Maurice Cooper-Paul - Percussion
By his own admission, Mauri started playing drums relatively late in life at around 23 years of age. It was at this time that he first met Doug (bass guitar) and Paul (lead guitar) – the initial gang of three that were later to go on to form Stone Gecko. They played together for a couple of years in different guises but eventually went their separate ways, although Mauri continued playing on and off for a few years after that.
Mauri is self taught and doesn’t read music, but has had the privilege of attending drum clinics with Mel Gaynor (Simple Minds/Robert Palmer), Carl Palmer (ELP, Asia) and John Shearer (Uriah Heep/Iron Butterfly) and gained much from these greats, along with a Master Class with Chester Thompson (Frank Zappa/Genesis) – an experience he describes as ‘simply fantastic’.
During his percussion career he has owned and used a variety of different kits from various manufacturers including Slingerland, Tama & Yamaha, but is currently using a PDP kit made by DW. Mauri has always had a love of music and enjoys sharing that with like minded others, so was pleased to be able to hook up with Doug & Paul again to become the early nucleus of Stone Gecko.
Mauri’s Kit List:
Drums: PDP kit by DW
Cymbals: Various & many, by Sabien
