The Winnie Coopers play Uber Saturday 5 May 2007.
It’s an exciting time for Gold Coast hip-hop outfit The Winnie Coopers. Riding high on the successes of the past, like winning the Triple J Ugly Duckling competition, they’re on the verge of releasing their new full-length album, slated for July. Perhaps 2007 is set to be an annus mirabilis for the Coopers – entirely appropriately, a Wonder Year.
The swotty hottie played by Danica McKellar in the 80s US dramedy may have given rise to the band’s name, but vocalist The Educator (Charlie Thomson to his mum) says that he reckons Danica is still blissfully unaware of The Winnie Coopers’ existence.
“We should probably approach her or her people and just thank her for making a lot of young boys very happy growing up,” he says. “I know she’s actually done some photoshoots recently for various men’s magazines, so I haven’t approached her – but maybe we could get her on board to help promote the band.
“The album’s called Worth the Weight, and we’ve got a pretty strong food theme running through it, so we’re gonna have the album art as a pizza box, but maybe we could fit her face on there somewhere. I think people would buy the album and just throw the CD away!”
Perhaps The Educator’s too modest. Queensland’s finest geek-hoppers are well used to rocking live shows (sometimes on school nights – cheeky!) and have a solid fan-base, culled from the Coke-bottle specs brigade and the hippest of the hip alike. However, the band haven’t let success go to their heads. The Educator still has a day job as… well… an educator.
“I don’t think there’s anything rockstar about taking assignments on tour to mark,” he laughs. “I think that keeps me pretty grounded. We’ve all still got day jobs. Unfortunately a lot of my students have to deal with me being pretty seedy and angry the morning after. But when you do something you’re passionate about you make time.
“A lot of younger students aren’t into Aussie hip-hop because it’s not in the Top 40 or Video Hits, so it’s taken a while for them to develop an appreciation for it. Most of them give me a bit of a hard time about the band, but in an English classroom, especially, it’s good to incorporate that poetic element of hip-hop into the classroom. I have been known to have a few MC battles with students in class as a method of behaviour management.”
The Coopers’ new single Eating Disorder features Dizzy Dustin from American crew Ugly Duckling, whom the band have built up a friendship with over the last couple of years. The Educator has a theory about their success.
“Guys like Ugly Duckling, I think they’ve done so well in Australia because they share our mentality to take the piss out of themselves,” he says. “Often, hip-hop is a genre with big egos and we want to challenge that. I think Hilltop Hoods are one of the best groups when it comes to writing a punchline that’s got double meaning and really makes you think, and even though they’re seen as having an aggressive approach at times, that underlying Australian humour is evident in all they do.
“We’re the biggest island in the world, so there’s definitely going to be a bit of a relaxed, laid-back island vibe in our music!”
Single Eating Disorder out now on Starving Kids.
