The soul-stirring experience was captured in the documentary film, Stay Prayed Up, which is currently available on demand and is screening at film festivals around the country.
Though the group was formed over a half-century ago, they never recorded a live album until now.
PHIL COOK PRODUCER SERIES
However, he presently appears charged with a newly-minted seriousness that is revealed to listeners in solidarity, that he too is fighting like hell to keep love alive.From Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger, & Megafaun to Gospel GloryĪfter being affiliated with Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Megafaun – and releasing a series of his own acclaimed solo projects, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Phil Cook surprised many with the launch of his new roots gospel label, Spiritual Helpline, and producing a rousing new live roots Gospel album by North Carolina local legends, The Branchettes. Cook’s smile is still as infectious and earnest as it’s ever been. In 2018 choosing community and positivity and music is radical.
People Are My Drug is a radical album, in every sense of the word. The composition of the record plays as a love letter to Phil’s greatest inspiration of all: People. He heard Brevan Hampden's distinct sanctified tambourine in his head the whole time he was writing for the sessions. 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. Fueled by the power of that chemistry, Cook crafted each new song with reverence for each players’ artistic brilliance. His band, The Guitarheels, comprised of drummer JT Bates, bassist Michael Libramento and pianist James Wallace, forged a common language touring the world with Cook. They've long developed an honest working relationship based on the love of family and community, as well as staying true to oneself artistically. Enlisting Brad Cook as producer was a given, as the two Cooks have spent their entire lives working alongside one another. The result is a spiritual tour de force, delivered from the gut with open arms. Cook and his band recorded and mixed in both Wisconsin and North Carolina, finishing the record in ten days. As someone who has sought mentors my whole life, I am honoring the people who shaped who I am, not only musically, but spiritually, emotionally and personally.” He brings that forward in every note on People Are My Drug.Ĭook has firmly planted his roots in his adopted hometown of Durham, NC for the last decade, while simultaneously maintaining a musical presence in the upper-Midwest where he was raised. Cook notes, “I see life on a timeline that includes multi-generations. Since Southland Mission, Cook has performed with childhood heroes including Mavis Staples, Bruce Hornsby, John Prine, Amy Ray and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Instead of standing on the shoulders of his heroes, Cook is humbly kneeling at their feet. Each track asserts that he alone is no greater than the sum of the people who have brought him to this moment. Having only recently stepped to the center of the stage as a solo artist, Cook now takes a moment, citing the power of community as his thesis statement. Side A alone, culminating with the shiver-inducing “Another Mother’s Son,” has the capacity to light a fire in even the coldest of hearts. Where 2015’s Southland Mission illuminated for listeners what Phil Cook hears in his head, this latest record lays bare the way that music makes him feel. With the arrival of People Are My Drug, Phil Cook is taking the spark from lights left on by musical heroes and offering a torch for listeners as they navigate their own dark corners. In present times, choosing to amplify community and positivity through art can seem like a radical act. Transforming pain and injustice into love and compassion is a rendering that has been universal to poets and prophets for centuries.
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