cary cooper
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cary cooper

Asheville, NC | Established. Jan 01, 2002 | SELF

Asheville, NC | SELF
Established on Jan, 2002
Solo Folk Singer/Songwriter

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Letter from DJ Mary Post"

Subj: CARY - Got the CD at WVUD and it is BODACIOUS!!

Hi Cary-
It's like this - I've got a stack of cd's to review for the station and how the hell am I suppose to do that when I can't take your CD out of my Cd player??? It's impossible - you have made it impossible to do my job.
Thank you for Yellow - for the music, the lyrics, the messages beyond the lyrics, what I extrapolate from the songs and the groove.
Please consider doing an interview with me on WVUD sometime - live, telephone, taped in the studio for the show, with Tom, whenever in the next year - I'm in Newark, DE on I-95 - the drug corridor!!
Thank you for making my job a bitch!!
Truly,
Mary Post
WVUD-FM
Perkins Student Center
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716 - WVUD


"Letter from DJ Mary Post"

Subj: CARY - Got the CD at WVUD and it is BODACIOUS!!

Hi Cary-
It's like this - I've got a stack of cd's to review for the station and how the hell am I suppose to do that when I can't take your CD out of my Cd player??? It's impossible - you have made it impossible to do my job.
Thank you for Yellow - for the music, the lyrics, the messages beyond the lyrics, what I extrapolate from the songs and the groove.
Please consider doing an interview with me on WVUD sometime - live, telephone, taped in the studio for the show, with Tom, whenever in the next year - I'm in Newark, DE on I-95 - the drug corridor!!
Thank you for making my job a bitch!!
Truly,
Mary Post
WVUD-FM
Perkins Student Center
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716 - WVUD


"Texas Music Magazine reviews Dirty Little Secret"

True to its title, Cary Cooper’s Dirty Little Secret plays like a night of bedside confessions — some fun and flirty, others hinting at perhaps even deeper secrets best left hidden. But even when revealing her guilty pleasure of sharing questionably platonic phone calls on the sly with a man who’s not her significant other, Cooper’s delivery is softened with a reassuring sweetness that makes you want to hear more. Although both Cooper and her producer husband, Tom Prasada-Rao, are Kerrville New Folk winners, there’s nothing remotely folky about Dirty Little Secret; it’s light, airy adult-contemporary pop reminiscent of Lisa Loeb or Abra Moore. But apart from the giddy “Every Thing is Coming True,” the record is often subtle to a fault, full of quiet little melodies that discreetly tap you on the shoulder rather than overtly hook you. But as the hushed beauty of “Edge of the World” makes clear from the start, Cooper and her little secrets are worth your attention.
-Richard Skanse
- Texas Music Magazine


"Texas Music Magazine reviews Dirty Little Secret"

True to its title, Cary Cooper’s Dirty Little Secret plays like a night of bedside confessions — some fun and flirty, others hinting at perhaps even deeper secrets best left hidden. But even when revealing her guilty pleasure of sharing questionably platonic phone calls on the sly with a man who’s not her significant other, Cooper’s delivery is softened with a reassuring sweetness that makes you want to hear more. Although both Cooper and her producer husband, Tom Prasada-Rao, are Kerrville New Folk winners, there’s nothing remotely folky about Dirty Little Secret; it’s light, airy adult-contemporary pop reminiscent of Lisa Loeb or Abra Moore. But apart from the giddy “Every Thing is Coming True,” the record is often subtle to a fault, full of quiet little melodies that discreetly tap you on the shoulder rather than overtly hook you. But as the hushed beauty of “Edge of the World” makes clear from the start, Cooper and her little secrets are worth your attention.
-Richard Skanse
- Texas Music Magazine


"Mary Gauthier Quote"

"Cary Cooper's new CD, Dirty Little Secret, has captured me. It is so very well written, well sung and well recorded that I've found myself listening over and over again for the sheer pleasure of it, and the songs now sit in my heart like old friends. Her song stories are tales of a woman's hard earned wisdom as she embarks on that lonely spiritual journey that leads her to her self. Cary's voice is disarming and seductive, beautiful and inviting, but beware, these tales are not all easy to swallow. The road is rocky and the lessons come hard. But what an honest ride she takes us on! This is a wonderful record, and I hope that people will discover it and fall in love with it like I have."
Mary Gauthier - Mary Gauthier Quote


