Calico Cooper (singer for Beasto Blanco & actress)

Episode #59 - Calico Cooper, singer of Beasto Blanco & Film/TV actress.  Calico's band Beasto Blanco has appeared on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, Megadeth Cruise, Rocklahoma and toured with Halestorm. As an actress she has appeared in TV shows such as Hawaii Five-O and the Mindy Project as well as indie films like "Suck" and "Welcome to Hell." 

0:00:00 - Intro
0:01:13 - Fires in California 
0:03:03 - Musical Background 
0:07:00 - Family Performances At Christmas
0:08:45 - Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger
0:10:45 - Being Bullied In High School 
0:14:05 - Stella Adler Acting School 
0:16:22 - Working As a Waitress
0:18:17 - Ivana Chubbuck & Acting Method 
0:21:50 - Drinking Energy Drinks for the Movie "Rollin" 
0:23:35 - Working on "Henry Danger" on Nickelodeon
0:26:50 - Indie Films Vs Big Studio TV Shows 
0:28:28 - Catering For Rolling Stones - Snake Bite Cafe
0:29:26 - "Suck" Movie 
0:31:50 - "Welcome to Hell" Movie 
0:35:45 - Groundlings & Upright Citizen's Brigade 
0:40:25 - The Character in Beasto Blanco 
0:43:30 - Monsters of Rock Cruise
0:45:39 - Megadeth Cruise 
0:47:40 - Tour with Halestorm 
0:48:39 - Beasto Blanco Fans 
0:49:31 - Entertainment Business & Hard Work 
0:53:10 - Directing Videos 
0:54:48 - Beasto Blanco Movie 
0:57:35 - New Beasto Blanco Album & Co-Writes 
0:59:12 - Rob Zombie & Beasto Blanco Crossover? 
1:00:11 - Johnny Depp & Focusing Attention 
1:03:20 - Speedy's Tacos & Last Chance 
1:05:40 - Ink Against Cancer & Solid Rock 
1:08:04 - Current Musical Influences 
1:11:16 - Upcoming Projects 
1:13:55 - Wrap Up 

Calico Cooper Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/calicocooper/

Beasto Blanco Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/beastoblanco/

Beasto Blanco Website:
https://www.beastoblanco.com

Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Foundation:
https://www.alicecoopersolidrock.com

Ink Against Cancer:
https://www.inkagainstcancer.com

Chuck Shute Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chuck_shute/

Transcript

Chuck Shute : 0:14

Welcome to the show. Calico Cooper is my guest today she is a remarkable woman who's done some really cool stuff in her life, including singing for visco blonko her band. But she's also directed the music videos. And she's an actress with 27 film and TV credits. She's done these big TV shows like Hawaii Five o and the Mindy Project, as well. Some really cool independent movies like Welcome to hell and suck as a vampire movie. And what I really liked about this interview is just how open Calico is with not only the highlights of her career, but also things that she's done, that are not so glamorous and some of the struggles she had along the way. And so I really liked hearing her explain that kind of stuff and the creative processes that she goes through like how she approaches these acting roles. And her role in beast Oh Blanca, which she's a singer, but it's really this character that she's created. Just a lot of fun talking with her and I think you guys will enjoy it too. Welcome to my show Calico Cooper. So exciting.

Calico Cooper : 1:17

Thank you so much live from my closet.

Chuck Shute : 1:19

Yes, you're literally in the closet, huh?

Calico Cooper : 1:21

I know. I know. I'm going backwards in moments that people back but uh, yeah, this is a probably the most chaos controlled room in the house. So I yeah, this is where I'm bunker.

Chuck Shute : 1:34

That's pretty crazy. Well, I hope things get better with the fires and such over there. So

Calico Cooper : 1:39

yeah, thanks so much. I'm Uh, I'm a little dorky kid in the bubble like I have, you know, the asthma inhaler. And the Benadryl because I was like a little allergy kid, a real Phoenix, which is like so good for that for everything. So, out here I go. Oh, what's the worst earthquakes like at least those doesn't cause allergies and Yeah, then everything here caught on fire and you're like, Okay, do I want to go down to the beach? No, that's on fire. Do I want to go? North? No, that's on fire. So you're just like, how are you supposed to shelter in place when your place is on fire?

Chuck Shute : 2:14

Yeah. Do you get like a filter? So an air filter something that can help like a HIPAA filter one of those fans or something? or?

Calico Cooper : 2:20

Yeah, you can do I actually looked it up. Um, you know, the internet is the great equalizer when it comes to who's a doctor and who is it? So, um, you know, where you like, sign on, you're like, Oh, my head kind of hurts. And I have a brain tumor. Right? And I, I'm just, I, I'm not a hypochondriac. And so I'm, it's wasted on me. So I look up like, Hey, is it better to sleep? If there's fires all around you, is it better to sleep with a fan on or not? Most of the responses is, Why are you sleeping where there's fires? Like, I can't help it. Yeah, they're gonna do. Yeah, there's just got to tolerate it. Well

Chuck Shute : 3:00

Hang in there. So yeah, let's just say you said your you had allergies as a kid. Let's talk about your childhood and growing up. It must have been interesting in the entertainment business. But your mom was really she was into classical music and you're exposed to a lot of different varieties like Burt Bacharach, Elvis, Beatles, Guns and Roses, but your mom was in the classical music and um, so did you play music at a young age? Or was that I know you started singing later but did you ever take any piano lessons or anything like that as a kid?

Calico Cooper : 3:27

I did you know what's funny is I had little to no interest in I truly enjoyed watching you know, my dad perform and my mom you know, sing in the in the choir and everything like that everybody in the family has a great voice. Um, but for me, I was just always a little bit of I was the actor, right. And I think in a family where everybody is artistically gifted. I think that the issue is you find a place you think Find an identity. And it's tricky. It's easy in a family where everyone's kind of like, you know, nine to five, this and that, like, you're gonna be the good son or you're gonna be the crazy kid or you're gonna you find like your niche, right? It was weird in my family because everybody was was across the board gifted. So it was like, in that way, like, none of us can do math to save our lives. So don't do that. But like, like, you know, as far as like, here's a piano, and we can play it. Yeah. And like, here's a idea for a stage show, and I can make it happen. So it's, it's, I went through the motions of trying to be interested in music. Like, I love it. I love listening to it, but I loved dancing to it more I loved I loved acting to it more, right. And c'est with musicals when I was a kid because of the marriage of all the moving parts. So, um, you know, it was interesting when the band came along. I was like, Oh, I'm not a singer, I don't think right and it's sort of Chuck, the guy that was in beast along with me just said, Look, you're a really good actor. And he goes, I have a feeling that you can act your way into this. He goes, and before you know it, you're actually going to be good at it. And I was like, Oh, no, maybe. But yeah, just growing up. It was like, there were so many influences that I feel really cool that you can use all together now. So it's like, my mom is a Trina ballerina and listens to classical music, and it moves her so much. So I got that, right. I mean, 40 hours a week at a ballet bar. And then, you know, seeing my dad do his thing up on stage. And then I took the route of like, comedian and acting and all that stuff. So after like 20 years of like, hard training and all those things, I finally kind of mashed it together and made this character for beast. Oh, and I go, yeah, who's to say that I can't be a hard rock singer. That's really good. That can also kick their leg up over their head. They can also do a soliloquy, right? Like why not? Yes, I

Chuck Shute : 6:00

Chuck told you he's like, okay, you're not a singer, but you're an actress. So pretend you're acting the part of a singer. Right?

Calico Cooper : 6:06

Right. And now the biggest compliments I get, you know, I turns out I could sing and I think it's kind of been a weird like, it's been a weird thing to say out loud because nobody wants to go. By the way, I'm like, oh really good. You know, so stupid and ridiculous and pompous. But I think I'm finally believing that I can sing it because of impact reactions from like peers. So to have other singers Go, man, you like killed that or this and people I listened to when I was a kid or people that are like my age that are doing it now and going, Oh, my God, I wish I could do that with my voice. I'm going yeah. What? Wow. Okay, so that I take I take compliments like that to heart.

Chuck Shute : 6:54

Yeah, no, that's really cool. So growing up like this. I heard that you For your Christmas like get togethers, you guys all have to do some kind of for everyone in the family like extended family, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands wives, everybody has to do some sort of performance either singing a poem a dance, something whether they like it or not. And you said the best ones are usually the people that don't want to perform right?

