Rig Rundown - Mt. Joy's Sam Cooper

Starting all the way back in high school near Philadelphia, the friendship between Mt. Joy guitarist Sam Cooper and singer/guitarist Matt Quinn was established over writing and performing music. (The band is named after the Valley Forge lookout point used during the American Revolutionary War.) Their separate collegiate paths (shaping them both into lawyers) took them apart. However, remote collaborations kept the music flowing and fastened the bond.
Between lectures Quinn was penning lyrics and playing solo gigs, while Cooper was woodshedding scales and sharpening his voice on guitar. Normal 9-5 jobs and civilian life seemed to be their destiny. Then Sam moved to L.A. (reuniting him with Matt) detouring the dull life. Not knowing anyone in the city, he turned to his musical brother and the duo (alongside future bandmate/bassist Michael Byrnes) worked out a collection of ideas that would be self-released under the Mt. Joy name.
Unknowing to them, bluesy-folk anthem “Astrovan” was touted and shared on several 2016 playlists that skyrocketed Spotify fans in just a few months. In total, they dished out four self-released songs ("Sheep," "Cardinal," and the windows-down, road-trip favorite "Silver Lining"-landing them a No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart and over 100 million plays). The decision to chase music was made and the briefcases were closed.
The trio added Sotiris Eliopoulos (drums) and Jackie Miclau (keyboards) and fleshed out nine more songs to round out their eponymous 2018 debut. After burning through the American festival circuit, opening a U.S. tour for The Head and the Heart, and headlining a club run, the indie poppers headed north to Portland to record with producer Tucker Martine. Their sophomore album Rearrange Us refined their catchy, hypnotic vibes with psych garnishes and was just introduced in June 2020.
On the heels of a fresh collection of jams, Cooper virtually welcomes PG’s Chris Kies into his home for an enlightening conversation that covers quick transformation from lawyer to rocker when “Astrovan” blew up (and all the woodshedding that preceded it), explains how onstage anxiety that provoked him to rewire his ’69 Jag, and details his use of reverse delays and oversimplification of the powerful H9.
[Facing a mandatory shelter-in ordinance to limit the spread of COVID-19, PG enacted a hybrid approach to filming and producing Rig Rundowns. This is the ninth video in that format, and we stand behind the final product.]
00:00 - Intro
04:40 - Guitars
12:49 - Amps
16:00 - Pedals
Watch the Episode: bit.ly/MtJoyRR
Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL
Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGKZbin
#mtjoy #rigrundown #premierguitar

[@premierguitar]

Check Out His Gear: bit.ly/MtJoyRR Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGKZbin

[@aidangilbert5353]

This is my favorite video. His setup and guitar tone is my dream

[@MrRandyrugar19]

The soul food is so underrated I got one for $46 on reverb a flashback mini is $60 used and unbelievably versatile I use a fender hot rod deville I paid $350 for and an ep boost I also have an Ibanez ts9. The H9 is where you start to spend some coin but its definitely doable to get close! He basically has my dream set up too lol

[@MrRandyrugar19]

A clean fender amp with the soul food and ep boost is an unbelievable sound, I also use a ts9 and flashback mini for slap back. Great rundown as always Chris!

[@juliannavarrete3701]

awesome video learning about this guitarist and style

[@vintagepipesnightmares]

Use the 9.6volt adapter that comes with the soul food. And set the buffer on from the switch inside. The 9.6 volt makes a difference. It is much cheaper then Tumnus or Archer but is a better pedal also.

[@shredabong]

Great tone in the songs, super jealous of the jaguar

[@RijalFahmiMohamadi]

baru nonton nih, bagus, saya suka nontonnya :) :D :)

[@evangelionl0vr857]

That girl who busted his balls for not being a Lawyer will be kicking herself in a few years cause these guys are about to EXPLODE.

[@Meltedcheese567]

"Uh...um...um...um...uh..." Dude cant say a sentence without two or three "ums."

[@ooinvsaoo]

who edited this!? how many times do we have to cut to Chris sweating his head off in the middle of Sam saying something just to see Chris either nod in agreement or not do anything at ALL

[@premierguitar]

We do this over Zoom and their software automatically switches between the two speakers ... out of our control.

[@ooinvsaoo]

@@premierguitar lousy technology..

[@BryceRogers_]

I thought it was completely fine. This person just wanted to complain.

[@vintagepipesnightmares]

Jaguar not Jaguier. I own a Tumnus a Soul food and an Archer by J.Rocket. The one that I use the most is the Soul Food. It does something special. The others don’t.

[@MrRandyrugar19]

Couldn't agree more. I have at least 10 Klones and the Soul Food has that extra mojo..