For information about this Web site and its ongoing evolution, see the About page or the Site History page.

Musical Background

Since taking Intro to Guitar as a blow-off class his senior year in college (‘89), Scott Cooley has gone on to learn to play several instruments, write many songs, and even win an honorable mention T-shirt in the Billboard Song Contest as a consolation prize, his first and only songwriting award thus far, all without ever learning to read…music.

Diverse experiences providing lyrical inspiration include having been a ski bum, bus driver, shop rat, law school dropout and technical writer to name a few; in addition to experiences living in both Colorado and Michigan, and travelling to both South America and Europe.  Aside from the intro guitar class, Scott is truly a self-taught, by-ear musician who not only writes the words and music heard on his recordings, but also does the:  instrument playing, singing, producing, recording, engineering, mixing, mastering, copyrighting, publishing, burning, designing, and packaging of CDs, and web site design and development, all with the help of computer-based digital recording equipment and software in his home studio.  The microlabel, or netlabel known as Scott Cooley Records, along with the publishing arm, Scott Cooley Music Publishing, were established by Scott to help to preserve the independence of Scott Cooley, the songwriter.  The Web site, scottcooley.com, is yet another DIY project that is in a sense an offshoot of the songwriting hobby in an effort to self-market and make the fruits of his labors available for public appreciation and consumption.

Scott Cooley’s music tastes were formed by listening to popular music on recordings and radio since his birth in 1967.  At around 1977 or so, he began discovering friends' older sibling's records, which made him aware of recorded music that was either never popular, or once-popular but no longer popular.  Scott was semi-popular himself in high school and college, never football-player popular, but never a wallflower either.  Scott made friends with brains, jocks and stoners alike.  Like most people, Scott is someone who likes certain people, regardless of things like background or religion;  and similarly, likes certain songs regardless of things like style or genre.

Scott dislikes words like genre or niche in general, not because he is necessarily opposed to artists being labeled, but rather because he has never been confident in remembering the precise pronunciation of these words with French origins.  Along about 1987, Scott developed an appreciation for live music performance, particularly enjoying the college folk-rock and open mic scene.  As his guitar playing progressed after college, Scott found it to be an interesting pursuit in the early 90’s to try to invent his own songs, experimenting with the various forms he'd heard from these influences.  Scott has never intentionally tried to plagiarize the words or music of other songs he's heard, although he admits to realizing unconscious, accidental imitation must've occurred after listening back to some of his completed works.  Scott has enjoyed learning to play instruments, using them to write music, writing lyrics, combining them with the music by singing them while playing the music, giving them titles and then recording them.  The next logical step has been offering them for purchase and licensing via this Web site.

Guided by the do-it-yourself ethos brought on by the affordable digital audio computer recording technology and the emergence of the acoustic guitar-dominated "unplugged" rock sound of the 90's, Cooley used his acoustic guitar and beginner’s chord book to write and record original songs starting in 1990 and a hobby was born.  Cooley initially drew inspiration from his blue-collar, midwestern, home-town of Flint, Michigan, known for its roots in the garage rock scene since Grand Funk Railroad hit it big in the early 70’s with their instrumentally basic, high-spirited, home-brewed sound.

This background, combined with a strong appreciation of America's finest singer-songwriters like Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty and John Mellencamp to name a few, led Cooley to develop a preference for the simplicity and tone of the acoustic guitar, while using it to develop a rough-edged folk-rock style with hints of punk, blues, country and reggae blended in.  Despite using a couple of nifty digital effects, Scott plays all acoustic instruments, including guitar, bass, drums, harmonica and marimba.  Scott’s minimalist playing and singing style combined with these natural tones results in a warm yet refreshingly cool listening experience of understated elegance. 

Cooley is an atypical GenXer who, while his peers listened to 80’s new wave and then hair metal, was rediscovering the classic rock of his youth from a decade earlier, including Michigan rockers Bob Seger, Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent, along with the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Grateful Dead.  His all-time favorite live band while a Colorado resident, Leftover Salmon, was a band that defied easy description, labelling their own music as polyethnic cajun slamgrass.  Scott’s unique style has proven difficult to categorize - a little too acoustic and mellow for age-appropriate bars where only loud classic-rock covers will do, while too rebellious and rocking for the baby boomer coffee house scene that tends to welcome more traditional folk stylings.

Cooley’s songs are most appealing to an adult audience and are far from those you’d find marketed to teens on today’s MTV and FM radio stations.  Sophisticated lyrics mixed with simple instrumentation and an admittedly mediocre vocal talent make Cooley more of a songwriter than a singer, and more of a backup than a lead band member.  Playing in duos and groups with more talented bandmates, Cooley was able to land some paying gigs, both as the opening act and as headliners, while as a solo performer, never got past the open mic night scene.  Despite his courage and confidence, he quickly realized his shortcomings as a live performer after a few short years and aside from the occasional campfire with family and friends, has given it up entirely.  However, his hobby of writing and recording songs has remained a source of joy for him from 1990 to present, during which he has amassed a catalog of over 300 original compositions.

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