Calico Cooper : 7:18

Yeah, it's Be careful who you invite over to the house. On Christmas Eve, it really is kind of like it just something that we do, and it's way better if you don't plan it. You know what I mean? Like it and we've had to implement rules where it's like, okay, so last year, you did a song, you can't do a song this year. Yeah. So it's better when people don't know it's coming. Because this, you get to see a little glimpse of their, like, behind the scenes like, Okay, so, you know, dash has got a new girlfriend and she seems pretty cool. But let's see what happens when this happens. So um, yeah, we've gotten everything from Oh my gosh. One of my best friends who had never been over, came over and she and we go do something she gets up and she panics. So she just starts singing this song which I can only assume is like a heavy x rated like rap right? You panic in my house they're a bunch of different ball and I've got I it's hard to make me blush and she just panic and sort of wrapping this hardcore verse And I'm like, like the Christmas lights. bombs. I'm like, Oh, look, my family laughed about they're like all right, where to go? Where to get up there commit Yeah,

Chuck Shute : 8:43

there you go. Yeah, that's that's correct. So there's there's got to be a lot of crazy stuff happening. There's another story I heard you tell that where you are on the set of the one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and Robert England in full Freddie makeup, like came up to you. And I mean, that must have been kind of surreal. And he's like, so Something like does any do any kids at school bully you?

Calico Cooper : 9:03

Yeah. And I said no. What if anyone said yes,

Chuck Shute : 9:05

though, what would he have done? Would he have scared them? Or

Calico Cooper : 9:09

I think he like he's such a sweet guy is like a human and I think like, a lot like, you know, my dad and anybody that sort of has that character is it's like, yeah, you're scary but kids kind of like, you know, look up to you and so I think you can't by your own hype in that way. Like, you know, the little kid hands you something and says, You're my favorite monster. You can't you know, you can't get away from me a little scab gauge. And I just kind of I remember being there on set and having him say, I just remember him coming up to me. And I'd seen so much at that age and so I didn't equate what I was looking at with anything scary. It's a guy in makeup just like my dad's a guy makeup just like you know. I've just been around the Erickson, you know, the severed heads and stuff for so long that I just was so enamored with him. I was like, because he's an actor and I wanted to be an actor. Right? Yeah. Gone. And I got to watch everything he was doing during the takes, and I was so excited making little notes in my tiny baby actor brain. But, uh, yeah, just having them be in character, and come up, and I want it to be as as like, scary. And I think I never dropped that because he quotes, you know, new kids ever believe. And I go, No, no,

Chuck Shute : 10:33

how old? Were you when that happened?

Calico Cooper : 10:36

I was like, I was still in the single digits, I think, Okay.

Chuck Shute : 10:39

Well, this was this was this interesting... I heard that you talking about this today....you ended up going to like a private Christian school when you were 16 and you actually were bullied. And that was really eye opening to me. I would not have think that.... you seem like you're so cool. And you're in this band. And you're on these TV shows and doing all this cool stuff and you were bullied and you had to eat lunch in the bathroom by yourself. Crazy

Calico Cooper : 11:03

Yeah, and that's when I learned that bullying...bullying doesn't look like it looks on TV. Maybe it does (for others) but that wasn't my experience of it. I am currently a practicing Christian and I love it how that sort of like goes like, "Oh, you don't act like one and you don't look like one." It's like, Well come on, do you what does that look like? What is that? Like, you know? And so I remember going to school it was so that I could get a better scholarship for college because I went to public school my whole life and never had a problem. Like I wasn't like the coolest guy but I certainly.... it's like my dad talks about sometimes he goes, (sorry my nose is running because of the fire)... He's like, I wasn't the most popular kid but I was a funny kid in school like I was like the one that everybody kind of like could jam with and that kind of I fell in. But then they went to the school and the bullying wasn't like lunch trays in the face and like you know, getting punched or getting mocked or anything, it was getting completely ignored. Like I wasn't alive. And to a point where like, it was, they don't tell you about that they don't prepare you... I'm ready for like "Hey rock stars kid that thinks you're such a big deal blah, blah blah,"... I was like ready for that, and I would have killed for that. I walked in and all these kids have been to school together their whole lives, you know, and kind of looking around like, okay, this is for the greater good. I'm gonna go to a better school because I get these credentials, and it was sort of like, and they went right back to what they're doing no yelling, no, whatever, just complete exclusion. And my ego, couldn't take it where I was like, wait a minute, I'm not expecting to get my face thrown in a plate of spaghetti but I also would like somebody to engage me at all And so rather than my pride, rather than sitting by myself, lunch after about two weeks at the school, nobody would talk to me and I just went, Okay, that's fine. And I would go and I would eat in the bathroom. And then I remember kids would talk. They're like, where do you go at lunch? and blah, blah, blah- not asking me to hang or sit with them. They just want to know where I went. We always go at lunch and I'm like, Oh, yeah, I've got this agent in LA and they can like only talk then and... I just had to make something up. So I seem like, Oh, I didn't even notice that you were excluding me. I'm so busy. That was the closest thing to to bullying and it's such a quiet burn. And you can even see it now. Like as we get older. Yeah. In the office, things like that. You don't have to call someone names or diss their skin color or religion or weight or anything to bully them. Just plain old ignoring someone's existence can do a lot of damage.

Chuck Shute : 13:56

Oh, yeah, that's uh, can hurt people for sure. So you you toughed it out Though you used last a whole year and then you came back to Phoenix, right?

Calico Cooper : 14:03

Yeah, yeah, I finished I got the credits that I needed and then it was just one of those things where I talked to my parents and I said when I'm 18 years old, I love you. But I ready to go like I wanted to go into the start. So I got a scholarship to the Stella Adler Academy of acting out here and yeah, and same this same rules applied like I came here and there's all this it's a very prestigious acting school and everyone always wears blacken and everything and i and i know i want to do this but I'm not in I'm not I don't know the right people and I don't whatever and so I remember showing up and it could have gone either way, you know, where it was like, oh, some like girl from Phoenix and she's got a famous dad. So why don't you just go do reality and like, leave us real actors to it. Or, you know, being accepted into like, Okay, cool. And I'll be doing I had to prove myself. It was like the first like, Three or four months, it was like, like private school all over again. I'm like, wow, I get it, I get it. Like you've done all this stuff and I'm not an actor, I get it. So like, I feel like this good though everything that I've done is just been a proving ground. Kyle would be Stowe, where they're like, people love to give the compliment after the show, they go, Ah, you just remind me so much of your dad, and I never would stop anybody and go in what way in the way that I'm able to, like, perform? Is there anything about my performance? Or is it just that it's good, and you liked it? And you can't think of anything else to say. So it is a compliment because I get where it's coming from. But also, that's never something you're going to be able to like, really step out from there. So you lose work opportunities by going, you know, I'm not my, I'm not my dad. I'm not my father. Clearly, I'm not my dad, but like, you know, things are gonna bleed over, things are gonna cross over and I think Just be aware, you know, if somebody new comes into your like, you know, whatever group that you do just be like a little extra aware that sometimes the like, yeah, just the ignoring and the like, right now is so hard for people that are trying their best.

Chuck Shute : 16:16

Yeah. Well, I just think it's cool that you know, you kind of start at the bottom a lot of this stuff. I mean, you even worked at Cooperstown as a waitress, I thought that was really close. Like, wow, like, this is somebody that probably, you know, her parents could have given her money, but they're like, no, you're gonna go get a job and you're gonna learn like how to work and so you had to work as a waitress like, that's pretty cool.

Calico Cooper : 16:36

I was terrible at it. But I yeah, I got again, you know, that. People were it's like, okay, so these are people that are like in their late teens, early 20s. Their servers they've been working at like a bunch of different restaurants. And here comes the boss's daughter in that didn't have to apply for the job that just got the job right. So let's give her all let's not give her any information or teach her how to do anything. Right? So that I constantly fail. Let's give her all the shitty shifts and awful tables and everything and I'm like, Okay, okay, I'm gonna make you like me. I'm gonna make you like me. And I just remember going so far out of my way to be like, give me a break.

Chuck Shute : 17:22

So how do you do that? How do you make people like you? I'm still trying to figure that out.

