Who's Who

Kelly Cooper has and always will be an entrepreneur. She is a self proclaimed music (and musical) nerd. She readily embraces any opportunity to belt out a hit whether accompanied by a karaoke machine, juke box or live band. Hence, Rock Star Karaoke NYC was born in 2005. Rock Star Karaoke NYC is the inevitable love child of her musical rearing in Dallas and her sheer delight of performing live. She likes the attention. RSK has played all over the world including the Bahamas, Japan, Miami, Boston, Washington DC and for many of the world's largest corporations. Inspired by her work with RSK, Kelly and partner Jodi Hansell have recently launched www.hansellcooper.com- a company that manages and showcases a vast array of musicians worldwide.

Kent Thompson began his music career in Australia where he studied at the Sydney conservatory in 1993. While in Australia, Kent played bars, clubs and and made TV appearances with various bands and acts. In 1999, Kent moved to London and played both for commercial and original acts. This afforded him the opportunity to perform in China, Dubai, Israel, Egypt, France and Spain. Kent is now pimping out his worldly musical talent to Rock Star Karaoke NYC where he is fulfilling his life long dream of playing Live Band Karaoke. He will hereby be known forever as the "Rock Warrior." Kent also enjoys a good Sangria and long walks on the beach.

Bill Mead is from Northern New Hampshire and is the third generation of drummers in his family. He started playing at the age of three. By the age of twelve he was playing in local bars with his rock band and performing for school dances and concerts. He was mostly self-taught until going to college where he majored in music performance and minored in visual art. After graduating college he moved to Portland Oregon and began teaching drums and playing on a full time basis. While in Oregon, Bill played mostly with touring indie rock bands and legendary West coast blues musicians. In 2006 he made the move to NYC and furthered his studies at The Drummers Collective with teachers Leroy Clouden and Peter Retzlaff. Since then he has been busy working as a freelance drummer in and around NYC. He has toured the U.S. multiple times, recorded for Ken Burns, Rock of Ages, Kara Suzanne, and Darrin James, and has performed for many of the biggest corporations in the world with Rockstar Karaoke NYC.

Brian Holtz is a versatile and in demand bassist in New York City. He has performed across the United States, Holland, France, England, the Caribbean, and has appeared at major festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam, NL), South-by-Southwest (Austin, TX), and the Indianapolis Jazz Festival, among others. As a studio musician, he has appeared on many albums, commercials, and music for television. When not touring or recording, he can generally be found performing nightly in the New York City area. Originally from Indianapolis, IN, Brian grew up in a musical environment and started gigging at age eleven. He received his formal training at the Indiana University School of Music and the Ravinia Institute (Chicago). Brian moved to New York in 2007 and continues to reside in Manhattan. Brian currently endorses Martin Strings.

RSK would also like to give a shout out to the many musicians who are part of our company that play with us frequently and are very much a part of our family:

Wilson Montouri
Dave Aaron
Frank Picarazzi
Dean Marchi
Rossen
Greg Hornby
Nell Casey
Maryanna Magnoli