Jamie Cook
Encyclopedia
Jamie Robert Cook is the lead guitarist for the British indie rock
band Arctic Monkeys
.
He is the most outspoken member, going on record as saying he "fucking hates the [print] news" and defending the band's numerous successive records by saying, "I couldn’t see us being like Coldplay
, it’d just be fucking boring. You tour your album for three years and play the same fucking gig night after night. It must really be depressing. Some people might enjoy doing that, but we couldn't.".
Despite leaving home, Cook has maintained residence in the Sheffield area along with fellow band member, Helders. He has been described as "the bullishly confident blue-collar lad [of the group]".
At the start, Cook would join Matt Helders
in backing vocals for songs such as Fake Tales of San Francisco
, but has gradually shied away from singing duties, leaving them to the other 3 members of the group.
Cook is also considered to be the "indie music fanatic" of the group. Armed with the likes of musical tastes for bands such as The Smiths
, The Strokes
, Oasis
, and Queens of the Stone Age
, Cook supposedly turned the band into what it is today.
,in Ecclesfield
, Cook's setup was fairly simple. His main guitar was a Fender Telecaster
62 reissue. His pedals were an MXR Distortion +, Electro-Harmonix
Big Muff
, Electro-Harmonix Pulsar and, at least for a while, he could be seen using a T-Rex Dr. Swamp twin distortion pedal. He also had a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner. His amplifier
was a Hiwatt
Custom 50-Watt 2×12 Combo.
From the second album onwards, he has had quite an elaborate pedalboard. The pedals used have almost changed altogether. He stuck to his MXR Distortion +, and has added an Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff, Electro-Harmonix HOG, Electro-Harmonix Pulsar Tremolo
, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, a Boss LS-2 Line Selector, a Guyatone sustain and an expression pedal for the HOG all this was changed to an Ernie Ball volume/pan pedal, which can be seen used when playing the Arctic Monkeys
song "Nettles" live. His main guitar
is now a Gibson ES-335
TD from 1975. He has been seen using several different Bad Cat amplifiers, including a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30 R, in addition to his Hiwatt
amplifiers, on the 4th album Suck it and See a Rosewell Bluesman 30 and a Audio Kitchen Big Chopper was used.
More recently, in the Australia and New Zealand tour, Cook has been using a Fender Starcaster
. Another interesting point is that his Gibson 335TD has been changed from a Frequensator tailpiece to a Bigsby
. His pedalboard has changed quite considerably since the Favourite Worst Nightmare
tour. It now consists of an Electro-Harmonix Pulsar (without stereo), Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, Boss RE-20, Boss TU-2, Death By Audio
Fuzz Gun, Z.Vex Super Duper, Fulltone OCD, Demeter Fuzzlator, Boss LS-2, Ernie Ball VP Junior and a Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
.
He is the most outspoken member, going on record as saying he "fucking hates the [print] news" and defending the band's numerous successive records by saying, "I couldn’t see us being like Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, it’d just be fucking boring. You tour your album for three years and play the same fucking gig night after night. It must really be depressing. Some people might enjoy doing that, but we couldn't.".
Despite leaving home, Cook has maintained residence in the Sheffield area along with fellow band member, Helders. He has been described as "the bullishly confident blue-collar lad [of the group]".
At the start, Cook would join Matt Helders
Matt Helders
Matthew Helders , is the drummer for English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. He is the most comprehensive backing vocalist in the group, appearing on several tracks, including the majority of 'Humbug'...
in backing vocals for songs such as Fake Tales of San Francisco
Fake Tales of San Francisco
"Fake Tales of San Francisco" is a song by Arctic Monkeys originally released on the band's first EP Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys in May 2005...
, but has gradually shied away from singing duties, leaving them to the other 3 members of the group.
Cook is also considered to be the "indie music fanatic" of the group. Armed with the likes of musical tastes for bands such as The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, and Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
, Cook supposedly turned the band into what it is today.
