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The Dude Coopers are a
Bluegrass band comprising of Howard Burton (banjo), Mark Jones
(guitar), Charlie Ogunremi (mandolin) and Richard Eyres (dog house
bass). All the players are seasoned Bluegrass performers in their
own right, and have played in Bluegrass bands all over the world,
and are presently based in East Anglia.
The Dude Coopers are
true to the roots of Bluegrass, and really enjoy putting their
individualism on some great traditional Bluegrass songs, but are
also equally accomplished with more contemporary songs as well,
including some original tunes to boot! Having a band with strong
musicians, the band features a healthy amount of Bluegrass
instrumentals in their set too.
So in a nut shell, a
band that embraces all the facets of Bluegrass music in to their
show.
What's is a name?
Regular
followers of the band may have known us as The OffChords. In the
early days of the band we were called The OffChords, but soon
realised it did not fit in to the vision of the band, one of those
"It seemed like a good idea at the time" moments!
The Dude Coopers band name has an interesting story behind it. While
band guitarist, Mark Jones was living in East Tennessee he lived
close to a grocery store known as "Dude Coopers". It was the only
store for miles around selling everything you might need, and
serving the best biscuits and gravy in town. The store had a lot of
character from the shot gun by the till, to the regular mid-day
visits by the local jail chain gang for their lunch! Also the area
has a rich tradition for Bluegrass and old time music. So that's
where our band name came from, The Dude Coopers. (A photo of the
store is on our banner)
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