Nick Cooper
Encyclopedia
Nick Cooper is an American
drummer
, record producer
and composer
best known for his work with Free Radicals
. Nick is also an activist with indymedia, and food not bombs
, a writer for the Free Press Houston, and Houston Peace News. He is also a documentary filmmaker (on the topic of somatherapy
), a workshop facilitator, a student of capoeira angola, and a visual artist.
. He played in bands in high-school (most notably The Pedestrians, Nicky Cooper's Army, and CCC) and began political activism at that time with the anti-Apartheid movement. He was an English major at Rice University
in Houston, where he joined the band Sprawl. Sprawl toured the U.S. many times, and released four CDs, breaking up in 1994. Cooper also worked with Rastaman Work Ethic productions in Houston, and produced a compilation CD, Texas Funk (1990), that included Sprawl and other bands. In 1996, Cooper started Free Radicals. In 2000, Cooper travelled to Los Angeles
to cover the protests against the Democratic National Convention
. Coming soon after the 1999 protests against the WTO, many activists were converging there as was the new indymedia network. Upon returning to Houston, Cooper began the Houston branch of indymedia with other local activists, and began travelling to work with other indymedias. In 2003 and 2005, Cooper traveled to Brazil
to document somatherapy
, with a DVD
eventually being released in 2006. In 2004 and 2006, Cooper traveled to Chiapas
to study the Zapatista
movement and used the information he learned as the basis for a workshop entitled "Nazis vs. Zapatistas, Struggle and Co-optation" which he has facilitated in the U.S. and Latin America
. In 2010, Cooper produced the compilation CD "Klezmer Musicians Against the Wall."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
best known for his work with Free Radicals
Free Radicals (band)
Free Radicals is an American jazz, funk, hip-hop, avant-garde, ska, reggae, African music, Indian music, punk, klezmer, polka and latin jazz group based in Houston, Texas.- History :Free Radicals' live band includes six or seven members...
. Nick is also an activist with indymedia, and food not bombs
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance...
, a writer for the Free Press Houston, and Houston Peace News. He is also a documentary filmmaker (on the topic of somatherapy
Somatherapy
Somatherapy was created by the writer Roberto Freire in the 1970s as a group therapy, based on the research of the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich. With the objective of freeing the individual to be more creative, the exercises in Soma work with the relationship between the body and emotions are...
), a workshop facilitator, a student of capoeira angola, and a visual artist.
Biography
Cooper was born in New York, New York and grew up in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He played in bands in high-school (most notably The Pedestrians, Nicky Cooper's Army, and CCC) and began political activism at that time with the anti-Apartheid movement. He was an English major at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston, where he joined the band Sprawl. Sprawl toured the U.S. many times, and released four CDs, breaking up in 1994. Cooper also worked with Rastaman Work Ethic productions in Houston, and produced a compilation CD, Texas Funk (1990), that included Sprawl and other bands. In 1996, Cooper started Free Radicals. In 2000, Cooper travelled to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to cover the protests against the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
. Coming soon after the 1999 protests against the WTO, many activists were converging there as was the new indymedia network. Upon returning to Houston, Cooper began the Houston branch of indymedia with other local activists, and began travelling to work with other indymedias. In 2003 and 2005, Cooper traveled to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to document somatherapy
Somatherapy
Somatherapy was created by the writer Roberto Freire in the 1970s as a group therapy, based on the research of the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich. With the objective of freeing the individual to be more creative, the exercises in Soma work with the relationship between the body and emotions are...
, with a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
eventually being released in 2006. In 2004 and 2006, Cooper traveled to Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
to study the Zapatista
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
movement and used the information he learned as the basis for a workshop entitled "Nazis vs. Zapatistas, Struggle and Co-optation" which he has facilitated in the U.S. and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. In 2010, Cooper produced the compilation CD "Klezmer Musicians Against the Wall."