There are many long and winding roads across this country. And a lot of traveling musicians have taken their fair share. But there aren’t too many that have traveled those roads before forming bands.
When Russell Cook and Cameron Federal-Cook formed Little Country Giants in 1999, they had left the sleepy northern Georgia towns of Rome and Fairmont for the San Francisco suburb of Vallejo — and come home again.
While in California, the two had few friends but took the opportunity to focus on writing music together. Drawing on influences ranging from Billy Joe Shaver to Mahalia Jackson and Pink Floyd, they concerned themselves more with writing good music than creating songs that could be categorized into a specific genre.
“I’m a really big fan of acoustic blues and that meeting point between country and jazz that happened with Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills,” says Cook. “I also love anybody that can pull off an old standard in a different context, like Willie Nelson‘s ‘Stardust’ or any of Ray Charles’ country stuff. A good song is a good song, no matter how you dress it, and people are still playing some of the really old ones because they’re still really good.”
Cook and Federal-Cook leaned on their musical influences when creating the band. Both grew up listening to the folk, rock, bluegrass and gospel they heard at church or through their families.
Federal-Cook, who studied piano in college, sang in church and school choirs. He was heavily influenced by his uncles, Lenny and Michael Federal, who were both well-respected traveling musicians.
Cook, like many teens, found punk, grunge and rock as a teen. He formed his first band at 14 with current bandmate Joseph Evans. That early band covered Nirvana, The Dead Milkmen and The Ramones and had a few original songs. They even had a gig at a local bluegrass festival in what Cook calls, “a misguided attempt to bring in a younger crowd.”
Little Country Giants, the name Cook and Federal-Cook gave themselves as a songwriting duo, have added Evans and his wife Julie as permanent members of the band while still bringing in a host of musicians for recording sessions and live performances.
“The lineup may change depending on the music we write or if we want to strip things down and have a more songwriting-oriented performance.” But Federal-Cook points out, “Our albums reflect the most common lineup, which is the one with the Evans duo on lead guitar and backup vocals.”
Because of family responsibilities, the band typically plays shows only on the weekends, although they do go on mini-tours twice a year. While the bandmates consider themselves more songwriters than entertainers, they still connect with their audiences.
 “I think the live shows are a little more upbeat and give the soloists a chance to step out and stretch their fingers a little bit,” says Cook. “We’ve been told the shows are fairly intimate, which probably comes from the fact that we all enjoy one another’s company onstage and off. Being onstage with the people I love puts me onstage at my best.”
And that love and dedication to the music obviously shows. Little Country Giants were named “Best Traditional Folk Act” by Atlanta’s Creative Loafing in both 2005 and 2006. That’s an honor the band doesn’t take lightly. “It makes me want to eat a lot and drive really fast,” says Federal-Cook. “And it feels very rewarding to know that somebody is enjoying what we are doing.”
“I can’t complain about it either,” Cook adds. “I tend to think of ‘traditional folk’ as really old songs — and we play original material — but our approach is pretty old fashioned and straightforward. We’re just thrilled that people enjoy it.” The band released Sing Pretty for the People in 2006 after six months of recording. Their album, which features numerous performers, showcases the band’s artistic growth.
Federal-Cook says the changes are quite apparent: “It is very different. The parts are more orchestrated, the songwriting is more mature and the overall sound of the record is more professional and of a higher quality. It was fun, but it was a lot of work.”
The band hopes to record a new album in 2007 and also set out on a longer tour. But mainly, they just want to keep making music. “We’ll probably always do it, in one capacity or another,” states Federal-Cook. “As long as we’re writing songs, we’ll be recording and playing them. And as long as people are listening, we’ll be trying to make sure they can hear us.”
www.littlecountrygiants.com |
