"Cooder Graw" formed in 1997, was a self-described "loud country" (country music / alternative country) band from Amarillo and Lubbock. Cooder Graw is somewhat of an anomaly in the music industry, in that its members' ages at its inception ranged from late-30s to early-50s. The band's singer, Matt Martindale, was the assistant district attorney of Gray County, Texas prior to devoting his full attention to the band. The band was originally called "Coup de Grâce," but another band was already using that name, so the name was changed to a "Texas-version" of the original name.