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Being kin to the late great Spade Cooley, king of country & western swing music from the 1930s era, it seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree. But for protégé Chuk Cooley, nothing has come easy. After leaving home in Odessa , TX at the age of fifteen, crossing the country on a battered old motorcycle, living on the streets and sleeping under bridges... After surviving numerous addictions and two life-threatening drug overdoses... After serving hard time with both the Texas and Oklahoma D.O.C... Most would have given up by now! But eight years in prison actually gave Chuk Cooley a sense of awareness, the time to truly find himself, and an education in the craft of writing meaningful songs.
Music is all Chuk Cooley has left in this world. Besides his five beautiful children (all of whom sing and play music), he has found that songwriting provides freedom from the pain of his life. FREEDOM to just let go and be himself. Like many, he has had a wretched battle against the demons of addiction -- the needle and the spoon. And like many he has lost much... two families, and several career opportunities. But whenever his faith in life began to waver, always the gift of music was there in front of him. During those darkest days, always there was an acoustic guitar just waiting to be picked up.
Chuk grew up watching his father Dallas Cooley write and play songs, and once behind bars he finally learned to play the guitar himself. Having been out of prison for 15 years, with several attempted bands behind him, he has tried time and time again to make it. But Chuk now gives ALL with his own words and his own songs - one final shot at his lifelong dream. His goal is to truly live life, and to right his wrongs by sharing his story and writing music that inspires and touches people's souls.
Chuk Cooley has toured and recorded all over the United States with the bands Berserkr, Two Doors Down, and Hellablack. Since going "solo" he has released two EPs titled "Takin' Down Demons" and "Addicted to Self Destruction". Just recently he has added a backing band and released a demo called "Chuk Cooley & the Demon Hammers (Volume I )". Chuk and his Hammers are now on a mission to share his life-changing experience of redemption with the whole world - using a story-teller's theme that is set to a backdrop of heavy southern acoustic rock.
CHUK COOLEY AND THE DEMON HAMMERS BIO:
Chuk Cooley was a bluesy, southern, tattooed rocker trying to share his life story through songs - a story of courage and change that he called "heart and soul anthems from the streets of hell". After many years of being in and out of bands, Chuk finally went solo... with words and music he had written over 20 years of hard life. With just an acoustic guitar and his voice, Chuk started opening for heavy metal acts such as Jackyl, Soldiers Of Scrape, Blood of the Sun, Rhino Bucket, and others. But something was missing.
On a dark, rainy October day in Tulsa , Chuk met a bass-player named Sondra Davis and they immediately hit it off and started jamming. A short time later Chuk asked lifelong friend and heavy rock guitarist Tony Loretti to learn a few of the songs for a recording. Chuk and Tony had previously been bandmates in the groundbreaking metal group Berserkr. These additions started to really fill out the sound of Chuk's songs, and he then recruited drummer Joey Shadday, who was also a veteran of the heavy music scene. When the four musicians first played together as a unit, the chemistry was immediate and undeniable. After just a few jam sessions it was clear that something very special was happening. With just two acoustic guitars, an acoustic bass, some flute, and a five-piece trap kit, Chuk's songs came to LIFE. Thus Chuk Cooley and the Demon Hammers were born.
The band had their first live appearance at the historic Cain's Ballroom during the 2007 Freaker's Ball, where they received a very enthusiastic audience response and a write-up in the Tulsa World newspaper. Since then they have stayed very busy, working up new material and playing shows around the region to larger and larger crowds. Their unique style -- all acoustic but very heavy southern rock, with a deep and serious lyrical theme -- never fails to get the attention of anyone who sees them live. The band has also been in the studio where they recorded a demo titled "Chuk Cooley & the Demon Hammers (Volume 1)". A song from the demo was used in the independent film "Jesus Fish", and has generated great reviews among the local music scene. The goal of the band is nothing less than international success -- to bring Chuk's personal story of redemption to life with a backdrop of unique and melodic acoustic rock.