Cool Hand Luke is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

band variously classified as

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

progressive pop Progressive pop is pop music that attempts to break with the genre's standard formula, or an offshoot of the progressive rock genre that was commonly heard on AM radio in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally termed for the early progressive ...

, indie, and

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

and signed to

Lujo Records Lujo Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 2001 by Erik Aucoin in Louisiana.Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

. The band's early music had a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

influence, although the range and scope of Cool Hand Luke's sound changed quickly after Mark Nicks joined the band. With Nicks on drums and lead vocals, Cool Hand Luke became known for playing with their backs to the crowd, lengthy, emotively expressive songs, and introspective lyrics. The band signed to Floodgate Records in 2002 and released two full-length albums (2003's Wake Up, O Sleeper and 2004's The Fires of Life). After an extended hiatus (during which Nicks played drums for The Chariot), Cool Hand Luke released The Balancing Act, a career retrospective that fulfilled their contract with Floodgate. The Balancing Act contained songs from the band's early independent releases plus its Floodgate discography. In October 2008, Cool Hand Luke released The Sleeping House on Lujo Records. The album, produced by

Matt Goldman Matt Goldman (born December 30, 1969) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and songwriter based in Atlanta, Georgia. Biography Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, Goldman is a drummer by trade. Goldman c ...

and showing such diverse influences as Shudder to Think and Keane, comprises twelve piano-based songs of a depth, intensity, and relative darkness unseen before in Cool Hand Luke's work. The artwork-intensive album, complete with an enhanced CD, featured lyrics, explorations of each song, a music video, and in-depth exploration of the meanings contained within the artwork. On March 22, 2009, Mark Nicks (the sole remaining member of the band) announced that he was working to complete what he at the time said would be the final album under the "Cool Hand Luke" name. The album, Of Man, was released on March 25, 2011. Nicks said, "The album tells the story of Jesus’ final days, from the perspective of the people in His life. Part rock, part classical, part film score, this is the capstone of Cool Hand Luke’s 13-year career. Over 30 friends contributed to the making of this album, including members of

Underoath Underoath (styled as Underøath or UnderOath) is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in 1997 in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional members were from Tamp ...

, Elliott, Quiet Science, Aireline, and the Kopecky Family Band." Only 500 physical copies of the album were pressed. After a lengthy hiatus, in 2017, Nicks announced a Kickstarter project for funding a new Cool Hand Luke album titled ''Cora''.

Members

Present

*Mark Nicks – vocals, drums, keyboards/piano (studio)

Former

* Jason Hammil – guitar (1998–2003) * Chris Susi – guitar (2004) * Brandon Morgan – bass (1998–2004) * Nathan Lee - drums (2006) * Philip Smith – drums (live) (2006–8) * Joey Holman – guitar (2006–2009)

Discography

*'' Demo Schmemo'' (1998) *''...So Far'' EP (1999) *'' I Fought Against Myself'' (2001) *'' Wake Up, O Sleeper'' (2003, Floodgate Records) *'' The Fires of Life'' (2004, Floodgate Records) *'' The Balancing Act'' (2007, Floodgate Records) *'' The Sleeping House'' (2008, Lujo Records) *'' Live at The Brown Owl'' (2010) *'' Of Man'' (2011, Independent) *''

Cora Cora may refer to: Science * ''Cora'' (fungus), a genus of lichens * ''Cora'' (damselfly), a genus of damselflies * CorA metal ion transporter, a Mg2+ influx system People * Cora (name), a given name and surname * Cora E. (born 1968), German h ...

'' (2017, Independent)

References

External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cool Hand Luke Christian rock groups from Tennessee Indie pop groups from Tennessee Indie rock musical groups from Tennessee Musical groups established in 1998