Although he is only 20 years old, Lorenzo Cook has been making music for nearly a decade.

Cook, a junior in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, has released two full albums and an EP under the stage name Spark Alaska. His music, which he describes as “bedroom pop,” is available on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Although he has made paying for his music optional, he said some listeners still take the initiative to pay for it.

Cook started a band when he was in the seventh grade in his home of Brussels, Belgium. In late 2009, he started writing songs for a solo side project, Spark Alaska, but didn’t start releasing music under the moniker until January 2012. Spark Alaska allowed Cook to pursue singing for the first time after he was encouraged by a bandmate, who was a classically trained singer.

“I was actually really scared to sing,” Cook said. “He kind of brought it out in me. I was probably 15 or 16. I think anybody can sing. I think they just need the confidence and then the training to keep on doing it.”

Interested in promoting his music online, Cook’s band managed to form a MySpace following of 16,000, which he said helped Spark Alaska gain traction online, particularly on Tumblr. After he released his first solo album, “Everything You Know Is Changing But It’ll Pass” in August 2013, Spark Alaska’s following continued to grow.

Cook said his fanbase has remained loyal and that his fans have grown up with him. He recently printed shirts with the help of Adam Greenberg, a junior dual major in television, radio and film and information management and technology, which sold out after two days.

Greenberg, who runs local cassette tape label Shammy Tapes, released Spark Alaska’s latest album, “Longest Winter.” The tapes sold out after three days and were shipped to various locations in North America and Europe.

“I think (Cook’s) very dedicated, he always wants to be doing something,” Greenberg said. “He’s always providing his fans with something new, which is important as a musician.”

Greenberg added that in the future he will likely work with Cook’s latest music venture, Petite League. A departure from the acoustic, mellow sound of Spark Alaska, Petite League is a “lo-fi punk” band that Cook formed just a month ago with SU students Henry Schoonmaker, Kevin McCallum and Malcolm Rizzuto.

Rizzuto, a senior film major, said working with Cook has been a positive experience because of his work ethic and talent as a songwriter.

“He’s such a hard worker, (and) he’s a great songwriter,” Rizzuto said. “He knows how to write a good, super catchy pop song. He also has such a good fanbase over the Internet.”

Although he said he doesn’t listen to acoustic music anymore, Cook said he still writes it. He added that his previous band in high school had “more of an edge to it” and his new projects give him the opportunity to once again create “edgier” music.

“I feel like everyone has the need to do something more powerful in terms of music,” Cook said. “It has a bit of a backbone, which is nice, and I’m not saying that my other music doesn’t, but it’s nice to have music that has drums in it.”

Cook is still working on Spark Alaska music, but his focus right now is Petite League. He’s currently in the process of filming music videos for the band.

“In terms of the music videos, it’s cool to do that because I don’t love being in front of the camera, so it’s kind of getting me out of that shell,” Cook said.

Although he’s a musician now, Cook has no interest in a career of performing music. He hopes to use the skills he learns from the Bandier Program to help bands he supports flourish, and said that he will continue to make music whether or not he makes money off of it.

“I like the finished product,” Cook said. “There’s nothing more satisfying to me than sitting back after you’ve been working on something for so long and just being like, ‘Wow, that’s good. I did it.’”

Published on October 28, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Isha: idamle@syr.edu