Personal life
He attended Ecclesfield School Specialist in Visual and Performing ArtsEcclesfield School
Ecclesfield School is a secondary school situated on Chapeltown Road between Chapeltown and Ecclesfield, South Yorkshire in the East Ecclesfield district of Sheffield. It is in the Sheffield LEA, and is for ages 11–16. It has around 1,750 pupils.-History:It used to be known as Ecclesfield...
,in Ecclesfield
Ecclesfield
Ecclesfield is a suburb and civil parish in the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, about north of Sheffield City Centre. At the 2001 census the civil parish— which also includes the Sheffield suburbs of Chapeltown, Grenoside, High Green, and formerly Thorpe Hesley —had a population...
Equipment
During the first albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Cook's setup was fairly simple. His main guitar was a Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
62 reissue. His pedals were an MXR Distortion +, Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix is a New York-based company that makes high-end electronic audio processors. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. They are most famous for a series of popular guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s....
Big Muff
Big Muff
The Big Muff is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar...
, Electro-Harmonix Pulsar and, at least for a while, he could be seen using a T-Rex Dr. Swamp twin distortion pedal. He also had a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner. His amplifier
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
was a Hiwatt
Hiwatt
Hiwatt was a British company that manufactured amplifiers for electric guitars and electric basses. Starting in the late 1960s, together with Marshall and Vox, the company contributed to the sonic image popularly termed "British sound"....
Custom 50-Watt 2×12 Combo.
From the second album onwards, he has had quite an elaborate pedalboard. The pedals used have almost changed altogether. He stuck to his MXR Distortion +, and has added an Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff, Electro-Harmonix HOG, Electro-Harmonix Pulsar Tremolo
Tremolo
Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, a Boss LS-2 Line Selector, a Guyatone sustain and an expression pedal for the HOG all this was changed to an Ernie Ball volume/pan pedal, which can be seen used when playing the Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
song "Nettles" live. His main guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
is now a Gibson ES-335
Gibson ES-335
The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial thinline arched-top semi-acoustic electric guitar. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958, it is neither hollow nor solid; instead, a solid wood block runs through the center of its body...
TD from 1975. He has been seen using several different Bad Cat amplifiers, including a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30 R, in addition to his Hiwatt
Hiwatt
Hiwatt was a British company that manufactured amplifiers for electric guitars and electric basses. Starting in the late 1960s, together with Marshall and Vox, the company contributed to the sonic image popularly termed "British sound"....
amplifiers, on the 4th album Suck it and See a Rosewell Bluesman 30 and a Audio Kitchen Big Chopper was used.
More recently, in the Australia and New Zealand tour, Cook has been using a Fender Starcaster
Fender Starcaster
The Fender Starcaster was a semi-hollowbody electric guitar made by the Fender company. The Starcaster was part of Fender's attempt to enter the semi-hollowbody market, which was dominated by Gibson's ES-335 and similar designs.-Design and production:...
. Another interesting point is that his Gibson 335TD has been changed from a Frequensator tailpiece to a Bigsby
Bigsby
The Bigsby vibrato tailpiece is a type of vibrato device for electric guitar designed by Paul A. Bigsby. The device allows musicians to bend the pitch of notes or entire chords with their pick hand for various effects....
. His pedalboard has changed quite considerably since the Favourite Worst Nightmare
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys that was first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 before being released around the world. Recorded in east London's Miloco Studios with producers James Ford and Mike Crossey, the album was preceded by the...
tour. It now consists of an Electro-Harmonix Pulsar (without stereo), Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, Boss RE-20, Boss TU-2, Death By Audio
Death By Audio
Death By Audio is a warehouse space on the first floor of an industrial building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It is also the name of an effects pedal company based in the space....
Fuzz Gun, Z.Vex Super Duper, Fulltone OCD, Demeter Fuzzlator, Boss LS-2, Ernie Ball VP Junior and a Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger.