Made Meant Everything: St. John’s Says Goodbye to Jeff Cook
Make Mean Everything live at the Levee. Photo by Brad Mercer.
Being a relatively active audience member in St. John’s bustling music scene you get to watch some of your favorite artists grow and develop their work, and selves, over a span of time.
You catch someone’s earliest set, maybe even their first moments on a stage, and watch them sweat their way through it. You carry that moment with you fondly, especially if you’ve ever had the chance to be in their shoes. Without getting too ‘8 Mile’ about it, your palms are sweaty while your mind and mouth engage in a race trying desperately to keep up with one another. At least, that was how my earliest experiences on stage went down. Others seem to find their way more naturally, as though the stage was built around them.
Jeff Cook of Make Mean Everything. Photo by Brad Mercer.
This is how I felt watching Jeff Cook on stage. When I was a young lad, I used to watch him play open mics and perform covers of popular songs mashed into one. I watched him bravely approach his original music during these sets, something I had been unwilling to do.
This was my first impression of the man, a simple combination of admiration and envy. That envy, as I got to know Cook over the coming years, turned to a solidified respect for his ability to turn any chord progression into a sprawling opus of epic proportions.
On Friday, June 12th, his band Make Mean Everything will play their farewell notes at The Levee, one of the many stages the group has graced since its inception.
Joined by long-time collaborators Braeden Pilgrim on drums and John Conway on bass, the group will take a breather as Cook says ‘au revoir’ to the city he’s called home for the better part of a decade.
I sat down with the man himself to ask some questions that I, both as a fan and a friend, truly wanted the answers to before Mr. Cook flies the coop.
Okay, let’s hear your most interesting version of the MME origin story.
I’ve been recording songs since a ‘patch cord to USB’ device existed, I think probably when I was around 10 or 11 years old. I’d written poetry since I could spell and I began producing recordings when I started learning to play guitar. The earliest recording I can find from around age 12, I think, about a year after learning guitar.
So, I recorded in my spare time until I moved to St. John’s and heard about the RPM Challenge. I produced ten songs in February 2011 and sent them to a few close friends at first, then started posting to social media.
Braeden Pilgrim was first to tell me how much he enjoyed it and suggested we start a pop punk band with the songs. By April we had found a bassist by the name of Ryan Gordon and decided to book our first show with Gene Browne at The Levee. He slotted us late on a Wednesday evening with Kyle O’Grady headlining and Jordan Coaker (now of Waterfront Fire) opening.
We practiced for nine hours straight the day of the show and played that night with surprising precision. It was a five song set and I played electric acoustic guitar.
How do you feel your songwriting has evolved from the band’s early days to now?
In the early days of the band I was mostly concerned with making songs that had a (mostly) traditional song structure and easy-to-follow chord structure. We went through so many members and incarnations that I wanted to be able to show anyone my songs, and perform them live (usually without much practice). One summer, the band was made up entirely of my friends from NB. Other times, it was a gaggle of any friend who could learn and play the songs quickly enough.
When John Conway finally found his place alongside Braeden and I as the only existing original members, my songwriting became much more complicated.
John and I would wax over ways to hide our technical skill and knowledge within the popular songs that Braeden and I liked to play and record. I stopped trying to write songs I could teach anyone and started collaborating on songs that would challenge all of us while still being catchy and fun.
What does the name mean to you?
The name is taken almost directly from a Chuck Palahniuk book. It’s funny that you ask what it means. In the novel Diary, Palahniuk has a character descend into madness really early on in the plot and they write the phrase, “What you don’t understand you can make mean anything”.
Throughout the novel, he changes the punctuation in that phrase. And he repeats it, showing that with different emphasis or inflection… that single phrase can mean a lot of things.
The name is that concept but I wanted to give it up to the listener so they could interpret the sound in whatever way they chose. I set out to make music that was universally accessible, it means whatever you want it to mean. It’s phrased as if I’m talking to myself:
“Make [this music] mean everything”.
MME at the Levee. Photo by Leon White
You guys have obviously had a lot of presence in this city for years. What have you learned about yourself, as a musician, as a human being?
