This same music became a vehicle for grieving. Their version of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” embodies those little jubilant moments I’ll never forget. Most memorably, after a GAYNGS show at Cat’s Cradle, I walked across the street to a near-religious experience of Phil and Brad Cook, Justin Vernon, and the entire “gayng” hanging around The Station’s old stand up piano belting anthems from The Band.

While at UNC, every chance I had, I sought out Phil Cook and whatever friends he was playing with. This same music became a vehicle for celebration. But I kept listening and in time, this music became the soundtrack of some of the most defining moments of my life, and it introduced me to a world filled with creativity, collaboration and possibility. Her experiences seemed so foreign, so impossible and I was way too afraid to envision these type of experiences for my own life. She and I grew up in a small town with what seemed like a dearth of creative opportunities, and I admired the path she’d carved for herself. She was on tour with his band Megafaun and snapping some photos along the way. Additional dates are below and at a decade ago, my friend Helena introduced me to the music of Durham-based Phil Cook. His next run of dates begins in hs in Durham, NC at The Pinhook on April 7th. Southland Mission earned raves across the board, including Paste, The Bluegrass Situation, American Songwriter, Pitchfork, NPR’s World Cafe and others. He has collaborated with Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, performed with Mavis Staples, been Musical Director for The Blind Boys of Alabama and much more over his evolving career. He is a recording and touring member of Hiss Golden Messenger as well. While paying tribute to some of his New Orleans heroes in the song “Life,” Cook tapped Richmond’s No BS! Brass Band.Ĭook has been involved in a number of projects, including psych-folk band Megafaun. He imagined vocalist Tamisha Waden (Foreign Exchange) soaring above “Steampowered Blues” and turned to collaborator Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso) to co-write “Miles Away”, a plainly honest song about the complexity of emotional proximity. The composition of the record plays as a love letter to Phil’s greatest inspiration of all: People.Ĭook crafted every track with reverence for each players’ artistic brilliance. The result is a spiritual tour de force, delivered from the gut with open arms. Cook and company recorded and mixed PAMD in both his home state of Wisconsin and his newly adopted home of North Carolina, finishing the record in ten days. He enlisted brother Brad Cook as producer, along with his band The Guitarheels (comprised of drummer JT Bates, bassist Michael Libramento and pianist James Wallace). With community as a driving force behind his musical mission, Cook has brought along various folks on this adventure. Where Southland Mission illuminated for listeners what Phil Cook hears in his head, this record lays bare the way that music makes him feel.

PEOPLE ARE MY DRUG follows Cook’s first solo album, 2015’s aclaimed Southland Mission. Within my mortal body and experience, this music is my church.” The payoff when Mountain Man enters at the end of the double-time chant makes me cheer every time. Tamisha Waden and Chastity Brown’s vocal expressions are stunning.

Lyrically, it’s playful in a way that I can get behind. The left-right bass lines get my feet stepping, whereas the drums channel my hip movements and the weightless carefree melodies often coax my arms from my sides toward the sky. I’ve long been drawn to the swing and swagger of New Orleans’ step rhythms. Cook reflects on the track:, ““Steampowered Blues” is the first song I wrote for PEOPLE ARE MY DRUG. Today, Billboard premiered “Steampowered Blues,” the first track off the album. Troubadour Phil Cook continues his journey with his second solo release, PEOPLE ARE MY DRUG, out June 1 on Psychic Hotline/Thirty Tigers.

Phil cook all these years vinyl