Calico Cooper : 17:26

Yeah. Oh, God, if I could mark it, it just. Yeah, I think just, it starts off when you're a kid by just being self effacing. You know, I was the first person to make fun of the fact that I had to wear the Alice eyes while I was serving hot dogs. You know, like, I will be the first one to make fun of myself for it. You know what I mean? Like, right. One time I was serving and there was a episode of The Surreal life up on the big screen. So it's like Paris Hilton and whatever. Uh huh. Yeah. You know, all the waiters like me If I had a life like that, man, if I had a bunch of money and famous parents and I'm wearing the makeup with the hot dog, and I'm like, Yeah, can you imagine?

Chuck Shute : 18:12

Not as classic. That's funny. Oh, that was great. So you graduated high school and then you moved to LA. And you talked a little bit about this that you did some acting classes. One of the people that you had I probably gonna mispronounce is Ivana Chubbuck. She was the acting coaches, I heard you talk this is fascinating. I feel like even if your people are not an acting, I feel like this is really interesting stuff because she used like psychology with the acting stuff and trying to teach you that your goal in every scene is to win like never play the victim. That's such an interesting take on acting to me like basically she's saying have the heart and the tactics of a child in every scene, like make everything competitive. And you said that, that if you look at your relationships, there's always a little bit of competition in every relationship and there isn't competition that The relationship usually dies. That was like kind of really profound stuff for just, you know, acting.

Calico Cooper : 19:06

It's so the it's interesting her book when I was at Stella Adler I remember, you know, everybody's very actor pantsy and I just said, Hey, listen, I said, I want to take the next step. I said, What is the most feared? acting teacher? What is the most like, people like run screaming because they, like, can't look into the void kind of thing. I was like, Who is that? And, you know, everybody goes, Oh, it's Ivana Chubbuck and I was like, Okay, cool. So I read the book, and it's a it's a mixture of Udo huggin. And all these like really like, tried and trued acting techniques, but also it incorporates mindhunter from FBI when an FBI profile somebody how can you tell that somebody is going to do something How can you How can you spot megalomania? How can you spot you know, kind of stuff like that. So we got trained in This stuff and now it's like just like second nature. It's kind of stuff you can't unlearn. Like, once you really like, get into it, it's really hard to be mad at anybody. Because you go, man, I get it. I get why you're doing this, I get why you're so aggravated, I get why you're so angry. I can even get why you killed this person, you know, like, everybody has justified means. And that's why a lot of times we root for the villain if it's a good performance, because this person has no other choice. You know, when we start getting the mustache twisting guy or like, whatever, but her thing is kind of like, every hero's should be a tragic hero that refuses to give up. You know what I mean? There's got to have darkness and just like awful thoughts, so that we're like, oh, I'm like that. I'm like that that guy, and then with the villain, you got to go. Well, I mean, you know, I kind of feel bad that he lost. You're like so that's a good movie when you have the battle. Yeah.

Chuck Shute : 21:00

You're trying to make the characters likable when you're no matter if you're if you're playing the villain, right? It's not the goal,

Calico Cooper : 21:05

but a character like like Alice, what do we why is that particular character had such longevity and I think it's because if he'd gone full, dark and full mustache twisty and full, like, whatever, and there was no sense of humor to it. I don't think it would have had the longevity that it that it did. I think there's like, what people like is like, Ooh, yeah, like I love the genre. And I love the you know, the makeup and the lyrics and everything but also like, he gets the joke. You know what I mean? Like, there's a bit of vaudeville and there's a bit of like, what do you think? Yeah, and in it I think that those kind of performances and characters really last the test of time

Chuck Shute : 21:49

Yeah, so do you do like the so called like method acting because I heard you talking about the the movie an indie movie they did called rolling that was about ecstasy and ecstasy culture. You never done ecstasy. So They're like, Okay, how can I kind of simulate this? So you pounded 1010 energy drinks. I don't know what Brandon was. Did the how does that not kill you? I hear stories of kids having heart attacks. I don't know if I remember like Four Loko a few years ago. I was

Calico Cooper : 22:12

like, 10 I think No, I'm kidding. I was like, I think it was like 2122. And you're like, liver and kidneys can deal with that again. I mean, 10 still seems like a lot. Some of the stuff are pretty powerful. I mean, were you

Chuck Shute : 22:22

just like shaking off? Uh,

Calico Cooper : 22:24

yeah, yeah. And then, you know, kind of Ivonne. His thing is, she says, You really don't have to do any of that. That was just me being experimental and weird, but like, um, you know, the whole trick is she was people that are high. Don't act high. That's a bad performance. Because people that are high are trying to do everything they can, you know, to act like they're not high, which, wow, right? That's true.

Chuck Shute : 22:47

That's a

Calico Cooper : 22:48

good point to the people that are drunk. It's tragic. Because, you know, you get somebody playing drunk and we're like, we just don't care but we're dying, laughing or our hearts are breaking when we're watching somebody trying so Hard to make their point. And you can tell how hard they're fighting to come across sober.

Chuck Shute : 23:06

Right,

Unknown Speaker : 23:06

right. Yeah, let's go. Yeah,

Calico Cooper : 23:10

that's right. People don't think they're crazy. And that's what allows you to go there. Like and even with beast Oh, like, like, that's what allows you to go that crazy because you don't have one eye looking at yourself going. That's a little crazy. It's like I have to be justified in all my actions like I have to do this or die. So

Chuck Shute : 23:29

yeah, so you did that and then I don't know I can't remember the order of these but then I thought that was interesting. You worked on Nickelodeon, one of the shows there Henry danger and so it's funny because like I used to work in the schools and when I first start working in the schools, I was always weird to hear like teachers swearing and drinking and stuff like when you are on like Nickelodeon. Were you seeing a lot of these like cast members like swearing and drinking it like all these g rated people doing that kind of stuff? Or were they pretty

Calico Cooper : 23:53

funny. In real life? I have a lot of friends that are teachers and principals and PE teachers. Like therapists and things like that. And those are the people are like, Whoa far away

Chuck Shute : 24:09

right now like

Calico Cooper : 24:11

it's crazy but on those shows, um, they really have it down so good. I mean, I when I came to set every day, I didn't just book the job right? I had to have a full background check. I no more looking into me working on a Nickelodeon set than they then I did, you know, going into other countries touring and I thought, when I auditioned, I knew it was for a Nickelodeon show. I thought there is no way that I'm getting this because if you just Google my name, and not a lot of times, just like acne shots come up. It's it's the most searched so it's all these like crazy. You know, whatever. And I go, they're not gonna let me around kids. Even though you can trust me. Yeah. Um, but yeah, it was interesting. I got the call and they were like, beautiful your house. And then after talking to some of the cast members and stuff, surprisingly, it's really hard to find adult talent that has nothing on their record. I'm talking no DUIs. No, no misdemeanor, nothing clean as a whistle. And it's that's how much they care about those kids and how much they keep them. You know, the, the, okay, the kids are also that was one of the only I've been on shows where it's all adults. Yeah. And attitudes were just like, and then you've got these kids that are massive successes, like you know, 10 1112 years old. And they are like the, like, the most down to earth. Cool. Like, everybody's equal. Like they just want to pinball and do whatever. And then, you know, you go over to like, a comedy show, which is always the funniest to me sitcoms. Oh, yeah. I guess places. Because you have a bunch of comedians that are like My life is over like, and then when the cameras go there like

Chuck Shute : 26:05

really?

Calico Cooper : 26:06

Yeah, like always the drama shows like when I did Hawaii Five Oh, it was one of the funny because it's supposed to be serious. Yeah. And these actors are really good like Ty McBride and all these like really good actors. And when the minute the camera will do like it's like intense and serious and I'm like, Whoa, I feel like I'm legit in this interrogation room and I'm like, doing the whole thing. The minute they yell cut, it's like, they're cutting up and you know, like doing the hula and like, just being ridiculous. And I just go, Wow, Ivonne is right, because she always says that the funniest stuff comes from the most tragic people because they're trying to overcome it. And that's

Chuck Shute : 26:48

interesting. That's so what do you like better? Because Yeah, you done Hawaii Five. Oh, he did the Mindy Project. That's pretty big show the Nickelodeon. You've done these big budget TV shows that are you know, more corporate and then you've done these like indie movies. I know for me, like when I have the jobs of the big corporations or government I like so much like, you know, the mom and pop places were way more fun. So do you like the indie movies more? Or do you like the budget of the because then you get more pampered more at the TV shows.

