Tulsa band Chuk Cooley and the Demon Hammers: learning to be strong

Chuk Cooley and the Demon Hammers is a four-piece band from Tulsa. Chuk, kin to the late, great country and western swing artist Spade Cooley, answered questions about the band's music, who he would like to play with, and what he would be doing if he weren't making music.

Complete the sentence. Chuk Cooley and The Demon Hammers is...

Chuk Cooley (Acoustic guitar,vocals and primary songwriter/storyteller), Tony Loretti (lead Acoustic guitar), Sondra C. (Acoustic bass,flute,backing vocals), Jester (drums & percussion). We are a band of 4 and put together songs about real life and growing up, climbing life's mountains, learning about love, trust, and learning to overcome addictions of all kinds, learning to be strong.

What is essential to every Demon Hammers song?

A message about life and hope, self-belief, and learning to better yourself and they are all wrtten and played with acoustic instruments. Each song has to truly take its listener somwhere in the head. To me that's what writing songs is all about...takin the listener to a place that you have been.

You can put together a bill with three other bands. Who do you share the bill with?

Well I'm always billing our band with bands I like personally and musically, but I would love to do a show with the Black Crowes, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society, and with Daxx Riggs formerly of Acid Bath. The show would have to be an all-acoustic show though. I absolutely love what they do and how they sing & play with the acoustic guitar.

If you could write and perform a song with one artist, who would you choose? Why?

I would probably choose Zakk Wylde we write alot in the same tone and feeling and though we both have walked totally different paths in life we still have an underlying message about Life and Hope and being a soldier in life.

What would you be doing if you weren't making music?

Well to be really honest I'd be dead or back in prison or a walking zombie /needle junkie still.Music gives me a life and is my therapy and reason for being truly alive. I mean I would love to believe that I'd be a good man but music is how I found away from being a bad man and from a bad life! This is me being as real and honest as I can be. Those things are what I was before I dedicated my life to the music and its dream and way of life.