Fall Playlist: Paul Cook & The Chronicles

Fall is my favorite time of year and Paul Cook makes it that much better. I discovered him last year when a friend introduced me to his albums Paul Cook & The Chronicles Volumes 1 & 2. I instantly fell in love and don’t doubt you will too. To my excitment I was able to recently do a Q&A on the talented artist himself, after he shared some new music with me!

Take a listen to Paul Cook & The Chronicles new releases while reading!

Q: What inspired you to start music? How long have you been playing music?Having 60s and 70s music on in the house growing up (my folks weren’t fans of the 80s…) was a massive inspiration. And then Noel Gallagher really made me want to start a band.

Q: How would you describe your music to people?Folksy notes for sad blokes.

Q: What/who are your musical influences?Elliot Smith, Beck, Neil Young, Bon Iver etc, but also any good pop music really.

Q: What else do you enjoy to do besides play music?Right now I’d say it’s a combination of strong coffee, craft beer, staying in bed when it’s raining and watching anything with Matthew McConaughey (since he got good).

Q: Which of your songs are your favorite and why?Of the recent batch of tunes I love ‘Come Out Wherever You Are’ from my new (Thunderbolt) EP. It was a co-write with one of my producers Todd (Roache) and I didn’t have to do much to make it sound as good as it does – it was nice to have a bit more distance there. But I also love the really personal introspective ones like ‘Ships Pass’, ‘Six Places’, and ‘Destroyer’.

Q: How do you go about writing your songs?I wait until I’m really upset about something, then go find the nearest guitar.

Q: Where are some of the places you’ve preformed and which place os your favorite?I like the more intimate venues hidden away on the backstreets. There’s a venue in Dalston (East London) that’s near to me called Servant Jazz Quarters, which I’ve played at a bunch of times and it’s always been great. It’s like playing in someone’s living room, but with added beer.

Q: What personal advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue this career?Try to be as much like Ed Sheeran as possible.

Q: Do you have new music in the making?Always. I’m loving working with Todd who used to be in a band called The Heart Strings, and we’ll be doing more stuff together soon. And my good friend and producer Julian Simmons – who’s actually done quite a bit of work with Ed (Sheeran) in the past – will continue to be a regular musical partner in crime I’m sure. I’m working on tracks for the next EP as we speak.

Q: What are you goals and aspirations for your music?A lot of the music that’s being made at the moment feels pretty temporary to me and I still love the idea of building a catalogue that stands up over time. Right now my main goal is to keep on writing/recording as many good songs as I can and to try to make sure that they get heard by enough people along the way. And if one of those people happens to be Emma Stone and she decides she really needs me to explain one of the songs to her in more detail over coffee some time then I won’t fight it.

Where to find more

//www.paulcookchronicles.com

//www.facebook.com/paulcookchronicles

//www.soundcloud.com/paulcookchronicles

//paulcookchronicles.bandcamp.com

//www.twitter.com/cookchronicles