equipment suitable for growing marijuana, and encouraged the band to do it. The vet then turned around and NARCed on the band.

Bruthafiend broke up after the raid and in August of 1994, Judas joined up with Raw and Neuter to reform The Cooters. Unfortunately, however, Judas was busted in Oxford once again in January of 1996 with possession of marijuana while on probation for his 1994 arrest. He was incarcerated for several months in the Oxford jail in 1996, and for two years after, he spent thousands of dollars defending himself in the courts of the state.

When the final verdict was read in January 1999, no one, especially Judas, could believe it when he was sentence to six months in the R.I.D. program at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. At R.I.D., Judas endured a rigorous boot camp program for drug offenders, complete with drill sargents and marine training. Judas spent seven months incarcerated at Parchman. If there was a silver lining to the incarceration, at least Judas got in shape!

After Judas was released from R.I.D., the Cooters renewed our efforts and began the Jailbreak 1999-2000 tour. We played shows all over the South and began writing songs for album number three. We started recording the album in December of 2000, but unfortunately the wheels were already set in motion for another confrontation between Judas and the Law. Judas was on probation and little did the rest of the Cooters know, he was not abiding by the rules of his probation. Soon after Judas had recorded his drum tracks for our new album, we learned that he had been put on House Arrest. This meant that he had a daily curfew and if he violated the rules of the House Arrest, Judas would be finding himself back in prison. This, of course, meant that The Cooters could not play any shows, but since the drum tracks were already recorded, we were able to continue recording our new album.