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.
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.
He’s played Strats, Les Pauls, and even other Jags, but this 1969 Fender Jaguar is Sam Cooper’s most-trusted companion being featured on all the band’s recordings. He scored the worn-and-torn 6-string over 10 years ago when he went to Rivington Guitars and traded in his triple-humbucker Gibson Les Paul plus some cash. He’s never jived with Jag’s bridge pickup (too trebly and not enough bite), so rather than take out the original single-coils, he hardwired passed all the extra circuitry so just the neck pickup is on and only the volume and tone controls work on the instrument. Aside from the lackluster bridge tone, he found removing the guesswork and any accidental switches/changes he may do onstage helped with his onstage anxiety and be more in the moment when adjusting to performing for larger crowds. Most of the band’s material (when it comes to Sam’s parts) are in standard tuning, although their second album Rearrange Us features some drop-D songs. For strings he goes with Ernie Ball Slinky .011s and strums with Ernie Ball Heavy Nylon picks.
Once a proud Princeton user, stage volume requirements and added headroom directed Cooper to upgrade to the louder, beefier Fender ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb.
Aside from the Shure GLXD16 Wireless unit and passive Boss TU-3S Chromatic Tuner, Sam’s stomp station centers around the always-on Electro-Harmonix Soul Food. For any solos or stand-out riff moments, he’ll kick on the Xotic EP Booster and/or the Ibanez TS-9. Things start getting weird when he incorporates the reverse setting on his Boss DD-7 Digital Delay, shimmery reverbs in the Strymon BigSky, or the chop trem from the Eventide H9. Auxiliary funkiness gets introduced with the EHX Q-Tron and Mel9 (he really loves the choir setting). And while not finding much use for it yet, Cooper is still trying to bond with the ZVEX Lo-Fi Junky to cover a warm warble in their newest single “Rearrange Us.”
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Chris Kies has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. He's now the multimedia manager maintaining the website and social media accounts, coordinating Rig Rundown shoots (also hosting and/or filming them) and occasionally writing an artist feature. Other than that, he spends time with his pitbull and enjoys non-guitar-related hobbies. Follow him on Instagram & Twitter.
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