Dirty Second Hands has been hailed by critics far and wide as a masterpiece, and most listeners agree that it's the most creative thing Switchfoot has ever done.
As I read through the lyrics and credits of the Oh! Gravity CD, I saw that Todd Cooper (a long time friend of Switchfoot and roadie) had co-written the song.
Since I am such a huge fan of the song, I looked into doing an interview with Todd. Obviously my query was successful because here we are!
Read on to see what Todd has to say about teaching Jon to play guitar, writing Dirty Second Hands and his current musical ventures!
Land of Broken Hearts (LOBH): Todd thanks so much for doing this interview with us! I think it will be great. I know you have been a long time friend of the Switchfoot guys. How did you first meet?
Todd Cooper: I met Jon for the first time in 6th grade at all city band, where he was a trumpet player and I played the french horn. It was awesomely geeky. We went to different elementary schools, but got along well. Then we went to the same junior high, where we became close friends. I spent a lot of time with Jon and Tim in those days. They ended up moving away from where I lived right before high school, and I don't know how we remained friends but we did for years, until after college.
LOBH: Is it true that you were the one who taught Jon to play guitar?
Todd: Taught may be kind of a push, but when we first started hanging out in Junior High, I played guitar and wanted to start a band, so I told Jon he should learn. It was kind of classic, I don't know if this really happened, but the way my Junior High memory remembers it, I said, "you should play guitar," and like immediately he goes "I have one right here! Lets do it," and pulls it out from under his bed. Also in my memory, I showed him a few chords and then the following week, he showed me everything else.
LOBH: *laughs* That's neat! So you co-wrote Dirty Second Hands - what’s the story behind the song? What triggered the idea for it?
Todd: Jon is a song writing machine, I've never seen anything like it. If I don't see him for a few weeks, he'll have like 10 or so new songs that he'll show me, and he'll always be like "what do you think of this one?" Most of the time it'll be an entire song, verse, chorus, bridge, lyrics, everything. Every now and again he'll have a really rough idea, where it's just a chorus or something but it's rare. That was the case with DSH. He had the opening guitar part demo'd out in like garageband or something. I LOVED it. I urged him for like a year to finish the song, but when you're used to writing songs from open to close I imagine its tough to come back to an old idea and finish it. At this time I was touring with the guys as their guitar tech. He was playing that part one day during sound check I think, and I was like, "dude, you HAVE to finish that song, that part is so great!" That night after we were loaded out of the club and things were settled, we grabbed some acoustic guitars and sat on the bus and wrote. I should add that a guy like Jon doesn't need a co-writer, but while we were sitting there, I came up with an idea that fit, and I think connected the opening guitar part with the verse. Jon took it from there. Lyrically I was very uninvolved.
LOBH: What was it like, writing with Jon?
Todd: When we were in Junior High, we had a band that mainly just did Led Zeppelin songs, but we wrote a few of our own too. So for me it was just a fun experience sitting with Jon again, with acoustic guitars. It felt really pure, like when we were kids. Of course, he has become such an amazing writer, so it was an honor, but it really was just fun, to bounce stuff back and forth. I think we'll do it again some day, but you know with all of the stuff he writes, who knows if anyone will ever hear it. It may be absorbed into the giant sponge that is his catalogue.
LOBH: How is the CD version of DSH lyrically or musically different from the one you had both originally written?
Todd: When I left the process, Jon finished the song immediately, and from there it changed very little. The backbone and structure are pretty close, but there's little production things added, like the voices and the talking part towards the end.
LOBH: What does the song mean to you? Lyrically and musically?
Todd: The lyrics "the dirty second hands" were always a part of the initial riff. I loved it from the start. It just has this weird and heavy vibe to it, but to me it always felt like it was about greed.
LOBH: Since you've stopped touring with Switchfoot, you've been pursuing a music career of your own right? What are your current music projects?
Todd: I left the Switchfoot touring world about 2 years ago to pursue music on my own. I watched them doing it every night and thought 'I gotta try this for myself.' I played with a couple of different bands initially, a country band called Hank Floyd, who I still LOVE. There were some great songs there. Then I was in a band with my friend Ethan Luck called My Red Hot Nightmare, which still exists, but Ethan took it with him to Nashville, and it rules. For the last year or so I've been focusing on my new band Avner, which I love. Most of the writing is actually done by my singer Josh Auer, but lately, I've been able to jump in the process a bit. We just released an EP that is available for free on myspace. I grew up on Jimmy Eat World and the Foo Fighters, and that's kind of what this stuff reminds me of. You can check it out at www.myspace.com/avnermusic. It's really a blast to get to play music and perform the songs that you love.
LOBH: What is your favorite song that you have written?
Todd: A few years ago I wrote this song called "Prying Open Skies". It was on an EP that I made like 50 of. I've never done much with it, because I was too busy when I was out with Switchfoot on tour, and when I got back I was playing with other bands. Unfortunately it just hasn't really fit with any of the bands I'm in now. It's more in the vein of radiohead, or something like that.
LOBH: I hope we will hear it someday! What made you decide to become a musician?
Todd: This is funny but when I was a kid, I had this babysitter once who gave me a tape with the song "Hurt So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp on it. That song just OWNED me. I listened to it nonstop. I was probably only like 6, but I knew I loved rock music, and I knew I had to play it some day. My dad is a really classically trained musician, almost became an opera singer, but he finally gave into the guitar when I was 12. Before that I just had to practice on tennis rackets.
LOBH: Ha ha and somehow that's just not the same...not sure why. What's something you want to achieve as a musician?
Todd: Lots of people really love the studio, but I really love the live setting. My dream has always been to tour and play music to different crowds all over. I love the immediate community that exists, the way that all of these strangers are on the same page for a while. I don't know if that's an achievement, but for me if I'm playing I feel like I'm doing what I set out to do. Hopefully before too long Avner will be out on tour. For now however, we're playing a lot in southern California, which is grand.
LOBH: If anyone reading this lives in the Southern California area, try to check out a few Avner shows! So what 3 CD's are getting the most playing time in your ipod?
Todd: Gosh, lately I've been really into Hank Williams, the original. Another band I love right now is Of Montreal. That stuff is so bizarre, but I'm a sucker for being confused on a first listen. Lastly, I think I've been wearing out the Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins record. I can't stop listening to it.
LOBH: Okay in closing we have what we call, The LOBH Three:
1. What's the best advice you’ve ever been given/heard?
Todd: Don't hit your finger with a hammer, it hurts really bad.
LOBH: What's one question youve never been asked and the answer?
Todd: Q: Why are you so good looking?
A: I'm not
LOBH: What's one song you wish you had written?
Todd: I wish I wrote Happy Birthday To You. Jon and I were talking about this the other night. The person who wrote this really pulled one over on us, because its honestly kind of a dirge (pointed out by Jon). It kind of ends on a downward progression, but then you clap and cheer, so you get got every time you sing it.
LOBH: Hmmm... I wonder who DID write that song? Well I'd better let you go so I can go google that. Thanks for your time!
Todd: Thanks so much for the interview. It was a blast sharing these things.
P.S. No one knows who wrote Happy Birthday To You.
The melody was penned by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill. The lyrics were different originally – instead of 'Happy Birthday to you' it was 'Good morning to all' – the sisters, who were both teachers, used the song as a classroom greeting. The song was published in a songbook in 1924, and somehow morphed into 'Happy Birthday To You'. The song quickly became the most well known song in the world – and still no one knows who wrote the lyrics.
Want to listen to Todd's music? Check out Avner's myspace here!: Avner Music
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