Calico Cooper : 27:12

I mean, the hang is always great on the indie films, you know, the hanging is always great. It's usually everybody's got the same floor of the hotel, or, you know, everybody rents a big giant, you know, cabin and everyone staying in it. And that's like the summer camp. It's the, um, but I do love the organization. And then when I feel safe as an actor, like I've made some cool choices, doing like indie stuff, whatever. Yeah, yeah, because it was cool people. But like, in the big studio stuff, it's so fast. It's so fast. And so it's like you're in, you're out. And so you really have to learn how to make the most of that. That experience and so like You know, look at for Hawaii Five Oh, I live in LA they flew me all the way to Hawaii. It was a whole day of fitting. I got to see you know, beautiful hotel. And then Everyone's so cool or whatever and I'm going up and every show were like this. And then some other shows are it's just like Katelyn, cattle out when you're like, wait, like, I'm on the call sheet. Like I have a character name and everything. If you're not the main character, get in, say your line. Get out of our way. And you're like, right, is catering this way?

Chuck Shute : 28:30

Yeah, how's the catering? Those plays? Gotta be amazing, right?

Calico Cooper : 28:34

Oh, my gosh, is insane. The greatest catering I've ever seen in my life was when we played with the Rolling Stones. And they had their own their own like moving Island It was called the snakebite cafe. And you had to have a different pass rather than your just normal pass to come in. And it was like something out of Las Vegas there was like trees and fountains of cheese and stuff that I was like,

Chuck Shute : 29:01

Wow, amazing and that's just like backstage or something.

Calico Cooper : 29:05

Yeah, just backstage you know, with the arenas, like the stones travel with their, with their catering and like we've had amazing catering, but I've never, it's like the Bellagio buffet.

Chuck Shute : 29:18

Wow. That's crazy. Like

Calico Cooper : 29:21

maybe I'll have pancakes for the fourth time today. I don't know.

Chuck Shute : 29:24

That's amazing. Um, so another. Let's see one of these movies I watched I watched a couple of your movies yesterday. The suck movie. I wanted to see that because I heard somebody raving about it. You have such a good cast in there. Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins movies in it and Alex lifeand life's Lifeson from rush he was a like the you hit you just had a I wanted you to have a bigger role but that that must have been fun just to be involved in that cast. Right.

Calico Cooper : 29:47

So that is when I first I've literally had just moved to LA and I was trying, every which way but loose to like, get in like how do I get it And I really did not want to use, you know, not to use my dad's name, but it's just like, how do I break through here? If I'm not willing to do reality, then nobody's interested in me at the time, you know? And I was like, how do I get in here? How do I do this? And so I had to eat crow a little bit and say, Hey, you know, the next thing you get cast in, can you please just like, I don't care if it's a five line deal. I just Just let me in. Let me get some tape for my reel. Let me do something. And he's like, Yeah, okay. And so they were nice enough, and his management was nice enough to work it out. And, yeah, I was able to do just a little tiny thing, but it's, it's so like, it's such a different machine now.

Chuck Shute : 30:45

Yeah.

Calico Cooper : 30:46

where it's like, if you have a YouTube channel and a bunch of people, like watch it and you're really cool and entertaining. Like, you'll book a series, playing someone else where it's like, you know, then there's people that have like, I've been in touch acting school for 20 years. Why is this happening? And that's when you have to really do it because you love it.

Unknown Speaker : 31:07

Yeah.

Calico Cooper : 31:08

Hear what you sing with the band and not care if it ever is a commercial success or not. It's always great if it is, but like movies like, you know, like, suck was so great. Just because it was like it was above an indie because they they had a pretty big budget and a lot of actors, you know,

Chuck Shute : 31:27

like Van Gogh, Dave Foley's.

Calico Cooper : 31:30

But I learned a lot like I learned a lot watching, because I'd seen indie movies made and I'd seen giant blockbusters made and I was like, okay, everybody's doing like eight jobs, but nobody's complaining. And it's working well and Okay, that's how they do that. And so it just like all in education, if you look at it.

Chuck Shute : 31:48

Yeah. No, and I love that I watched this one. Welcome to hell. It was like an anthology. And then you know, you had a pretty big part and this one and

Unknown Speaker : 31:57

that the pedophile.

Chuck Shute : 31:58

Yeah. So I think figured out. See, people always wonder like why child actors go crazy. And they always, like, have these terrible lives. I think I figured I even I wrote the line down because I had to remember this. You look at the kid, you look at the kid and you say this, I know you didn't write the line, but you say it with such conviction. You're like, conviction. Like, you are the son of a whore who ruined this family. And you look at him, you say it with a straight face. I'm just like, oh my god, that kid's got to be fucked up for life. Like, did you have to get counseling on the setup for that? Or how does that work?

Calico Cooper : 32:28

Um, I I'm pretty good hang for kids. And so I think like,

Chuck Shute : 32:35

you're plugged in when you sat down and he actually hearing you say that?

Calico Cooper : 32:38

Well, so mom was on set the entire time. I his mom, and that was one of those indie movies where we all stayed at the giant cabin and everything so I got to spend a lot of time with the kid. Um, and yeah, and he was like, played together. You know, which for me The creep factor of it a million times. But that's what I wanted. Like I wanted all I wanted memories, I wanted things that I could look back on. And then again, you have to justify her behavior. It's like, I want a better life for me and my little kid. And this is the only way to do it. Because society's pushed me down so far. So what else am I supposed to do? Yeah, no. And so I think that's what a lot of stuff comes from, but the kiss at the end where it kiss my son, um, is that was tricky. And so he and I, I knew was coming up. And I knew it was coming up on that night, and I just go, okay, and the reason I took that movie, by the way is because it was such I couldn't not see if I could play a panda file and make you still kind of like her a little bit, or make you at least go. Okay, maybe you know what I mean, like, and so it was just more of a challenge than anything and I and I knew the director and so we had the night I had to kiss this Kid, you know, mom was on set, I talked to her privately. And I just said, hey, we've known each other for about two weeks now making this and I said, if you are uncomfortable in any way, I said, let me know how you would like me to do this. Yeah. And she was like, Well, I don't know. And I said, Well, I have an idea. And I know has to be cool with you. And she's like, okay, and I said, let's make it a game. And so I sat down with the director and mom, and I said, here's what I'm going to do. I was like, I'm going to do my kid thing, which is like off camera. He and I were like punching buddies. You know what I mean? Like constantly like spraying other with like soda and hoses. And that's how I could justify him not getting any sort of like mental

Chuck Shute : 34:39

build a rapport with him. Yeah, yeah, that's great.

Calico Cooper : 34:43

So we joke around about our characters, but when I had to kiss this kid, I said, Okay, here's what we're gonna do. And I was like, so you know that the kiss parts coming up? He's like, Ah, no.

Unknown Speaker : 34:53

And I said,

Calico Cooper : 34:55

Okay, I said, we're gonna play chicken. And he's like, okay, and a good Joe chicken is he's like, now And I go Okay, here's what happened. I said, so I'm gonna give you a kiss on the mouth. And I said, and whoever pulls away first is a chicken.

Chuck Shute : 35:09

Ah,

Calico Cooper : 35:10

and he's like, okay, okay, and I was like, all right, you're gonna get beat so bad. He's like, no. I'm gonna tell you this. I want to do this one time.

Chuck Shute : 35:20

Yeah. Oh, is that all was one take?

Unknown Speaker : 35:22

Yeah, no, that's just it.

Calico Cooper : 35:24

Like this is about to happen once because I'm only going to be able to play this chicken game once before it he's gonna go with what is this? Yeah,

Chuck Shute : 35:31

no, I love the genre. I love horror. And so that was like, it was creepy. But I was like, you did a really good job. The whole that whole segment was really cool. I mean, it scared me. It was creepy. It takes a lot. Yeah, no, that was good. But besides the horror stuff, you do some comedy right? So I don't know. I heard you. You trained a little bit with Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade. Those are like two of the biggest ones. Did you ever do like stand up or sketcher?

