This is that opportunity every narcissist dreams of...to write that rambling monologue on the mysteries of my musical past.
(Is that how you spell "narcissist"?)
One day long ago, in a place far far away, and at a particularly young age, I was born...blah, blah blah...
I grew up as “Victor” and most no me as “Vic” but on stage I am “L.V.”. I have described my chosen stage name as “the singular form of Elvis,” but it is actually short for Lecil Victor Cook, Jr. My father was the fortunate soul to have to go by “Lecil”, a name he said had been inspired by a local judge around the rural Alabama farm where he grew up. Among my ancestors, there have been many unusual names, like Oie, Dae and Zora.
When I was in the second grade, I talked my parents into buyng me a piano. They hired an elderly lady to give me lessons. As I attempt to filter my memories through the wisdom of those years, the situation seemed a bit excitement-challenged (i.e., boring). Day after second-grade day, she lead me through so many scales and exercises that my fingers lost weight. I recall that she wanted me to learn a one-note-at-a-time masterpiece she found particularly appealing (or apalling) called "Monkeys In The Trees" (or something like that). I wanted to learn compositional skills or at least "Chopsticks" but that was apparently not in the plans. Instead, she insisted that I learn "Monkeys in the Breeze" (or something like that), hone it to utter perfection, and perform it before a jury of my peers (or, at that time, what appeared to be old people). I was a shy child and preferred playing by myself in a dark soundproofed closet with the door locked and my headphones on (Hmm...this still seems to be a personal preference). The obvious solution was to extricate myself from reality and feign illness. It must have worked bacause I not only got out of the recital but additional lessons as well...Hmm, now what? I always loved the sound of the paino (waht a cool typo!), so I would obsessively plink away at random notes, exploring new modalities and opportunities for dissonance. Understandably, my parents were thrilled...
As I stumbled through my teen years, I temporarily abandoned the concept of actually learning an instrument, but music was always on my mind. I would sit in front of the stereo listening intently, dreaming I might play some role in music behind the stage, perhaps being a producer or engineer. I would play songs again and again to focus on what each band member was playing, and the sounds and effects used for the recordings.
Immediately after college, I moved to Athens, Georgia, the home to a long legacy of big and semi-big acts including the B-52s, REM, John Berry, Widespread Panic, Drive-By Truckers, Vic Chestnut (an interesting songwriter who passed away recently) and many other bands. I bought an acoustic guitar and started writing songs. Returning to my one-note-at-a-time "Monkeys in the Grease" (or something like that) roots, I bought a bass. I started playing in a band with the unfortunate name "Major Minor", a name obviously intended to advertise our musical versatility. That name lasted for all of one gig, declared dead by concensus by the end of the first set. That is when songwriter-guitarist Lavon Smith decided to leave the band to move to Paris and get married (but, of course, that should be a story for his web site). The band that followed was called "Spats". We focused on old Motown standards, and played weddings and parties. After Lavon returned, he and I played together in a couple of folky ensembles, "Rhythm Method" (another unfortunate name) and "Restless Cha-Cha" (I always liked that name). Sometimes bands seem to form for the sole purpose of brainstorming a name...names can be fun.
As I continued to develop my songwriting skills, I ventured into open mics as a solo performer and moved to the Washington, DC area. I released my first CD, "Granite In The Mirror" first in 2003 then re-released it in 2004. From that CD, "Family Reunion" won the Folk Category Gold Award in the 2004 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. I was featured on National Public Radio on-line and got some airplay in Belgium ("Monument"). Since that time, I have been immersed in my studio, "The Soundproof Vanity," continuing to hone my writing, arrangement and engineering skills. I am now pleased to announce the 2010 release of my second CD, "Roads, Water and Orange."
