A Cool Stick
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | SELF
Music
Press
So the next time you grow tired of the vacuous club singles clogging the airwaves, give Luke a listen. Whether it’s one of his “A Cool Stick” projects or The Dopeness, you’ll find yourself appreciating the return to hip-hop’s roots…even if it is from a suburban white kid.
- Crossfaded.net
"A few nights ago I was drinking with a friend at Washington D.C.’s The Rookery (shameless name drop) and heard this hip-hop band called A Cool Stick years before they became famous. Yes, you heard right, last week I watched a live set of a band you’ve never heard of before, and yes, they became famous."
"Humbly, he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s no Lupe yet – but there are times he seems like a rap savant, Jedi Luke if you may, killing Storm Troopers and all other preconceived notions of White-boy rappers; effortlessly tightrope walking the base line, yet eager to show off like a young pup who learned how to fetch. That’s what makes him more Q-Tip than Travie, more Digable Planets than Gym Class Heroes – he’s a spitter, straight from cipher culture."
"But A Cool Stick is just as much of a band as it is a hip-hop act and his stage mates don’t take a back seat to Luke by any stretch of the imagination. They may look like a band of misfits, but there is real talent in abundance here. With an unassuming Brian Aranda on drums, Sean McKeon (not that it matters, but he is the largest guitarist you’ll ever see, ever, ever) on guitar, and Brendan “Fuzz” Floyd on bass, they really do seem to combine competing musical positions. "
"Their versatility and musicality allows Luke to focus on just rhyming. Without them – he’d be wrongly classified as no more than a purer version of Asher, talented versus, with run of the mill hip-hop production. But with them, Luke seems deep, futuristically nostalgic, daydream rapping. "
"For a generation that has had to accept the decline of musicianship through the breakup of groups like The Fugees, Tribe, and The Lost Boyz, A Cool Stick is the lovechild of that musical hip-hop feel. As a witness from the future, I give you A Cool Stick and the rebirth of slick." - Blank Label NY
"Allow me to take a late pass on this EP hear. I’m just glad I checked it out before I finished my year end lists, cuz it’s definitely making the Top 10… it’s THAT GOOD!" - Kevin Nottingham
"Having just played a show at the end of March with another college rapper, Samuel “Wiz” Adams, at Sonar in Baltimore (“Best show we’ve played yet. I’d say just about 900 kids [were] there,” says O’Brien), the guys in A Cool Stick are looking to build upon their contacts and previous live success in order to land bigger gigs at larger venues." - College Magazine
"Def worth the download if you are trying to be a step ahead on the rap game." - Good Music All Day
"This album is just really, um… DOPE! I got hip to A Cool Stick late last year. If you’re not familiar, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you check them out. This new album is from Luke, who is the front man for A Cool Stick. The vibe is incredibly similar and just really, really great. I can’t say enough… you’ll just have to check it for yourself…" - Kevin Nottingham
"It’s nice to hear some music with some real meaning. His name is Luke, and he is a breath of fresh air." - This Song Is Sick
Discography
Bird's Eye View - EP 11/2011
Do It Yourself - Mixtape 2/2011
The Dopeness - LP 3/2010
ACOOLSTICK.com - EP 5/2009
Photos
Bio
In the months leading up to my college graduation, I did not know what I was going to do for a career. What I did know was that I love to write and rap. I had been rapping all through college but it wasn't until my senior year, when our school was hosting a battle of the bands, that I decided to put together a live group. We called ourselves "A Cool Stick" (a play on one of my favorite words; acoustic). We won the battle! Our reward was that we got to share the stage with Citizen Cope at our spring Palooza. After stepping off of that stage in the Spring of 2009, I had a career plan; Music.
Since then, A Cool Stick has gone on to do some amazing things. On a musical front, we have released three different projects all of which have been successful in their own right. Our first project, "A Cool Stick.com" (2009), received a couple thousand downloads and put us on the map in Baltimore. In 2010, we released a mix-tape entitled, "The Dopeness" which received over 20,000 downloads and was regarded on multiple national blogs as one of the top 10 mix-tapes of 2010. Our latest project, "Bird's Eye View", which truly displays the sound of A Cool Stick, was released on 11.11.11 and has earned over a thousand downloads and a lot of press from blogs everywhere. From a live perspective, we have shared stages with national acts such as Drake, Big Sean, and Sammy Adams. These accomplishments were highlighted when A Cool Stick was named "Baltimore's Best Hip-Hop Act of 2010" by The Baltimore City Paper. As we continue to grow as a band, we aim to become a nationally touring act and a household name so that everyone can know who A Cool Stick is and what we stand for.
We are a four piece, live Alternative Hip-Hop act and we play with passion and purpose. Our passion, is everything music; writing, recording, and performing. Our purpose, is positive energy. When want to leave this earth having given people an optimistic way to approach life and the best way we know how to do that is through music. We feel that we can fill a void in today's music scene in that we are a live Hip-Hop act with lyrics from the heart and music from the soul. Musical acoustics deal with how sounds are employed to make music work. A Cool Stick makes sure that our sounds are working towards something that is truthful, beautiful, and musical.
-Luke
Links