Calico Cooper : 35:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, back in the day. You know, I just wanted to see where I was landing here. And so I just asked around like I asked about Ivana. And I said, Okay, so what's gonna get me seen? How can I get seen for not my last name? How can I get people to like, see me see me and they go, Oh, you're funny. You should go do the Groundlings July. All right. So I remember going and thinking, Okay, I'm at the top of my class. It's still Adler I mean, I bought a tbex master class. This is just imagination comedy. Like, how hard can this be? You had to audition and take classes.

Chuck Shute : 36:37

Oh, really? Oh, God, I could just take those levels or something. Okay, no, wow. So

Calico Cooper : 36:41

yeah, what I thought and so I showed up and there was like, you know, 25 people, whatever. And we went through the whole thing and, um, and I left there going, Yeah, so basically, they're probably going to test me into this the advanced or, you know, performing company. I'll be an SNL within the month. thing. Yeah, and I call and they were like, congratulations. I'm like, and they're like, we've passed you into beginner.

Unknown Speaker : 37:09

And I went

Calico Cooper : 37:10

beginner of comedy. And they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, you out of the 25 people, three of you made it through, and we're starting you a beginner. And I was like, and then I learned that this is a totally different beast. It's like, I could say, I'm, I'm a rock and roll singer. And and put it under the umbrella of singer. But I, you know, you listen to someone like Charlotte church, or somebody that does, you know, opera. And that's a different kind of singer. It's a different creature. And so, I have no problem just going up on stage and starting, doing whatever. But it's like learning a new language. There's rules, there's laws. There's like, all this stuff in it. I think it may have been one of the most helpful acting tools because it makes you listen to people so if I'm doing a scene with some like Crazy and a lot of actors are insane. Like, especially famous people because they can get away with it. Ah, um, you know, I'm looking at the, the script and you're just going off left, you can see the director and the and the ad and everybody going, like, please just go with this because we have to roll on something. And so it's the confidence to be able to just go, mmm, I'm sorry, like, and blah, blah, and just go with it. You know?

Chuck Shute : 38:28

So that's like a skill, like being able to react and

Calico Cooper : 38:31

it was a lot of people in there that weren't actors and that's super interesting. Oh, big companies like a, you know, like tech companies and stuff send their CEOs because it's a it's a, they teach them how to communicate on the fly. Oh, and humor goes so far. Yeah. Like if they're talking to like, clients from Japan, and they know how to like, you know, be likable. It's literally how to be likable and just hoping some people can't get it.

Chuck Shute : 39:02

Yeah, that's interesting. So then did you ever perform with those places? Like on stage? I mean, do they people buy a ticket to come see you that kind of thing? Or is it more just like,

Calico Cooper : 39:12

when I was when I was doing it, um, I finished I did the Groundlings. I did opera citizens, and for a minute there, I was really serious about SNL. I was like, you know, one of those faces that, for whatever reason, it's just like a makeup of a face where if you change it or put like, I look like a million different people, and I get and I get stopped all the time where they're like, aren't you? You're because I look like I must be somebody. It's I don't know if it's bone structure. I don't know what it is. But when I had bangs, it was like, I looked like 10 famous actresses. So perfect for SNL. Yeah, right. And so I started pursuing that and then be still kicked up and it picked up so big so quickly that it's not like I put it out of my mind forever that's a great thing about comedy is it takes all ages and shapes and types and whatever. Um but yeah be so kicked up to an extreme that it was like requiring a crap ton of like, constantly like creating and moving and touring and all this stuff and I was just going oh my gosh.

Chuck Shute : 40:25

Yeah, so let's talk about that. So then yeah, you you you actually first thing I think it was on piggy DS LP D was the bass player for Rob Zombie also Wednesday 13. And he asked you I think you'd sang on some of his albums are one of them. And then Chuck Garrick asked you to sing on beast Oh, Blanca, and you're like, why not really singer. And so then you guys and he just told you to pretend to act like a singer and then you created this character with a costume. It's got the arm cannon with a and you got a bat with spikes and all this stuff. You got the cool demon eye contacts Is it hard to see out of those?

Calico Cooper : 40:59

You know, it's Funny is she started off this character started started off as like a barbarella s like, doo wop chick, which was kind of cool. And I got it for sure. But um, not knowing that I could sing yet. I was doing character voices and so he's like, Yeah, can you do this like really bratty like, child laddie guy? And I go, yeah, whatever you want, like, I'm gonna like, whatever. And I didn't know that there was gonna be this like, lifelong relationship here. So I just like with like, with everything I went in, like whole hog. And. And so as the records progressed, and the audience's got more in the record, sales got more. I think I started being interested in like, Okay, well, can I see if I can sing this? Can I and then like, I remember making the record. We are the last one we did. Uh huh. And I was going, Oh, my gosh, I'm hitting these notes and I'm holding them with like power and I'm going Oh, okay. This is something to explore.

Chuck Shute : 41:59

Yeah, cuz How do you Explain that to people. Because when I first came across, I think the first thing I heard was feed your feed my Frankenstein cover. And I was like, Oh, that's cool. She has a band. I didn't even know you had a bit. And then I got for the interview, I had to do some research and I found out you had this huge acting career too. But for people who don't know the band, Beast, oh, Blanca, it's it's kind of, I guess you'd say it's almost kind of like a Lincoln Parker Evanescence where they have because Chuck is kind of the main singer and you're like, kind of the other singer. But now you're taking over more of the lead vocal duties, right?

Calico Cooper : 42:28

Yeah, I mean, we're essentially trying to do like, you know, if Mickey and Mallory from Natural Born Killers, or Sonny and Cher,

Chuck Shute : 42:38

okay.

Calico Cooper : 42:39

You know, like, how can I and and again, all that stuff comes into play like the improv and then this and that, like, we do not have a choreograph show. So it's sort of like it's such a gift, literally from God that I have like a space to any impulse that comes into my head, any impulse and I just act on it, and it's So awesome. Like who gets to do that? So, uh, yeah, so Chuck and I have built this sort of like relationship where you're not sure who's in charge. We're not sure who's pulling the strings you know you're not sure if I'm sort of like, you know the frazetta girl on the leash or if you're not sure if these are my beasts I'm in charge like, and so it's the give and take of power all the time. That kind of keeps people going. Well, girl, what's happened in there?

Chuck Shute : 43:25

Yeah, I haven't seen you guys live yet. I really want to see hopefully concerts come back but you guys did the Monsters of Rock cruise the Megadeth cruise What's it like being on those cruises? Because that just looks like so much fun to be on with all these different bands and stuff.

Calico Cooper : 43:38

I think it's the only let me know if my nose is running like legit it is it smells like you know those crappy campfire smelling candles. You get it like whoa, yeah. house and my hair smell.

Chuck Shute : 43:49

Oh, no, I can't see anything. So.

Unknown Speaker : 43:51

But uh

Calico Cooper : 43:55

well, we I'm sorry. Were you asking

Chuck Shute : 43:56

about the cruises? I've never been I've never been on a cruise. I really want to go On one of these Monsters of Rock cruise as they look so cool and so fun you the Megadeth cruise. You said the band's uh, the first one you did? I think it was. It was it wasn't really your genre, I don't think but you said the fans loved you. And they were like chanting and stuff. And

Calico Cooper : 44:14

yeah, we were giving the monsters a rock is such a cool idea. And it's because it's the only place I can think of where you do your show. Right? And then you're living alongside of the people that came to see your show. Uh huh. So it's like, you do your show and then it's like, you're eating with people and you're getting to like meet people. They're like, dude, like, I gotta be so tattoo. You know, and, and it, it seems a bit daunting if you on paper you're like, is that a good idea? But I think these people are so cool. And I mean, they're so like, complimentary and awesome and like, they really launched us that monsters iraq really put us on the map because those fans that were Alice fans that went All right. Well, listen Alice's daughter and bass player have some band and they're going to be on in 20 minutes. Like do you just want to go check it out just so we can post on the Alif socials that we went and saw it. And I accepted that. Even though I was like, I accepted it. And I said, you were gonna walk out of here with your mind blown. And so I just remember kind of like a sea of Alice shirts. That first show and I was like, Huh, okay, here goes nothing and I went off and this thing went on and we did this great show and then like, five years later, it's like, this amazing fan base where when we went to do the mega def cruise, it was like a lot of people hadn't seen us because the monsters are rock is like, really glam and like, you know, 80s and 90s. And and everything and we're kind of new. And we antis legacy wise to obviously that that era, but the mega death, I thought, you know what, this is kind of where We fit in it was like, you know, heavier.