"Mary Gauthier Quote"

"Cary Cooper's new CD, Dirty Little Secret, has captured me. It is so very well written, well sung and well recorded that I've found myself listening over and over again for the sheer pleasure of it, and the songs now sit in my heart like old friends. Her song stories are tales of a woman's hard earned wisdom as she embarks on that lonely spiritual journey that leads her to her self. Cary's voice is disarming and seductive, beautiful and inviting, but beware, these tales are not all easy to swallow. The road is rocky and the lessons come hard. But what an honest ride she takes us on! This is a wonderful record, and I hope that people will discover it and fall in love with it like I have."
Mary Gauthier - Mary Gauthier Quote


"Performing Songwriter reviews Dirty Little Secret"

Cary Cooper has one of those voices—the kind you long for at the end of a hard day. She starts singing and you just sit back, close your eyes and breathe a little deeper.

The Dallas-based singer-songwriter has delivered a masterpiece in the form of her latest record, Dirty Little Secret. The gentle, mostly acoustic arrangements weave effortlessly around the intimate poetry of Cooper’s lyrics. “My dirty little secret spilled out on the kitchen floor as you pour your second cup of tea / And I can’t clean it up the way I always did before, on the sly so no one else could see,” she confesses on the title track.

Cooper gets help on Secret from producer Tom Prasada-Rao and fellow musicians Tim Burlingame (Sweet Talk Radio), Jonathan Byrd and Mary Gauthier. But even with such indie star power, it’s Cooper who shines brightest. One thing’s for sure—if she keeps making music like this she won’t remain a secret for long. —MW - Performing Songwriter Magazine


"Performing Songwriter reviews Dirty Little Secret"

Cary Cooper has one of those voices—the kind you long for at the end of a hard day. She starts singing and you just sit back, close your eyes and breathe a little deeper.

The Dallas-based singer-songwriter has delivered a masterpiece in the form of her latest record, Dirty Little Secret. The gentle, mostly acoustic arrangements weave effortlessly around the intimate poetry of Cooper’s lyrics. “My dirty little secret spilled out on the kitchen floor as you pour your second cup of tea / And I can’t clean it up the way I always did before, on the sly so no one else could see,” she confesses on the title track.

Cooper gets help on Secret from producer Tom Prasada-Rao and fellow musicians Tim Burlingame (Sweet Talk Radio), Jonathan Byrd and Mary Gauthier. But even with such indie star power, it’s Cooper who shines brightest. One thing’s for sure—if she keeps making music like this she won’t remain a secret for long. —MW - Performing Songwriter Magazine


"AltCountry Forum reviews Dirty Little Secret"

While outside the clouds are gathering and it appears that the city can prepare for more rain, inside the sun is shining. The cause of this delight is ‘Dirty Little Secret’, the third solo album of Texas singer-songwriter Cary Cooper, who along with husband / musician / producer Tom Prasada-Rao also recorded two albums as The Dreamsicles. Honesty compels me to say that until recently Cary Cooper was a noble stranger to me and that I learned about her music during one of my musical excursions on the Internet. But the reception was more than pleasant.

‘Dirty Litlle Secret’ contains some of the most intimate songs I’ve heard this year. The liner notes on the CD are significant to this regard: ‘I’ve always been afraid of he truth. This collection of songs is my coming out party. ‘ And what a wonderful party this CD is!

The opening ballad ‘Edge Of The World’ offers a more than a decent impression of what the following eleven songs will bring. A beautiful melody, a soft, somewhat sultry voice, sometimes reminiscent of Sheryl Crow and Shawn Colvin, lyrics that have nothing to hide, and a bunch of musicians who pour their hearts out into each song (just listen to the simple but very expressive cello of Dirje Smith).

