"We don't change for our crowds," Cooper said during a recent telephone interview. "We are who we are. We're an established act, and people know what they're getting when they come to one of our shows. People relate to our music. It's a good thing that we're a pretty straight-up rock act." However, he admitted: "Our band does have two sides, and our fans diverge in age from 5 to grandma age. We have a genuine old-school-rocker and young-fan following. ... It's good to play a tour like WinterJam, though, where we can play to the full spectrum of our fans. It's popular, too. The pay-at-the-door WinterJam tour is easily filling 20,000-capacity arenas. It's great for families. There's everything from rap to rock and everything in between." he said.

And they're ready to roll into one of their favorite cities together, too. "Tulsa is in my top three of favorite cities to play," Cooper said. "The fans are just the best. The biggest crowd we had on our last major tour (2009) was in Tulsa. We really are excited about this show."  The band's also ready to head into the studio for its first full studio album since 2009, too - as soon as they finish this 50-city tour. They hope for a fall release. It will be their eighth studio album, he said.

- Jennifer Chancellor

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