Music of the Mountains/Then and Now: Andrew Cooney

Andrew's Website: https://andrew-cooney-music-f9ba9d40c8c60139123.webflow.io/Andrew Cooney has embraced a very busy schedule as a musician. He plays solo gigs with his acoustic guitar across the Front Range, from Telluride to Copper Mountain to Denver to Boulder, and freelance gigs as a bass player for many groups, including periodically with Kind Hearted Strangers. Other groups he has played with include the hodgepodge country group Last Call, which features members of Brandywine and the Mighty Fines and Liver Down the River; Tenth Mountain Division (TMD), currently on hiatus; and the Bob Barrick-led tribute group Jammy Buffett. He also occasionally plays in a spinoff group called Cashmere Sweater, with the original lineup consisting of Cooney (donning the alter ego Chris Staplegun), TMD drummer Tyler Gwinn (Charles Romancin), and keyboard player Campbell Thomas (Curls Sweatshirt). Campbell has since moved to San Diego, and the lineup now includes guitar player Kevin Hinder (as of this article, he does not have an alter ego yet).Cooney built his career through consistent practicing and performing from a young age. His grandmother, a jazz and classical pianist, introduced him to the piano when he was around four or five. Also a piano teacher, she helped him start lessons, and he continued though his discovery of the saxophone, which he played in his middle school band. When a friend needed a bass player to start a band, Cooney took on the instrument for the first time, encouraged by the friend’s belief in his ability. He performed in the school jazz band and in a rock band in middle school, and he even performed at places such as Disney World during high school. Of course, he has since also learned guitar, but considers himself primarily a bass player by trade.Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here. Support the showThank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below.If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact:Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected] Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected] Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected] inquiries: [email protected] to our website for all of the latest news. Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.earListen and watch on YouTube today.Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.Thank you for listening!