Speedrunners don’t hold a candle to Jarred Cooper. The Vegas bassist and video gamer is as nimble as he is precise, shredding through Mercy Music’s most breakneck material in a feverish daze of dexterity.
“I’ve made it my mission to make finger bass sound good,” says Cooper, who fronts the pop-punk band with longtime friend and guitarist Brendan Scholz. “I want little kids to look at the bass player and say ‘Whoa, I wanna do that.’”
On top of being in Mercy Music, and an All and Descendents tribute band called Not, Cooper’s also a rockstar dad whose daughters keep him focused while Mercy Music is on tour. We caught up with Cooper on the road to discuss three key albums that inspired his bass craft.
The Offspring, Americana (1998)
“This is the album that started my musical journey. I was a late bloomer when it came to getting into music. I think I was in middle school, walking through a Best Buy or Target, and they were playing the video for ‘Pretty Fly for a White Guy.’ I stopped and watched the whole thing and my mind was blown. Ever since then, I’ve been a mega Offspring fan. Shortly after that, I got a guitar.”
The Toy Dolls, Dig That Groove Baby (1983)
“I found this album through Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. This was shortly after I picked up a guitar and … for whatever reason, it clicked with me. That’s all I wanted to play. [Brendan’s] high school band, Absent Minded, would practice at his mom’s house every day, and I would go over there. One day, Brendan got behind the drum kit, he gave me his guitar, and we started doing Toy Dolls covers. That’s what started my and Brendan’s music together. [Michael “Olga” Algar’s] guitar playing is so unique. I still try to emulate him when I play guitar to this day.”
Descendents, Somery (1991)
“Descendants bass player Karl Alvarez ... in all my bass playing, I’m just copying Karl. I heard Karl playing bass, and I instantly thought, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ I learned Karl didn’t play with a pick, he plays with his fingers, and I never picked up the pick again. I play bass the way I do now because of that album.”
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