Jordan Cook

Jordan Cook

All Grown Up

by Craig Silliphant

February 22, 2011

Though he’s ‘all growned up’ and probably tired of hearing the phrase ‘child prodigy,’ rocker Jordan Cook first made a name for himself as a pre-teen guitar whiz on the prairie scene.  As he grew up, Cook left a trail of dropped jaws and popped eyeballs where ever he went.  He was fortunate enough to share the stage with diverse acts from B.B. King to Van Morrison to The Tragically Hip.  He was praised for his performance at the famous Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and he was named by Maclean’s Magazine as one of the ‘100 Canadians to Watch’.  Perhaps one of the best compliments he was given was when the late Jeff Healey publically introduced Cook as “the finest player in the world today.”

With the long awaited release of his new album, "Seven Deadly Sins", Cook is poised to take the world by storm with his white hot brand of half-man/half-beast/half-rock/half-blues string slinging and his howl at the moon vocal attack.  I sat down with Cook to talk to him about the new album, jamming and touring with former members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, and how to keep humble through the hailstorm that is the music industry.

CRAIG SILLIPHANT:  Let’s start off real simple.  How did you get into music?

JORDAN COOK:  When I was two, my Dad bought me a guitar.  I used to jump all over his vintage Fender Strat, so he gave me music.

CS:  You were one of a few young players in the province that spent time at the Saturday afternoon blues jam at Bud’s on Broadway in Saskatoon.  What part did that play in your musical education?

JC:  Bud’s was a big deal to me growing up.  I started taking in their Saturday afternoon jams when I was four years old.  By the time I turned five, Suzie Vinnick and Curtis Scarrow had me up to play because they always saw me in the front.  To think about how many talents have come out of there; it blows my mind.  The best part about it was that many of the great American blues bands came through on a weekly basis.  One of the biggest highlights still today for me was sharing the stage with most of Muddy Waters’ band there.  And of course, Winnipeg’s Big Dave McLean who still keeps the blues alive in this country.

 CS:  You were labeled a child prodigy, something that a lot of players try to outrun by the time they get into their 20s.  Did the child prodigy thing haunt you or did it help your career?

 JC:  I have been so fortunate to have had the experiences I have had.  I think the hardest thing to do is introduce a new sound.  Never does my experience as a kid haunt me; it’s trying to find the right balance with the sound I grew up loving and performing and the sound I love to perform now.

CS:  The first time I saw you play, you were about 10 years old.  You played at a cabaret on the same bill as one of my old bands.  What do you remember about playing all those gigs when you were a kid?

JC:  You gotta love the early 90s!  People ask me why I have a raspy voice and I honestly believe it was from the years and years of second hand smoke at all the early shows.  I almost miss the haze.

CS: Speaking of local shows, who is your favourite Saskatchewan band?

JC: Barricade, [a band] from the 80s. I still wear their shirt religiously. I was just a kid and we shared a rehearsal hall, so I’d watch them jam quite often. They were just loud and exciting with hair

CS:  As you grew up, you had the chance to play some pretty dope gigs. I remember you telling me a story about chilling with Rick Derringer [of Rock n’ Roll Hoochie Coo fame] and sitting in for Aretha Franklin. 

 JC:  I was in Florida staying with Rick Derringer; we were writing and recording some music together at the time.  The first night I arrived he took me to Tampa to go hang out with George     Thorogood and the next night we went to Disney World’s House of Blues to take in an Aretha Franklin show.  Turns out she was sick and cancelled at the last minute.  Her band was asked to still play anyway but they didn’t have a front man to lead it.  Guess who was in the audience and caught word of this quickly?  My manager and I went to the side door and ran into some of her band and after talking a bit they said, “Why don’t you play with us?”  While the audience was being informed of what was happening, I ran across the street to a music store and borrowed a guitar out of the window.  The audience stayed and it was an unreal experience.  When we did a version of Feeling Alright, the back-up singers sang with me and I remember feeling like should I stop singing.  They sounded so, so good.  Immediately after the show, The House of Blues offered my band and I a tour!

CS:  You were also dubbed “the first Canadian rocker to tour China.”  How crazy was that?