Chuck Shute : 46:01

Yeah,

Calico Cooper : 46:03

vision of conformity and stuff like that. And yet again, me and Doro pesch were like, that was there was not a lot of women performers. And I think I thought, Oh, great, like, I'm gonna get like a lot of like, leering and a lot of like, I almost changed my costume because I was like, I and I had to laugh. That age old girl thing, like, I want to be taken seriously. And then I go, do you though? How much fun are we having? Once you take that seriously, then it's like you only have down to fall and so I just go, No, I'm gonna double down on the pediatrics. Because I knew that heavy metal crowd. Yeah. And we were talking about doing less, the accurately and just doing more of the hard songs and I go, No, if I learned anything from my dad, one of the lessons is whenever he plays heavy metal festivals, everybody always says so we're gonna pull the balance right now. Goes Nope. And he said, the most heavy metal thing you can do is sit down in front of 50,000 people and do your show do the ballad. He's like, there is nothing that is more like, I control this. I'm in control here. And so, you know doing the theatrical I was like, these guys are just not gonna get it. And you know, they want to headbang and they were still headbanging. And I was like, Okay, great. And then the reviews came out and they go pleased. Oh, and I'm like, Brides, thank you so worried. That's awesome.

Chuck Shute : 47:35

Wow, that's great. And then you guys had a tour with a hailstorm? That that was I mean,

Calico Cooper : 47:40

that was unbelievable that and again, different demographic, which is what makes me so so unique is like, you know, we fit in with the Monsters of Rock, which is like theatrical, glam 80s kind of bands were great. Okay. And we also fit in with the heavy metal, the crows and the conformities and all that stuff. And then we go public. Play giant, open air sheds for sees of teenagers. And I'm going, is this gonna read? Because Lizzie is like, incredible. And they are all there to see her. And I was like, Is this our stuff going to read? Is it going to be too? sci fi? Is it going to be too whatever and I mean, that quickly went out the window. You know, we did our our opening slot and then went out to the merch booth. And it was like that thing you do? I was like, wow, kids are like, ah, because they're so hungry for a show. Yeah,

Chuck Shute : 48:38

well, yeah. You said that. The kids are teenage girls are sending you pictures of them dressing as you for Halloween. That's pretty cool. That's a big compliment.

Calico Cooper : 48:47

I mean, it's such a huge cobbler just to be able to like look down to like, you know, the god the blessing of the hashtag, I'll call it like, I would never be able to see all these photos. I would never be able to see all the stuff and then when you hashtag Me, or B. So Blanca, like I started scrolling through, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, like, when I do my makeup, it's never the same. You know what I mean? It's all just like, in the moment, whatever. And I'm looking at these pictures going. She did that off of that one photo from that one night where I just wanted to do it different. And to get the little x here, and then this and that, and their attention to detail. I mean, being cosplayed is like, I can't think of anything cooler.

Chuck Shute : 49:27

Yeah, that's a pretty big compliment. For sure. I thought this is interesting. You had an interesting quote just about the entertainment business in general, you said that hard work doesn't necessarily equal results. And you're talking about acting music or just any of the arts like you talked about, I know you did a ballet for years and like the longer you spent on it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be the best at it.

Calico Cooper : 49:50

Yeah, um, you can be the best the absolute best technically, training, you can be at the top of your game and it's so weird that sometimes Doesn't matter at all. And it's a challenge, you know, to or like, sometimes I know, letting go of like, you know, judgment of, I've been at this particular thing for 10 years, whatever it is, and then some girl waltzes in and is like, I like, whatever. But she looks like the producers, you know, whatever, girlfriend and so she's hired, and I go, but But no, but no, because I know I worked so hard. How can that be writing and in dance, the longer that you put in, it's undeniable, there was only a certain amount of people that can do that with their bodies, right? Yeah. And that only comes from training some talent and some genetics, but mostly training. And then with the music thing and the acting thing. It's like, oh, it doesn't matter how connected you are. It doesn't matter how there's always somebody that is luckier than you and It's just how much you're willing to do it because you love it. And then you stop obsessing over. Like, how is it that this person just woke up yesterday and decided, oh, yeah, like, I want to be a DJ and now they're making millions of dollars.

Unknown Speaker : 51:17

Why did I go to school? Why did I do anything?

Calico Cooper : 51:20

Right? Because I loved it. And I do love it and I still love it and I, I wouldn't, I wouldn't change it. My best friend always says to me, whenever I start complaining, like I asked Katelyn, our card. And she goes, stop for a second. You know what I'm gonna say? Go? Yes, she was would you trade places with them? Everything about them? Like, you have to wake up that person. I'm like, No.

Chuck Shute : 51:45

But it does get frustrating. I mean, you You said that you only get like one out of every hundred rolls that you're audition for.

Calico Cooper : 51:52

Yeah, I mean, it's it's a it's a cutthroat business. And I didn't realize honestly, how blessed How lucky than I am. Because I go, why are they getting more auditions, whatever. And I'm getting like three or four a week. But what I didn't realize that like somebody finally kind of like spoke to me and I go, I get it. So, yeah, you for every role that comes out, like, you know, a day player on a TV show, just 2000 submissions, and I'm one of the 2000 faces. So either the casting director knows me from past work, they have heard of me from just random business. Or they just like the way my face looks on the photo, when it comes to the character they're casting, somehow and it doesn't matter how you break through the 2000. And now there's 10 of you. And so the 10 of you are the ones that show up in the room, but what those 10 people forget is that you already beat 2000 people cheese, and and you know, but but people get to the auditions and they're like, I can't believe I have to audition for this. I'm like, bro, you just beat 2000 people to be Hear like, give it a give it a fair shake. And then you beat yourself up when you go. That's another job I didn't get. Yeah, but that's also another time that your face popped out of 2000

Chuck Shute : 53:09

people. That's pretty amazing. You're doing good. That's crazy odd. So you started creating some of your own content because you got so frustrated and you've directed some videos and some commercials and things.

Calico Cooper : 53:19

Yeah, I think I'm just the most proud of like, you know, you talked about learning and just sitting back and watching Yeah, and go if that doesn't work, oh, that definitely works. So when be so asked me to start directing the videos. I'm so excited because I had such a vision of what it could be. And and it's, I get it, it takes a lot of effort to do a narrative. Like it's it's a lot easier to be like, You're shaking our hair and like zooming in and out and we're we're a band and like, that's cool, and there's definitely a place for that. But to map out and do a narrative is like planning a wedding. Like, there's so many moving parts. And especially in Los Angeles, you're talking about, like, permits and actors and camera guys and catering and this whole thing, and it's just me doing it. And I had to ask the guys in the band, I said, Look, you got to just trust me with this. Getting my charger. I'm just gonna trust me with this. And so when I said I wanted to rent an old Western town. I mean, you should have seen the look on their faces. They're like, what? A whole one and like a whole one. It's got to be a whole one. And we made it happen. You know what I mean? And so I just like, think I'm so addicted to it. Now. Now that I know that I can dream something up and pull the trigger. And it happens. I'm like, oh, now now. You're all in big trouble.

Chuck Shute : 54:48

Yeah, because didn't you say you want to do it like a Beasto Blanco movie?

Calico Cooper : 54:52

Yeah, we're actually working on it now. If you see pictures of us, it's, we're so comic booky. It's a comic book begging to be made. And so we just started drawing up, kind of origin stories for where these characters came from. And it started to just kind of take shape and we're like, alright, so we've done these narrative videos. Now let's do a short...let's do, how did Beasto become Beasto? And I just kind of started seeing like, a very Fargo-esque, but like in the high desert kid, and then the story kind of went from there, and he discovers this thing, right in the desert. And so it's like, wow, okay, now that all makes sense, and she never ages she's looked exactly this way for thousands of years, but he encounters her as a child, which alters his whole trajectory. So yeah, we're we're making that now. It's really cool

Chuck Shute : 55:51

Is this a musical then or how would you technically call it a musical or..?

Calico Cooper : 55:57

It wouldn't be like a swinging around the lampposts sort of musical, but I think it's more if you've ever seen the grave robber musical they did into a movie- Repo Man, the genetic opera?

