![]() ![]() Once you find a little bit more of your true north, you tend to find your people. It creates a situation where there can be magnetism and more of a pole. Phil Cook: Yeah, I think naturally that joy in exploration is kind of an invitation. Was it this open-minded exploration that allowed you to surround yourself with such a strong community in North Carolina? Because we were inside all the fucking time and you either get a hobby or a habit.ĪD: These communities don’t just happen. We quickly got hungry and branched out to see where those things could show up in other kinds of music. ![]() At the same time, this jazz thing sparked a love of play with music, a love of exploration in art and expression in these masterful ways. So there was a lot of that pursuit of virtuosity instilled into a lot of my friends-all the people you just mentioned. There’s also a big fostering of jazz here. There’s just a lot of hearth in our social situations. As indoor kids and kids who are more inclined towards music, we have this natural shedding part of the year where we’re inside, hunkered down. So when I grew up here, I had to reckon with this vast amount of indoor time. That family tree of musicians doesn’t have a ton of branches, but it’s so strong. Carey, Laarks, Shouting Matches, Field Report, the list goes on. Bon Iver, Megafaun, Amateur Love, Aero Flynn, S. Through an unwavering smile, he talked about the importance of a fertile cultural landscape, how the label he just started is anything but, and why he decided to release a solo piano album now. | m behrends All These Years by Phil CookĪquarium Drunkard: I want to start with Eau Claire. I caught up with Cook on the eve of the release of his beautiful new instrumental record, All These Years. It’s why he can now so seamlessly transition from fronting bands like Megafaun and The Guitar Heels to touring with Hiss Golden Messenger and The Blind Boys Of Alabama, and from sharing the stage with American icons like Mavis Staples, John Prine, and Bruce Hornsby to composing for Kanye, then still somehow find the energy to release critically-acclaimed solo records like 2015’s Southland Mission. ![]() As much as his music in recent years has pulled from the rich traditions around him in North Carolina, the cold Wisconsin winters are what first drove Cook to the piano.Īlongside his brother-the sought-after producer and bassist Brad Cook-and lifelong friends like Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Cook used his seemingly endless positivity to build an open, community-minded approach to music. We’re talking winter jacket and stocking hat indoors in mid-November. It seemed fitting that when I opened the Google Meet window to talk with Phil Cook, he was back in his native Eau Claire, Wisconsin, supremely bundled up. ![]()
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