JC:  [What] sticks out the most is that we played around eleven shows across China and I heard that we were going to be playing ‘a couple of smaller cities’ after the Beijing date.  I asked the     promoter, “How small of cities are you talking?”  He says, “About eight to ten million people.”  That isn’t too small where I come from.  Oh, and try being vegetarian in China.  A friend of ours thought he was eating tofu and it turned out to be frog tongue.

CS:  What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you on stage?

JC:  I fell off stage in Edmonton, head first, during a guitar solo a few years back.  I blacked out but was told I never stopped playing.  I’m hoping it shows up on YouTube someday.

CS:  Let’s talk about the album, which ended up being a long time coming.  How would you describe the way your sound shook out on "Seven Deadly Sins"?

JC:  Since the album was built over the course of a few years there was an array of influences that helped this record take shape.  I dabbled in making theatrical music like the title track as well as keeping it quite raw with song like The War.  I am quite proud of it.  The experiences I had through its growth are clear when you listen to it start to finish.

CS:  What challenges did you face that caused delays as you tried to bring your vision for this album to fruition?

JC:  I think when I first started the "Seven Deadly Sins" album I tried to do too much; there wasn’t a lot of time to create the right sound.  I was banging my head against the wall when it just wasn’t coming out the way I wanted.  It literally came down to restarting and basically scrapping what was originally recorded.  That being said, now having time away from the original     recordings I have realized there is something cool about them too.  Most were done to tape at [Arcade Fire producer] Howard Bilerman’s studio in Montreal.

 CS:  And during the making of this album, you met Ben Shepherd from Soundgarden and Matt Chamberlain of Pearl Jam and got to play and tour with them.  How did you meet and what did they bring to your repertoire?

JCMatt Chamberlain was in a recording at a studio in Memphis with a producer I did some writing with named Paul Ebersold.  Paul ended up showing him some of my music and he asked who was drumming on it.  The idea of us playing together just happened.  When Matt and I started recording, the plan was I’d play bass and the guitar parts but since we were recording off the floor we decided it would be better to have a bass player rock with us.  I mentioned the idea of Ben Shepherd as I was just listening to the bass line in Soundgarden’s Burden in my Hand.  He just had a different approach.  Turned out Matt and him always talked about jamming together and he wasn’t up to much at the time so we called him up.  After one conversation he was on the next flight from Seattle to Memphis.  Really, this time was incredible as these are both players that I’d looked up to for years --- and now they were playing on songs I wrote.  They both have their own sound, so when playing with me we all just did our thing and it felt loose and tight all at the same time.  If that makes any sense.  The last Western Canadian tour we did together was minus forty the whole trip, so getting them back to Canada real soon may be a stretch after that experience.

CS:  You’ve been doing a lot of American dates lately --- and I know you got a pretty amazing opportunity at the infamous Viper Room LA.  How did that come about?

 JC:  My band and I went down to California late last year with five shows booked around LA and area, but before heading back to Canada we had 26 shows in the bag.  Our first gig started out just playing for a bartender, then the next show a few of his friends showed up.  Toward the end of the tour we were packing the house every time we’d play.  The Viper Room took notice and asked us to do a residency at the club, which I’m told is very rare.

CS:  That’s really cool.  So what’s the secret?  What is so unique about a Jordan Cook live show?

JC:  I think the biggest difference is the puppet show.  Have you seen this yet?  No, it’s really about the energy, more than anything.  The show is only as good as the audience; the more energy the audience is giving, the more energy I give.  But I won’t give up until we are both giving it our all.

CS:  For a dude that gets a lot of praise from some pretty famous people, you are a fairly down to Earth guy.  Are you secretly a prick?  How have you managed to keep your ego from trying to run the JC train?

 JC:  Of course I am a dick!  No, I think growing up in Saskatoon is what keeps me grounded.  I have always surrounded myself with such talented people --- and not just musically --- that I am     humbled on a daily basis.

For more info, visit www.jordancook.com.
 

By Craig Silliphant for SaskMusic. Photos courtesy Scott Bell and Chad Coombs. Originally published February/March 2011.

This article is posted as initially published. For reprint/usage permission or any other questions, please contact SaskMusic.

 

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Photo Courtesy: Scott Bell Photo Courtesy: Scott Bell Photo Courtesy: Scott Bell Photo Courtesy: Scott Bell

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