Songs like ‘Have Faith In Me’, ‘For The God Whose Name I Used To Know ‘(great lyrics!) and ‘Consider Me ‘(a short piano ballad about doubt and the difficult road to building and maintaining self-confidence) show Cary Cooper from her most sensitive and truthful side. What makes these songs, and essentially the whole album, this strong is that the intimacy never gets over the top or becomes pathetic. That’s a trap many other artists are not always able to avoid. Partly thanks to the excellent production of Tom Prasada-Rao, who chose a nice open and bright sound, Cary Cooper succeeds in avoiding this trap. And that is no small merit.

Some listeners / readers might say ‘Dirty Little Secret’ is slightly too soft or too soft-hearted. As there are people who don’t like Impressionist painters or the poetry of the Roman poet Ovid. So be it. It won’t keep me from frequently gazing at these paintings, reading those poems and enjoying this great album. - Martin Overheul - Alt Country Forum


"AltCountry Forum reviews Dirty Little Secret"

While outside the clouds are gathering and it appears that the city can prepare for more rain, inside the sun is shining. The cause of this delight is ‘Dirty Little Secret’, the third solo album of Texas singer-songwriter Cary Cooper, who along with husband / musician / producer Tom Prasada-Rao also recorded two albums as The Dreamsicles. Honesty compels me to say that until recently Cary Cooper was a noble stranger to me and that I learned about her music during one of my musical excursions on the Internet. But the reception was more than pleasant.

‘Dirty Litlle Secret’ contains some of the most intimate songs I’ve heard this year. The liner notes on the CD are significant to this regard: ‘I’ve always been afraid of he truth. This collection of songs is my coming out party. ‘ And what a wonderful party this CD is!

The opening ballad ‘Edge Of The World’ offers a more than a decent impression of what the following eleven songs will bring. A beautiful melody, a soft, somewhat sultry voice, sometimes reminiscent of Sheryl Crow and Shawn Colvin, lyrics that have nothing to hide, and a bunch of musicians who pour their hearts out into each song (just listen to the simple but very expressive cello of Dirje Smith).

Songs like ‘Have Faith In Me’, ‘For The God Whose Name I Used To Know ‘(great lyrics!) and ‘Consider Me ‘(a short piano ballad about doubt and the difficult road to building and maintaining self-confidence) show Cary Cooper from her most sensitive and truthful side. What makes these songs, and essentially the whole album, this strong is that the intimacy never gets over the top or becomes pathetic. That’s a trap many other artists are not always able to avoid. Partly thanks to the excellent production of Tom Prasada-Rao, who chose a nice open and bright sound, Cary Cooper succeeds in avoiding this trap. And that is no small merit.

Some listeners / readers might say ‘Dirty Little Secret’ is slightly too soft or too soft-hearted. As there are people who don’t like Impressionist painters or the poetry of the Roman poet Ovid. So be it. It won’t keep me from frequently gazing at these paintings, reading those poems and enjoying this great album. - Martin Overheul - Alt Country Forum


"Buddy Magazine reviews Dirty Little Secret"

Cary Cooper’s Dirty Little Secret is filled with thoughtful emotional dances about the secrets we keep from others and ourselves, and the freedom in letting them out. Her almost-little-girl whisper of a voice wraps itself around simple-but-not-too-simple lyrics and music that sometimes reaches toward layers of lushness.

The dozen songs are basically smooth alt-pop, whatever that means; they’re mostly originals that Cooper wrote or co-wrote.

To break Dirty Little Secrets into the two traditional genders and to flirt with the stereotypes, Cooper expresses a strong female viewpoint in the songs, which may mean that women will empathize the most while men need to hear it the most. Maybe these are messages for her two daughters; maybe these are just songs about what was on her mind, maybe . . .

She sings of falling off the “Edge of the World” again, hoping for somebody to catch her or join her in the atmosphere. She sings of self-worth and insecurity, and of wanting to face the future rather than her fears. She sings of no longer being shackled to her shame, and of wondering whether happiness will last.

Cooper doesn’t make it sound depressing, though; the CD borders on seductive without crossing any lines.

