Rising Stars: Meet Preston Cook

Today we’d like to introduce you to Preston Cook.

Hi Preston, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My first memories are in a trailer park in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We moved to my childhood home when I was 5 and I started school. I grew up loving baseball, Star Wars, fishing with my grandpa, and playing video games. When I was 9 my parents gave me an acoustic guitar for Christmas and I fell in love. I started learning Christian worship songs from a family friend for a few years before finding my mom’s hidden AC/DC album, “Who Made Who.” I fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll and electric guitar and after getting one for my birthday, couldn’t put it down. I quickly found more and more classic rock and blues albums to learn, from Led Zeppelin 1 to Appetite for Destruction, BB King to Elvis. I learned techniques from classical composers like Bach, Paganini, and Mozart. Throughout my teenage years, I’d come home from school and lock myself in my room practicing for 3-6 hours a day. I loved the sound of Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, and Slash.

When I graduated high school, I went to York College of Pennsylvania to study mechanical engineering, but I quickly found that my heart belonged to music. So I quit school, worked from home for 2 years, and saved just enough to move to Nashville in 2017. Since then, I’ve released music with bands like Centralia Drive and Flagship Gamble, where I wrote and produced. In 2021, I left Flagship Gamble to pursue a solo career, blending all of my influences into a fun modern style of rock.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it hasn’t. My goal out of high school was to go to school for music, but unfortunately, that didn’t sit right with my parents. I quit school three semesters in and started paying off the loans, which set me back a good bit. In 2016, after a gig where my hometown band opened for a nationally touring act, I went to a party with a group of strangers to celebrate. I ended up overdosing on pills and alcohol on my first and only try at drugs, waking up with two Narcan in my chest.

I realized at that moment, the fragility of life and at that moment I knew I needed a massive change. I saved up all my money and moved to Tennessee the next year. I had a busted-up car, no mattress, slept on the floor and waited tables to barely pay the bills…but I was a musician in Nashville. I loved it! It can be a struggle to have a vision and see how far you have to go while keeping your head above water, but I wouldn’t want to pursue anything else.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I look at art as an extension of the soul. Each song is a unique piece of my experience. Every stage of my life has influenced my style and approach to songwriting. From my youthful study of rock and classical pieces to my adolescent love for heavy metalcore and post-hardcore/alternative, and turning hard to blues and jazz in my 20s, I want every song to carry the weight of my life.

My next single “Tattoo” contains a disco-style melody in the chorus, with intense drums pushing an alt-rock feel that swings into a bluesy yet the ’80s inspired solo. The bridge before the last chorus is the climax, featuring the main riff aggressively broken up in a modern hardcore fashion yet retaining the classic swing of rock ‘n’ roll. I’m very proud of this composition.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I compose, record, and produce my own music, and I love to feature other artists in my work!

You can reach me on my website prestonleecook.com or message my Facebook page. I am on all streaming platforms and will be announcing two new music videos shortly on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website:prestonleecook.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preston.lee.cook
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prestonleecookmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@prestonleecook1493/featured 

Image Credits
Chloe Delainey Media and Shayne Jacopian