Chuck Shute : 56:13

Oh, no, I've seen the original one with Emilio Estevez. But no,

Calico Cooper : 56:17

It's fantastic. So basically, the songs that we've already written, are kind of playing over what's happening. And so you go, that's why that makes sense. Okay, that's why that song makes sense. And so the joy of it for me is knitting together... It's like putting an Alice show together, you have all these great songs and all this storyline to go with and some unexplored storylines that I love to go down. And how do you knit this particular scarf together for this tour? It would make perfect sense there... bring in dead babies because now we're in a world at this point where we've never sang that song in this way. I remember when we were doing Theater of Death, and I said, "How can we make this hanging just not the hanging?" And we brainstormed and came out... I go, "why don't you tear off my nurses costume, my wig, everythingg.... you put it on and then the guys will get you and hang you in drag." And he's like, "I love it." It's how you reimagine a storyline. It's like the Avengers. How do you re-imagine Beasto? How can you put together an Alice show? It's just

Chuck Shute : 57:34

So there's going to be there'll be new album with that movie then I'm assuming?

Calico Cooper : 57:38

Yeah, I mean, I'd love to... we're writing new music now. We've, coupled up with some really rad bands that you know, so douchey to say, but well, no, there's talk about it, but some really cool co writes and stuff.

Chuck Shute : 57:55

Oh Really?

Calico Cooper : 57:57

Yeah, yeah. So we're doing a lot of collaborations.

Chuck Shute : 57:59

Can you say who or is it a secret?

Calico Cooper : 58:01

I know that's why I said it seemed like such a douchebag for even bringing it up and like and stuff that you can't understand but no I can't say anything yet but it's so cool and to hear bands like let's say like an Aerosmith or something like that, they write Aerosmith songs. You can tell the Aerosmith songs.

Chuck Shute : 58:20

Yeah.

Calico Cooper : 58:20

So the cool thing is when you're working with bands like that, you bring in Beasto, and it's like a fashion collaboration where you go What does Beasto sound like when Aerosmith writes a Beasto song? Right? So then all sudden, there's harp in it and there's the different kind of drums but it's still a Beasto track. So that's what we kind of were looking at for this record. It's like Beasto as imagined by this artist and be so as imagined by this artist, and it's coming out so cool. I never would have thought to do it like that.

Chuck Shute : 58:55

When does that come out? Do you have a date or? Literally track one song, song one. We started, but October is the month that we're knuckling down. Oh, this October, it might come out?

Calico Cooper : 59:06

We're making it in October

Chuck Shute : 59:08

Okay About you know, God knows when with everything that's going on. Yeah, we catch on fire.

Calico Cooper : 59:12

I don't know

Chuck Shute : 59:13

Anything with Rob Zombie? I feel like that would be a good match... you guys on tour with Rob Zombie... I feel like you're very there you guys kind of have a similar sound. I mean, obviously he doesn't have a female singer, but you know that I think that'd be a good tour.

Calico Cooper : 59:26

Yeah, I mean, I'd love I'd love to do something like that. I also love the idea of you know, how does the Rob Zombie storyline and the Beast-O Blanco storyline? Like, is there one episode? That's a crossover?

Chuck Shute : 59:40

There you go. Yeah, that'd be cool. I mean,

Calico Cooper : 59:42

We're all of a sudden these characters make sense in each other's world. And the El Super Beasto and Beasto Blanco... do they come from the same planet?

Chuck Shute : 59:51

There you go. Yeah, that'd be cool. I haven't seen zombie performed since he was White Zombie. That was back in the day.....but that was yeah, it was a good show either. Would be cool to see both of you...

Calico Cooper : 1:00:01

I literally I was just talking to Piggy D yesterday, we were texting and Oh, so yeah, we're all we're all still on the same horse.

Chuck Shute : 1:00:09

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, who else do you you I saw a picture of you with Johnny Depp and you were just like this like, just like looking up and I'm just like, I mean, it was like it was a really cool picture. Is

Calico Cooper : 1:00:21

Was it the one where I'm all covered in stage makeup?

Chuck Shute : 1:00:23

I can't remember. But you just you were looking at him with these just like gazing eyes. It was like it was a pretty funny picture. It's funny. I think he's on your Instagram or something.

Calico Cooper : 1:00:30

It is like, Yeah, he's, I remember we were backstage at a show. And he didn't recognize me because I come in and I had gash in my face. And I came in and I go, be honest with me. Is it too much? And he started laughing. And that's when I looked at him because it's like, I just love and appreciate people that think I'm funny. I really know that. He's a sweet guy. And just so down down to like, work and play and and try something new and So he's got that like that openness, I think it's so rare. And I've really only experienced it a couple of times somebody that, that visible. And with that sort of a public persona, when he's talking to you, you are the only person he's talking to. And he won't be distracted, like, not in a dickhead way or anything like that. But like, if you and him were talking, and I came up with Johnny, so so and so's here, and they need to talk to you. So I'm sorry. He's like you were saying he's like, so it's hard to grow watermelons? Wow. You know what I mean? Like, he will finish his conversation with you. Because he's a gentleman and and, like, he can make you feel like you're the only person in the room and I, of course, because I steal everything. I'm watching, like, how do you do that? How do you do that? And I just watched him talk to different people. And I just attempted it. You know, every now and then, and people are so floored, like floored. If You can't if you're especially in LA, if your attention can't be pulled away, every five seconds, it's so rare that somebody is actually like, invested and listening to you that like, it's very memorable.

Chuck Shute : 1:02:14

So that's like, Yeah, that one of the comedians I interviewed for him and he jokes where he he'd go back home from being in LA and he's still being la lifestyle, you know, early mode, he'd be like, talking to mom, he's like, Wait, is that dad over there? Like, they're always looking for the better person to

Calico Cooper : 1:02:30

do very much as I'm never. I reminded about how long I've been in LA when I go home to visit in Phoenix, because I'll come in like a freight train. Right? It's Christmas. And I come in and there's a million things I'm doing and I could you know, and I'm business isn't shut down to this and I have to do this and do this. And I've got a demo here and dadada and just watching everyone watch me, sort of like on three different phones like no, no I can't I can't, I don't know. And like so high strung and running around like, I think that's normal. And then people are like,

Chuck Shute : 1:03:09

okay,

Calico Cooper : 1:03:10

like you're not in, you're not in crazy land anymore. You can chill out. I'm like, okay, you're right. I'm sorry.

Chuck Shute : 1:03:18

When you come back to Phoenix, because I live in Scottsdale, is there certain businesses that you say I want to hit up some small bit like try to promote some small businesses since I know a lot of small businesses are struggling? Is there any restaurants or places that you like have to go? They want a shout out right now?

Calico Cooper : 1:03:34

Oh, man. So there's a little taco joint down by the airport called speed ease?

Chuck Shute : 1:03:40

Oh, yeah, I think I've heard of that. Oh,

Calico Cooper : 1:03:43

and I found out about it from an Uber driver, where they closed down my favorite taco place. And I was like, why? And, and, but Uber drivers like, you want to know a spot. I was like, yeah, hit me. And he goes, look, he's like, it's where all the cabbies go. That are waiting for airport pickups and he goes best stuff ever and they cook everything outside and the big smokers do yeah. Speed ease is off the chain. So good. Oh no I don't think I've ever had

Chuck Shute : 1:04:11

definitely heard of it but I haven't tried it.

Calico Cooper : 1:04:14

Yeah, you got to go and you'll Phoenix is so rapidly changing like, I feel like every couple months I come home I'm like, where'd the thing go? What happened? Yeah, it just turned over so quickly but yeah, I mean, is it What's that? Do you know that wing place? That's got the really kitschy? Oh gosh, it's on like 20 foot flat. I can't remember but there's a wing place in Phoenix right across from Chicago sliders, you know that is Oh, okay. There's a sliders place it's down by you know, last chance. Yeah. Okay, so for those people that don't know let me help you.

Chuck Shute : 1:04:51

I think last chance and they go to business Didn't they tear that whole window?

Calico Cooper : 1:04:55

know that my dogs coming to visit? Um, no, they're not out of out of business. You Yeah. But right across the way if you don't know, last chance, so in Nordstrom, you return something. And they have this policy where they don't reshelve it. And so if it's overstock it goes to what is it last all? Oh,

Chuck Shute : 1:05:17

oh, yeah.

