If you’ve read even a little of our feature on Joey Cook, you’ve probably caught on to the fact that we’re pretty much in love with everything she does.
Joey is unlike any other artist in the industry right now. What American Idol marketed as “quirky” is so much more than that. The woman has depth, and I’m talking deep, deep wells. Her songs, videos, and projects are the beautifully crafted creative consequence of an authentic life. A life filled with equal parts love and pain, striving and struggle, suppression and now, passionate expression.
Her latest track, “End Of The World,” released July 29th, is a culmination of all of those facets of who she is. That’s not just a well-meaning expression, Joey really did put all of herself into this project. It marks her first go at producing herself and not only writing the lyrics and music, but recording the song and creating the video herself.
The official music video for ‘End Of The World’ just dropped and if you do not feel all the joy and goodness and good feelings after you’re done watching it, please make yourself a therapy appointment.
Terah: Tell us about End Of The World! The influence, the inspiration, the passion behind it…
Joey: Well I wrote the song right when they called lockdown for Covid. I had just gotten sober for the first time in my life and I was sitting on the floor at my friend’s house just absolutely surrounded by love. The doors and windows were all open & I had hot tea & I could hear my friend’s kids laughing outside & I just felt so incredibly peaceful at a time that was supposed to be completely terrifying. So I sat in front of my amp & this song just came out.
Terah: What made you decide to put all of yourself into the production of this? Everything down to the damn video!
Joey: I’ve honestly just been trying to teach myself as many things as possible & this song has been the culmination of that. I’ve been teaching myself Logic so that I can produce my own music & I finally got to take this tiny song & turn it into the wall of sound I heard in my head. Then I was sitting with a friend while I was working on this song, & he said that he wished everyone could see me in my element. Just sitting there in my apartment, on my couch, surrounded by my art and hanging out with my bunny. So I said fuck it let’s just strap a go-pro to your head and spend the last day of the world together. After we filmed the video I just decided to make every single piece of this project my own. I ended up editing the entire video on some random app called VN Video Editor. I decided to use all of my own artwork for the cover art & all of the promotional material. I just really wanted to make something as genuine and personal as I could. Me without being stylized or influenced by anyone or anything else. Just me.
Terah: How do you feel the experience of creating this song/video will shape your artistry moving forward?
Joey: After this project, I’ve started to look at my art as more than just an audible song. I want to create a little universe to crawl inside of. For the artwork & the video & the lyrics all create a bigger story than just what an mp3 can give you. And I think that the more I learn, the better I am at expressing what I want & what my vision is for something.
Terah: What do you want fans to feel when they watch the video?
Joey: I want you to be happier after watching the video than you were before. Even if it’s just a little bit.
Without further ado, the Official Music Video for Joey Cook’s ‘End Of The World‘
