Photography by Gabe Cano
Pluto just received word that it’s been reclassified as a “dwarf planet,” and now its revenge is headed our way.
In the newest song from Grey Rose, the former planet lives up to its namesake, the Roman god of death, and sends an asteroid to destroy Earth.
Time’s up. We should have been nice to Pluto
There’s nothing, there’s nothing we can do, no
That purple place, we all took for granted
But we were mean. Now Earth will be implanted
The song — “Mayday (Pluto’s Revenge)” — was written by 8-year-old Lakewood neighbor Cleo Cooper.
Inspiration struck after her big sister, 9-year-old Henley Cooper, completed a science fair project on the solar system that did not include Pluto.
Cleo started humming the beat and recorded the lyrics on her dad’s phone. In the studio, she composed the music and turned her idea into the apocalyptic track.
“I make them make every decision,” dad Steven Cooper says. “In mixing a song, should vocals or drums be louder? Whatever they say goes. They play every note. What I have to help with is quantizing, which helps put whatever they play back on beat.”
The sisters started Grey Rose in 2018 to enter a Lakewood PTA contest. Henley submitted the song “Moms Don’t Wear Capes,” which praised their mom for making the best tacos and styling their hair like J. Lo.
It advanced to the state level, where she won first overall and free Whataburger for a year. She won second overall at nationals and a ticket to the awards ceremony attended by the secretary of education in Washington, D.C.
The band has a repertoire of five singles, including “You Can Be Anything” — about flamingo vets, wizard spies and other jobs Cleo wants when she grows up — and “Slow Mornings,” an all-too-relatable track about staying home during the coronavirus.
We haven’t brushed our hair in who knows when
Let’s stay up late and eat corn dogs again
We love our slow mornings
Making music is a family pastime for the Coopers. Steven has been a musician for more than 30 years, and throughout his career, he’s collected guitars, noisemakers, synthesizers and other equipment that Henley and Cleo use to create their own tunes.
Both girls play keyboard and guitar, and Cleo started taking drum lessons about two years ago. For her birthday, Steven surprised her with a red, sparkly drum kit that’s electric so her parents don’t lose their sanity.
Steven records behind-the-scenes videos from their studio sessions and posts them on Instagram.
“I loved playing music growing up and tried to instill that in them by writing and practicing and listening to music,” Steven says. “Making music with my daughters is the dream. It’s been really fun.”
Find Grey Rose on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and YouTube.
