The Cooters: Oxford Town article 1999

It's a Tuesday afternoon and the crowd is thin at Rowan Oak. William Faulkner's home rarely bustles with activity, sightseeing and picnics never pack the lawn. His ghost, though, is there. Through the cypress trees and magnolia, the same spirit which infects Oxford's literati today draws fire from the Cooters.

They, too, are Oxford's own.

They don't supply the world with literature, and most likely, they will not have a conference named for them. The Cooter Estate will never have a curator.

The Cooters, though, were born and raised here. Judas, Raw and Neuter's brand of hardcore punk reflects their surroundings as much as Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County relected his. Electric guitars are their Underwoods, live performance their bourbon. This Thursday, they unveil their first opus, Invasion of the Cooters, at a Proud Larry's sponsered CD release party.

It is the culmination of three members' lives in Oxford. From force-fed Faulkner in high school to politically incorrect police, the Cooters' sound and fury is unleashed in sixty blistering minutes of hardcore heaven.

"I suppose our music is a reflection of living here in Oxford," said Neuter. Cooter, the band's lead singer and bass player. He sits on the front stoop of Rowan Oak, a locale both tongue-in-cheek and dead-on metaphorically.

Raw Cooter's grandfather was a close friend of the Nobel Prize-winner and was among the Faulkner Conference's original organizers. The Cooters' guitarist defends the author, both in song and interview. The CD's thirteenth track, titled "Faulkner's Revenge," is a twelve-and-a-half minute tribal epic which plays on the same phenomena that blinded people to Elvis Presley's faults. Both men were catapulted to megastardom despite enormous personal flaws. Faulkner's faults have largely been forgotten.

"His nickname was Count No Count," said Neuter. "It meant he wasn't going to amount to anything. People considered him the town drunk. Then he won the Nobel prize. Now he is Oxford. He was the target of gossip and now he' revered and loved."

Raw jumped to the novelist's defense.

"We love Faulkner. That's why the song is called 'Faulkner's Revenge,' But don't listen to it backwards. We went out of our way not to put his LP on vinyl so people couldn't play it backwards. We had a seance and summoned the spirit of Faulkner and he told us to write that song. He does speak during the song. And he's pissed."

The fourteen song disc touches on such topics as authority, the daily grind, conspiracy, boredom, and our visitors from space.

My cousin, Junior, was abducted by aliens." Raw said."We think he's the Supreme Cooter. He rules. The CD's cover is actually an artist's rendering of the event."

He provides us with 'guydance' and inspiration," added Judas. Despite their divine protection, the Cooters are hounded by the cops as though they were the Sex Pistols.

"That's what our song 'Crusty' is about," explained Neuter. "Who polices the police? Over the years we've endured police harrassment and brutality, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it. Because I'm an artist and a musician, all I can do is write a song about it. I have an obligation as a victim to say something, but as a citizen of Oxford, I don't want it to happen again."

The group tells a disturbing story about a practice session at the Cooter Estate. Several months ago, they were working on their Judas Priest cover "Breakin' The Law" when two sheriff's deputies burst into their living room.

The Cooters dropped their instruments... and their jaws. The officers said they were playing too loudly, so the Cooters complied and unplugged their amps. The deputies left, and, after five minutes of laughter over the irony of the situation, the deputies reentered the house unannounced and without permission. One officer pulled out his nightstick and threatened to arrest them for not supplying their names on cue. Neut was thrown to the carpet and dragged across the room. Only after saying that his father is an attorney did the officers decide they had gone too far. Neut was released and the cops silently diappeared.

"It's something you read about in George Orwell's 1984" Neut said. "We posted the story on our webpage, so anybody can read about what happened."

The Cooter homepage was the first of its kind for any Mississippi band. Since it was first uploaded in 1995, it has generated a great deal of response. It's sound files, artwork, lyrics and band history have piqued the interest of many fans and members of the recording industry. Also included is a multi-media political barrage endorsing Raw Cooter for President.

Their emotions hit full throttle at the mention of the American political landscape. No candidate in memory measures up to their less federal, more local government dicta. To the Cooters, its all a pack of lies."

"It's hard to get across to these people who run the elections that we don't want their two party candidates." Neuter said, "They're all lying, that's why only 30% of the voters turned out for the last election. So many people are disillusioned with the system and they don't know what to do, so they do nothing"

If more people would get out and vote," added Judas, "even if its a protest vote, vote for Raw Cooter. He won't be elected, but it may send the message. Maybe if we had a true democracy people would be more inclined to vote."

Their opinion of local music is somewhat more optimistic. Though they argue that Oxford needs fewer are restrictions at venues, the talent is amazing.

It's definitely the most happening music scene in Mississippi," Neuter said. "There's a lot of music going on here now. I just wish there was more of an outlet for it. There' nothing but twenty-one year old venues. People of all ages should be able to hear music."

Judas added, "Oxford is supposed to be this writer and artist community but they need to do more to let it grow. An outdoor festival for local bands would be huge."

The Cooters have taken advantage of the creative freedom Oxford affords its residents. They are original, creative voices; their work is unlike any other in its genre.

"One thing we're trying to do is give rock & roll some fresh ideas again," Neuter said. "People create too much music to sell rather than keeping it an art form. We're putting free expression back in music."

The Cooters are doing their part to freshen up the stage. At their live shows, they sometimes incorporate slide projections and all manner of Cooter memorabilia. Their live perfomance Thursday, however, will only skirt around the new album.

"We've got about three hours of music, so what's on the album is only a third of it." explained Judas. "The people who see us in concert will not be hearing the album in its entirety. We're gonna play some more complex arrangements that aren't on the CD."

Cooter music may come as a shock to many local bar hoppers. There will be no Birkenstocks on stage, no Phish covers.

"It's a soul revival," explained Judas, "We've been working for three and a half years toward this moment, toward the release of the CD."

"We've also gotten a great response for doing something different," Raw said. "People say they love hearing something different from all that Grateful Dead music."

"Hardcore is a state mind." explained Neuter. "It's not a musical code. There's a feeling to it. You have to experience it. That's what I want people to do: come experience another side of life. Don't write us off as just another punk band."

Reprinted with permission.