I learned that there is no formula, no plan at all for being a successful musician. The word ‘successful’ itself is relative. I don’t know if I could ever live the frugal life of a touring musician in Canada, or put on stage makeup and take directions and criticisms from a giant board of executives before going to grab a coffee down the road every morning.
I used to dream of those things, but now I value music as an enrichment in my life. You could do it big, do it small, frequently or almost never, but it’s only valuable when you’re really enjoying it and it’s a satisfying experience. I believe for people like me, it’s a compulsion to create, like a tick or a case of the jitters when it happens. It’s all about getting joy out of that experience.
Evidently, you’re no stranger to the RPM Challenge. How does writing alone differ from writing with a group for you?
Writing songs for a group in isolation sucks for me and probably for most people who do it. I think in this style of rock music, the Machiavellian idea of “this is my piece of music, play it exactly like this” is kind of an insult to the other musicians and to what that piece could be. I don’t put the name “Make Mean Everything” on RPMs anymore, and haven’t since my first one when I was the only member of the group.
John and Braeden are incredibly talented so when I bring an idea to them, or they bring one to me, the mentality is that the band can do whatever they want with it. My idea is just the basis, and their ideas are what really makes it great. If you listen to us play one of the songs I’ve put on an RPM live, in my opinion,
it’s always much better and much more mature.
Who are some bands that you grew up listening to? Which ones did you take the most influence from?
My earliest influences are bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, like a lot of people just picking up an instrument. They set a good basis for how I play now. I would put them as almost the most important in what I can play. I went through a phase of envying virtuosity and speed as well. I would learn Joe Satriani, Frank Zappa and Protest the Hero just to say I could. That’s sort of where I got my chops, and my ability to play a bit faster.
I take my compositional cues from everything now, usually what I listen to when I’m writing. Two RPMs ago was very centered around Tera Melos, Tangled Hair and Feed Me Jack. My most recent one was more about bands like Tricot from Japan and Pile from New York. I’ve sort of ruined my taste and influences that way. I have to go pretty far down the rabbit hole before I start finding new things to absorb.
MME at the Levee. Photo by Leon White
What’s your current guitar/pedal set-up of choice?
From input to output I have:
Chromatic Tuner, Standard Overdrive, Swollen Pickle fuzz, Aquapuss delay, Ensemble Chorus and a Loop Station.
I want to work in at least another loop and delay for my future projects, and I’m not finished getting acquainted with the Swollen Pickle just yet.
Any other projects that yourself or your bandmates are currently working on that you’re at liberty to discuss?
I’d definitely like to mention John Conway’s new project Odd Friend that he’s been keeping busy with as MME winds down. His first attempt at solo composition and production is mindblowingly good. The EP is called “How I Learned to Stop Worrying” and it’s on Bandcamp.
As for me, I can’t help not making music. I’m sure I’ll be putting out an RPM next year, and having more free time, it’ll probably be worlds above the last few.
As far as a band goes, I’d really like to take a backseat to another songwriter, and truly become the mortar and pestle to their ideas. I’ve never been able to listen to someone else’s piece and try to find all the ways I can supplement it. I think that would be a lot of fun.
Sadly, you’ll be saying “au revoir” to St. John’s for the time being. Does this mean the end of MME or just an “indefinite hiatus”?
I guess we haven’t really had that talk yet. Ideally, we’ll continue to collaborate online with demos and compositions. Behind the scenes that’s how most of our deciding on ‘what songs to play’ takes place. If we can make it work long distance, I would love to come back for a few rehearsals and shows in a year’s time. Like I said, though, we haven’t really talked about it yet.
With you moving, what will you remember most?
Wow there’s so many things. I’ve been immersed here for five years, trying to become a part of the downtown community. I think what I’ll remember most is that people in St. John’s will ALWAYS surprise you. Everyone I’ve become friends with, or just met in passing, has some kind of incredible talent or skill that they don’t want to wear on their sleeve. I’ve seen so many people play in groups and just blow me away with what they can do. Everyone in St. John’s is underrated.
You sweet talker. Marry me?
Let’s go to Vegas and tie the knot tonight, why don’t we?