Ryan Cook is going on tour, which is a subtle bit of business for a musician who has already embraced life on the road. As the self-proclaimed youngest-snowbird in Canada, Cook has made the best of his career choice by yo-yoing up and down the continent, and in Matt Foley style, he’s done much of it in an iconic Toyota camper van. Cook says that, despite appearances, the lifestyle isn’t always as romantic as it seems, and his latest album, the satirically titled Having A Great Time, is an ode to just that.
“I started part-time and occasionally full-time living in an RV five years ago,” explains Cook. “I started doing it, however, because it suited my occupation of being a self-employed musician, and it seemed an obvious choice for someone with no family, who liked to snowbird somewhere warm in the winter with their dog. But, along the way I had many tribulations and hilariously bad adventures, breakdowns [and] lemon RVs, and [I] lost a meaningful amount of sleep attempting to live this life. Hence, Having a Great Time, my new album.”
There’s no doubt that, despite the challenges, the lifestyle still holds a certain appeal for some, and a lot more for others. And if you ask the marketing department…
The first track, “Cult of my Own” sets the pace for the album and its satirical tone. It doesn’t beat around the bush. Opening with a fun guitar riff that is quickly met with twang and lyrics stating, “The world’s gone crazy and I think maybe I’ll start a cult, a cult of my own,” Cook makes it clear, people get fanatical.
Cook says that around the time he was putting song together he was consuming a stream of of documentaries and podcasts about or featuring cults, a lot of which rung true with what he was experiencing in the #vanlife culture. At one point Cook nearly became a living, breathing advertisement for the movement.
“I was approached by some Instagram people for interviews, photos, etc. and what I found when I delved into that world a bit was that the whole thing was just outrageously fake and almost entirely about advertising. In other words, it became this commercial phenomenon for product placement. I had a lot of content to draw from between all that and the binge watching of cult flicks.”
Most of Cook’s songs portray tales of his adventures in the Southern United States. Tracks “Margaritas and Muscle Relaxers,” “Punta Gorda” and even “Mid-Morning Cry” carry a fun, upbeat, happy-go-lucky feel while discussing tough times and sadness. We hear lyrics like “Sometimes I wanna give up, you gotta keep going. Sometimes I hate myself for all the money i’m blowing. Sometimes I wanna just push, flush it all down the drain, but tonight I think I need a little vacation from my brain” sung overtop of music that inspires imagery of a tropical vacation on the beach. This reinforces the idea that this lifestyle he is singing about throughout the album seems really nice from the outside, but from the inside, when you look closely, it’s not quite what you had originally expected.
“In reality, it isn’t romantic at all. It involves a lot of breaking down, being broke, driving around aimlessly for a place to sleep that you won’t get kicked out of, etc.. Furthermore, the couples you see online, (or solo travelers) living the ‘vanlife’ most always have some sort of unlimited pool of money that they saved up, or are doing ad placements with niche companies to be able to sustain their lifestyle.
There’s this notion that you can sell everything you own, move into a van, and travel around the country living an outrageously romantic and picturesque lifestyle. That’s what the photos and #vanlife movement portray.”
Having A Great Time manages to tick all of our boxes. If it’s going to be a country album, at least it can be a cleverly satirical one. And while the album has largely a country feel, it also incorporates elements of folk, roots and jazz, bringing something to the table for a diverse audience. Full of cultural quirks and storytelling, this album is a winner.
Cook says that while there might have been five years between the last two records, he won’t be waiting so long to put out new material in the future. In the meantime you can catch him on tour through Ontario and across the Maritimes.
Tour Dates:
Apr 5 – Moonshine Café; Oakville, ON
Apr 6 – House Concert; Barrie, ON
Apr 7 – Garage Series Concerts; Holland Landing; ON
Apr 8 – Purple Hill Opry; Thornhill, ON
Apr 12 – Dakota Tavern; Toronto, ON
Apr 14 – Haileybury House Concert; Temiskaming Shores, ON
Apr 19 – Sellers & Newell; Toronto, ON
Apr 21 – Greenbank Folk Society; Greenbank, ON
Apr 22 – The Acoustic Grill; Picton, ON
Apr 27 – United Church: Fenelon Falls; ON
Apr 28 – House Concert; Addison, ON
Apr 29 – Chuckles, Smiths Falls, ON
May 2 – Pineview Restaurant, Griffith, ON
May 4 – Spitfire, Brockville, ON
May 5 – Mariposa Cafe; Montreal, QC
May 6 – Stanstead House Concerts, Fitch Bay, QC
May 16 – Tracadie Community Centre, Tracadie, PE
May 17 – Milton Community Hall, North Milton, PE
May 18 – Village Musical Acadien, Abram-Village, PE
May 19 – Back Alley Music, Charlottetown, PE
May 19 – New London Community Complex, New London, PE
May 20 – Souris Show Hall, Souris, PE
May 24 – Living Roots Music Festival, The Loch, Harvey, NB
May 25 – Creekview Restaurant, Gagetown, NB
May 26 – Living Roots Music Festival, Grimross, Fredericton, NB
May 31 – Bearly’s House of Blues, Halifax, NS
June 2 – The Rolled Oat Café, Wolfville, NS
June 3 – Trellis Café, Hubbards, NS
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