The Winnie Coopers – Revenge of the Nerds
Remember those students at school who sat down the front, finished their homework and joined the school council? Taunted. Rejected. Disillusioned. They now seek revenge in the form of the Gold Coast hip hop crew The Winnie Coopers. The project started in 2002 with founding member and vocalist The Educator and various collaborating friends. Since then, The Winnie Coopers has evolved into the current five piece line up comprised of (left to right above) Big Bad (turntables and percussion), Young Tubs (bass and vocals), The Educator, Eloquence (vocals and guitar) and Fingers Malone (drums).

Their first album “Being Different” (SK Records/MRA Distribution) released in June 2005, has been described as “…one of a kind, these tracks will have you laughing yet seriously thinking in no time…a really good listen for someone who is after something completely out of the ordinary” (Chanel Bortolo, mediasearch.com.au). To satisfy their growing fan base, tagged “The Geek Squad”, the Coopers released a limited edition 12” vinyl entitled “Still Different” (Butterbeats Records) to the delight of DJ’s everywhere.

Even in their short history, The Winnie Coopers have some prize scalps to their name. This includes winning the inaugural Musicoz hip hop award for the song “Success”. These dweebs also won Triple J’s Hip Hop Show’s competition to support U.S. crew Ugly Duckling for their two sold out shows at The Revolver in Melbourne, October 2005. This in turn led to the track “Success” being placed on high rotation on Triple J and other national stations. Their hilarious film clips for “Success” and “Geek Manifesto” have also received frequent broadcasts on Rage and Channel V.

The band has been touring and performing relentlessly up and down the east coast of Australia including a famous set at the Gold Coast Big Day Out, packing the Hot House stage with over 5,000 punters. The Winnie Coopers have shared the stage with the likes of Resin Dogs, Xavier Rudd, TZU, Bliss ‘n’ Eso, Regurgitator, Butterfingers, Koolism, Good Buddha and international supports for De La Soul and Ugly Duckling. In August 2006, the crew was invited to record a live set for JTV and Triple J’s Home and Hosed program at the ABC studios in Sydney as part of their extensive “Being Different Tour.”

Combining laidback and party tunes with lyrics all nerds can relate to, The Winnie Coopers guarantee to rock the party out. One can only hope their peers will stop teasing them soon. Learn why they are considered, “…probably the best hip hop band in Australia at the moment” (Monster Zero, Scene Magazine, January 2006).