Need a band for an upcoming event? Have a band and need exposure? Hooper's your man. During the past few years, Hooper Booking and Promotion has represented about 450 artists and groups, from bluegrass to heavy metal. On Saturday, May 10, he'll join the judging panel for DJ Urban Kobbb's Lowertown Band Brawl, 3-6 p.m., at the historic Texaco station, 7th and Madison. Bands can still sign up to compete, and everyone is invited to come and enjoy!
Hooper, you are cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it! When did you drop your first name?
It is a long tradition for men with the last name of Hooper to go by Hooper. I’m not sure where or when it started, but it won’t be stopping anytime soon.
Does your mom call you Hooper?
My mother and father and other immediate members of the family call me by my first name. It assists in distinguishing who they want – me or my father. At work, though, people call us both Hooper, so it can get confusing from time to time since we both work at the same place.
Where's that?
The Four Rivers Harley-Davidson dealership. I do a lot of the shop’s online image campaigning, maintain the Web site and operate our eBay store. I also fix computers that break when the computer operator hits the wrong button combination.
Are you from this area originally?
Born and raised Paducahan. I’ve spent short amounts of time in other areas, but this will always be home. Where most young individuals feel an urge to get away, I keep getting called back. This is where I want to be.
Well, that's lucky for our regional musicians! How did you start Hooper Booking and Promotion?
Ten years ago, I was extremely jaded with the state of regional youth musicians. But I wasn’t quite yet smart enough to realize that being upset about something doesn’t change it. It took a few years to get that bit of wisdom.
So what happened?
The exact push off point could be when I found myself sitting at a Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee meeting several years ago and hearing them say they were paying about three grand for a band to perform for a non-profit fundraiser, and I knew that band would have gladly accepted $200. I spoke up, and it's been a lot of the same since that day.
And now which bands do you represent?
I represent any and all musicians in the regional area, from your front-porch-banjo-playing-granddad to those "punk kids" at the bar. I've worked with about 450 artists and bands in the past couple of years.
Tell us about the DJ Urban Kobbb Lowertown Band Brawl. Why is something like this good for the music community?
The Band Brawl is exactly the type of thing I love to see happening for our town. Paducah did such great things for local artists with LowerTown, and I think that the city and its musicians can have that same great friendship.
With events like this, we can introduce the two and break down the barriers that exist, especially between youth musicians and their dreaded "establishment."
Seemingly little things like this are actually the huge events that can establish the next decade or so of how our musical community will prosper or flounder.
When is it?It's Saturday, May 10, 3-6 p.m., at the Texaco station at 7th and Madison. We hope to get a big turnout of folks who like music. Plus, the top prize is $1,000, second is $500 and third is $250. And the top three will be invited to play at the Lowertown Art and Music Festival on Sunday, May 25.
Bands can still sign up, if they get the application in today.
Rock on! As a judge, what will you look for?
I want to see excitement, hear clarity and creativity and feel passion. When the performers walk on stage, I want to know that they’re doing what they love to do and that whether they were playing on that stage or in their garage, they’d look exactly the same – maybe with a little more sweat, though.
The music should be clear. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to turn up the volume and shout into a microphone to be heard. That's actually the best way to not be heard.
Last, when the performers leave the stage, I want to know that they felt their performance. That every note and word and song was exactly what they had been wanting to convey.
Excellent! And how about the hotness factor? Isn't attracting women the whole purpose for having a band?A lot of people would say it is, that is true. A lot of local youth tend to join a band just for this aspect. It will always be a part of a musician’s lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean that a musician has to partake in it.
Are you in a band, yourself?
Yes. We play together once between leap years at least. Two of my friends and I are all that remains of a horribly bad-idea-11-member-ensemble, and we practice from time to time. So far the cleverest thing we’ve done is our name, The Road Scholars. At least, we thought it was clever.
It's totally clever! Besides a very cute name, and the hotness factor, what makes a great band?
When you listen to a band and you walk away feeling like something profound just happened, that could be the clue that you just witnessed something great. When musicians talk about their music as if it’s an entity of itself, an extended member of the family, you’re probably talking to a great artist. If a musician has something to say, is passionate about what they do, can play and perform amazing feats of talent and has a love for the music – not just the musician’s lifestyle – then those are great indicators of a great band.
I love Paducahpalooza! A concert here, with folks donating money to charity! When's the next one?
Paducahpalooza is a very large undertaking – in fact, it has outgrown its venue. The next one was planned for mid-July, but due to a series of unfortunate events and hassle, and our wish to make sure that it gets done right, it has been postponed for a year. We’ve already begun the process to make up for the missing year, however, so keep your eyes and ears open!
OK, so what do you do when you're not promoting bands and Harleys?I spend a lot of time with friends and my daughter. I also like to break free of my music side and go to the inner geek as much as possible with weekly Dungeons & Dragons games and a lot of World of Warcraft playing. And when possible, I try to work with the Labor Day Committee or my old Boy Scout Troop, though time seems to always get harder to find.
Do you have your own Harley?
I have all the pieces of a Harley (or maybe even two) that would look really great if they were all together. Once I do put it together, you can be guaranteed I’ll never be caught dead without a helmet or wearing shorts and flip-flops. If you’re a Paducahan who does this and you’ve been honked at before, it was probably by me.
And how about your love life? I bet you have women constantly swarming around you!
I’ve met some wonderful women in my life, and we've all parted ways. Nothing personal for any of them as they were great, but I haven’t found the right woman yet. With the enormous amount of time I devote to many groups, and especially as a father, I need a woman who understands a lot of things that I've yet to find. Such as time management, a stress-free lifestyle, knowing what is really important and being able to establish and reach goals.
I’m not saying I’m a great man (not even close), but I hope to be one eventually. I need a woman who has goals and plans as well, and who won’t put them easily aside just for a guy. She’ll also need low standards to like me.
Oh, please! I believe you're partial to one in particular. Tell us about Katherine. She is so cute! Katherine Renee Hooper is my first and, so far, only child. She'll turn 1 this July. However cheesy it may sound, having her has changed the way my brain thinks about life and the world and the state of things. I’ve never been so excited to get slobbered on before, or to hear a chant of "Dadadada."
She has one cousin (my sister’s daughter) BryAnne who is also in love with her and they make great playmates. The actual hardest decision will be when she reaches dating age – whether a shotgun or medieval sword will get the message across more clearly to any potential daters.
Hah! Those are strong words coming from an ordained minister!
When people hear I’m ordained, they think about churches and preachers and weddings. That is not what I am. I am just licensed because I studied the same thing practicing ministers do. I studied theology in college because I love the historical aspect of religious figures and the growth of spirituality and religion throughout history.
So, if you need a wedding minister last minute, I may be able to fill in. But if your Sunday mass finds itself Father-less, I’m the last guy you should call.
If you could live anywhere and do anything, what would that be? Before Katherine, I would have answered with retirement in Ullapool. That’s in Scotland, where my ancestors come from. And I'd be working with their equally great musical scene.
Now that she is here, I don’t know. I love living right here, and I won’t move her away from friends and family. Plus, if she doesn’t want to move years from now, I won’t be going anywhere, either. So I guess my answer is, I’d be doing exactly what I do, living exactly where I live.
Well, that's fine with us, Hooper! We want you doing exactly what you do, right here! See you May 10!