Unknown Speaker : 1:05:19

But

Calico Cooper : 1:05:20

if it was worn at all, it goes to last chance and there's only one last chance and all of the planet, and it's in Phoenix. And you can walk out of there. I mean, I'm talking like, eight trash bags worth of like designer clothes for $100 and

Unknown Speaker : 1:05:35

I'm like, wow, wow.

Chuck Shute : 1:05:37

Okay, let's get stuff. This is all great stuff to know about. And then what about charities you work you guys work with a couple charities a school rock and then you work with ink against cancer as well. I just had somebody on that we had talked about I never heard about that one before. But

Calico Cooper : 1:05:50

yeah, ink against cancer is really great. They are drummer. Sean, his teenage son got cancer and So these guys were so instrumental in you know, raising money selling bracelets and you know, he's he's in remission now. So, like, unbelievable, but it's these mom and pop things that I wouldn't have any concept of how hard that was to do if I hadn't watched my parents do solid rock for so long. And solid rock was a team center that was kind of born out of when I was in school, they were starting to yank all the arts programs. And, um, you know, I remember people saying, well, they could never really do that right. And, you know, I was lucky enough to I got to do band, I got to do chorus, I got to do theater, I got to do art got to all that. By the time my little sister went through. You had to do an after school program that you had to pay for. That was arts stuff. So, you know, people can't afford that. Really, like opened up a teen center in like a really gnarly area. of town and just said, Listen, if you're a teenager and you don't want to go home and you don't want to hang out in the street, come here and and you know, they have guys like combined teach guitar lick john five. And they have you know, Bob Ezra and come in and teach engineering. And they've got, you know, world famous dancers coming in to teach and it's like, this is like, Juilliard, man like these people. Yeah. Right. Like, when you see what these kids are doing, it's like, the education. I don't think you could put $1 amount on it. They're like, Oh, yeah, like Steve Vai stopping by this afternoon and doing a guitar clinic like cheese. And these kids are so cool. They're not like, whatever. They are just like, ready prepared. They're being given an opportunity. And I think that they see it, and I wish I had something like that. You know, when I was done Cuz I don't think I ever would have left

Chuck Shute : 1:08:01

no I know are you are you familiar with any of the Arizona bands like local or what kind of music Are you listening to right now any like up and coming bands that you want to shout out

Calico Cooper : 1:08:12

I'm discovering stuff that I guess has been around for a long time.... I don't proclaim to be any sort of a hipster but I am I'm introducing the guys in the band to stuff that maybe is not heavy metal and is not you know classic rock like I'm going hey have you heard of "Clutch?" Have you heard this and they're kind of getting it and I go okay let me play you some good pop punk because if we if we want to get a song on the radio it's got a sound like this you know and let's be business people about this. So I mean I'm playing a big hits from bands like Sugarcult and things like that just really.... if it was on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater...

Chuck Shute : 1:09:02

Okay nice.

Calico Cooper : 1:09:03

I was your target Vans Warped Tour girl like I was so Oh, oh my god Jimmy Eat World... I was that era... Yeah. Yeah and I loved it and like I was clad in vans like that was what what the deal was but, you know, when I started learning more about music I started going man to I love composers man do I love like, I remember what's that song when panic switch came out? Um who does panics with everybody?

Chuck Shute : 1:09:34

Like no I I'm drawing a blank I know I panic At The Disco is all that's coming in my head for some reason.

Calico Cooper : 1:09:40

Why are they panicking? And I got it switch panic switch in songs. Oh Silversun Pickups

Chuck Shute : 1:09:49

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Calico Cooper : 1:09:51

They had that edge... that made a radio song so it's like bands like Clutch and Silversun Pickups and then I started noticing I was going to see bands I liked and I was really digging the opening acts. Hmm. And I was like, how have I never heard of these people because our generation didn't have Spotify. Like, hey, if you like, you might like, I could spend hours in the car going through, you know, if you like and you also might like, yeah, you know that I discovered like, besides to Dolly Parton songs that I go How is this not a hit?

Chuck Shute : 1:10:26

Yeah, I love when I hear that song like that. And I wonder that

Calico Cooper : 1:10:29

or one that inspires you to do like a you know, a like a you version of that song. Like, every time Janet Jackson's Black Cat comes on? Yeah, like a hard rock song back cat. Nah, not Oh,

Chuck Shute : 1:10:46

yeah, you guys gonna cover that? That'd be a good cover to do.

Calico Cooper : 1:10:49

Right and it's like that's such a good one in the what was the other one that I go This song is like so heavy metal. Oh, from the flash Dad Dad soundtrack that one that I'm good. Without a man like me, Lizzy Hale could do manhunt.

Chuck Shute : 1:11:07

Yes. Do it make it happen. I love it. I love you got two

Unknown Speaker : 1:11:11

big notes that take in.

Chuck Shute : 1:11:14

Yes. What are their future plans? You have? He says so new possible movie or it sounds like it's in the works a movie in an album from beast. Oh, any other movies or anything coming out acting roles or production or any writing or?

Calico Cooper : 1:11:28

Yeah, definitely. So I mean, the cool thing if there is a cool thing, I guess about being stuck in the house is you no longer have an excuse to go, Oh, I just don't have the time.

Unknown Speaker : 1:11:37

Right?

Calico Cooper : 1:11:38

No, and you do now. And so as much as I was putting off, like, got this really funny script about this or that and I go, but it just takes a look. I know how long it takes to do these things. And you know what? It goes surprisingly quickly with a couple of margaritas at upenn. And before I know it, I'm like, I don't know the movie. That's really funny. That's good. So yeah, you're

Chuck Shute : 1:12:04

writing you're actually writing this is a done Are you still working on it?

Calico Cooper : 1:12:08

I'm still working on it. I got the I've got all the main characters down. Essentially, you hold your, your stuff in your own hands because as I'm writing, you know, everybody wants to be the main character, but let's be honest, everybody's favorite people are always the villain. And the main characters best friend. Yes, we're doing right like the buddy member characters. And one of my favorite buddy roles ever is, um, you know, the movie get out?

Unknown Speaker : 1:12:37

Yeah.

Calico Cooper : 1:12:38

Yeah. So his friend that works at the TSA is like it. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's hilarious. He stole that movie. Yeah, you're right. And she did too. You know, being the bad guy to eat like one Sherry. Oh, yeah. Those are the roles that are so hard to come by because people aren't writing them. So if you have a really weird quirk and you write Write yourself into it.

Chuck Shute : 1:13:01

Like, there you go. Wired? Yeah. Awesome. All right. Well, thank you so much for doing this. I appreciate you taking the time. Is there anything else you want to give a shout out to or anybody or any other projects?

Unknown Speaker : 1:13:13

I mean, yeah, we

Calico Cooper : 1:13:14

were actually gonna do a live stream on Halloween, your iimb still blanca.com we'll release that. And we're just trying to come up with something new, which is always hard because we're always trying something new. So I'm thinking about it. But yeah, keep your eye on bcl Blanca, calm and all the new releases. All the Yeah, all the information is there. And then. Yeah, if you feel like stalking me, I'm on Instagram. Yeah, it's Calico Cooper. And I usually have up to date stuff about like film, TV. Anything that I'm working on.

Chuck Shute : 1:13:48

Okay, awesome. Thank you so much Calico.

Unknown Speaker : 1:13:51

Yeah, absolutely. All right, talk to you. Okay, bye.

Chuck Shute : 1:13:55

Bye. So Calico Cooper's or name, be sto Blanca is the band. Follow both on social media to keep up with her. I'm still just amazed at all the cool stuff that she does. I mean, I'm a fan, I'm a fan of her acting or music, and I'll continue to follow her good stuff. I'm just a fan of her as a person. She's so real and I just, I love how she opened up about stuff like being bullied and having to work as a waitress and being denied acting roles. I mean, I think it's cool that you know, sometimes people look at the successful people and think it's so easy and they never struggle. So I like hearing about that kind of stuff. Because I think that can really inspire people. You know if you've been bullied or been turned down for jobs, hey, even Calico Cooper's been there. So, like I always say, end of each episode. shoot for the moon. Thanks for listening. Enjoy the rest of your day or night.