Tom Prasado-Rao plays a bunch of guitars and keyboards and strings, accompanied by several folks on various other songs. - Tom Geddie - Buddy Magazine


"Buddy Magazine reviews Dirty Little Secret"

Cary Cooper’s Dirty Little Secret is filled with thoughtful emotional dances about the secrets we keep from others and ourselves, and the freedom in letting them out. Her almost-little-girl whisper of a voice wraps itself around simple-but-not-too-simple lyrics and music that sometimes reaches toward layers of lushness.

The dozen songs are basically smooth alt-pop, whatever that means; they’re mostly originals that Cooper wrote or co-wrote.

To break Dirty Little Secrets into the two traditional genders and to flirt with the stereotypes, Cooper expresses a strong female viewpoint in the songs, which may mean that women will empathize the most while men need to hear it the most. Maybe these are messages for her two daughters; maybe these are just songs about what was on her mind, maybe . . .

She sings of falling off the “Edge of the World” again, hoping for somebody to catch her or join her in the atmosphere. She sings of self-worth and insecurity, and of wanting to face the future rather than her fears. She sings of no longer being shackled to her shame, and of wondering whether happiness will last.

Cooper doesn’t make it sound depressing, though; the CD borders on seductive without crossing any lines.

Tom Prasado-Rao plays a bunch of guitars and keyboards and strings, accompanied by several folks on various other songs. - Tom Geddie - Buddy Magazine


Discography

Zuzu's Petals 2013 (Cary Cooper)
Pink Umbrella 2011 (Cary Cooper)
Dirty Little Secret 2009 (Cary Cooper)
Yellow 2005 (Cary Cooper)
Luv Songs for Grown Ups 2005 (The Dreamsicles)
The Dreamsicles 2003 (The Dreamsicles)
Gypsy Train 2002 (Cary Cooper)

Photos

Bio

Cary is a captivating performer, and award winning songwriter.  In 2014, she left her native state of Texas for the mountains of Western North Carolina; and the influence of her adopted Appalachian roots can be heard in the songs of her latest recording, "Case Of The Hopefuls" released in November, 2017.  Cary’s songs are simple, and quirky in nature, drawing you in with pop melodies and then hitting you over the head with lyrics that are deceptively deep.  Guitars in the Classroom calls Cary “the Anne LaMott of songwriting…except she can get to the heart of things in 3 minutes instead of 200 pages.”  

She is also a dynamic teacher.  Since moving to Asheville, Cary has been the full time music teacher at The Franklin School of Innovation teaching chorus, the history of rock and roll and the art of songwriting to students from 5th grade through 12th.  Cary spends her summers teaching songwriting to cream of the crop high school students at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.  Dick Siegel, Interlochen Program Director calls Cary "an outstanding educator.  An accomplished songwriter and performer herself, Cary engages students with intelligence, warmth and humor quickly winning their affection and respect. " 

In early 2011, Cary was spotted by the producers of Troubadour, TX, a new TV docu/drama series that debuted nationwide in September, 2011 on the CW network.  Along with several other Texas songwriters, Cary was cast on the first season of the show.  

September 2012 saw Cary launch a Youtube channel called RealWomenReal Songs featuring herself and 13 of her favorite women writers who are committed to writing a song a week from a common prompt for an entire year.  The collaborative features writers such as Amy Speace, Abbie Gardner (Red Moly), Raina Rose, Mira Stanley (The Sea The Sea) Nicolette Good and Carolann Solebello. This group (Season 2) now has 21 songwriters featuring Terri Hendrix, Tracy Grammer, Sara Hickman, Alice Peacock and Ellis among others.  You can see their videos on Youtube and Facebook. 

"I love great musical surprises, and Troubadour,TX has allowed me to discover some really significant singer-songwriter surprises.  And one of those is Cary Cooper.  From the moment I met her, she was singing an original composition that was one of the most delightful surprises in my own personal journey of making music...The song was "Suzanne", and from that song on, Cary has continued to impress me not only with her original and unique lyrics, but with her enchanting, one-of-a-kind musical compositions that absolutely catch you by surprise, and then never leave you alone.  A very special singer-songwriter with her best songs yet to come."

 Michael Blanton, President of Be Music and Entertainment, Nashville

(Launched the careers of Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith)

Band Members