 Courtesy of the Artist
Minnesota-based songwriter Andy Cook’s new EP Modern Man is a 22-minute indie-rock/Americana ride that stokes twinges of nostalgia with jangly guitars, articulate synth lines, and driving percussion as it follows Cook digging into life in this hyper-digital age via lyric-driven, sonically-rich landscape. In advance of the EP's April 13th release, Cook kindly took the time to answer his Essential 8 where he talked about the story behind Modern Man, Jeremy Ylvisaker, dreaming big, and more.
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? I do! My music mentor is Jeremy Ylvisaker, a guitar player and all-around amazing musical mind. He currently plays with a variety of group including HALEY and The Suburbs, and has also toured with Andrew Bird and been an artist-in-residence at the Eaux Claires festival. Jeremy taught me how to play guitar beginning about 5 years ago, and has since become producer and bandmate too. As both a player and a teacher, Jeremy has this magical way of making things simple and focusing on how best to convey whatever idea or emotion it is we’re trying to get across. He’s at once exceptionally talented and wonderfully humble—a n artist and a person I look up to immensely! What’s the story behind your album’s title? I called the album “Modern Man” for two reasons—one, I’m exploring what it’s like living in modern society and how we navigate life through social media and this non-stop cycle of activity and information. Second, I specifically wanted to use the word “man” because I very much believe in equity and that across all industries, professions, and situations men need to think more about how we can support that and push back on so much of the toxic masculinity we are exposed to and perpetuate, even without intent. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? I’d say it’s a combination of my own experiences and observations. Music is the best way I’ve found to express myself and understand/convey how I see the world. If there’s something I want to say or make sense of, a song is the best way to do it!
What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
Dream big, then set smaller goals to help get there, and don’t get discouraged. And write what feels right to you. When I first started, I think I was trying too hard to make songs that sounded like other people’s songs. Now I focus on making songs that I want to play and listen to, and I don’t really care what genre it gets labeled as. And the last thing I’d say is play/practice every day—and have a pen/paper and some kind of recording device (even just a phone) handy. It’s fun, you never know where ideas will come from, and getting better as a player doesn’t hurt either. What’s your favorite food on the road? If I can find a place that has all-day breakfast food, that’s where I’m going. What are your “must have” albums for the road? The Stroke Is This It, Angel Olsen Burn Your Fire For No Witness, HALEY Impossible Dream, and The Velvet Underground Loaded Favorite (or first) concert you have ever attended? I probably went to The Teddy Bear Band or something as a small kid. But as a “regular” concert, it was Cold War Kids at First Avenue in 2013—kinda wild, but I’ve only been doing anything with music since about then! I saw Jake Bugg at First Ave in 2014, and that show made me want to really pursue songwriting and performing. And as a favorite concert, it’s so hard to pick. Seeing Jeremy backup John Prine at Eaux Claires was pretty darn cool. Is there a recent release you cannot stop listening to? There are two: Visions of a Life by Wolf Alice and 22 In Blue by Sunflower Bean Website // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Spotify
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