Drew Cook, the talented guitarist for Oakland-based Dimesland and Wild Hunt, has tragically passed away in recent days. Drew Cook is remembered by the Bay Area music scene and thrill-seeking metal explorers worldwide for his unstoppably tight, technical, unique guitar skills, and is cherished by his friends and family as a greatly loving person.
Nolan Cook, the other half of the dual-guitar tandem of Dimesland has issued the following on the loss of his brother, bandmate and best friend:"We are saddened to announce the untimely passing of Oakland musician extraordinaire, Drew Cook, of the bands DIMESLAND and WILD HUNT. Drew was a special guitarist and a wonderful individual who will be deeply missed by the Bay Area music scene and by the many who were fortunate enough to have collaborated with or otherwise known him. We have lost an incredibly kind, funny, and talented human being."
The passing of Drew has placed all of his current acts on hiatus until further notice.
While no official cause of death has been revealed, the Oakland area has lost a prolific guitarist, as Dimesland and Wild Hunt guitarist Drew Cook passed away several weeks ago.
Both Dimesland and Wild Hunt have issued statements about Cook, who appears to have passed on or around April 21st, the same day that Wild Hunt was scheduled to begin a tour. Here’s what Dimeland had to say about their sad and untimely loss:
We are saddened to announce the untimely passing of Oakland musician extraordinaire, Drew Cook, of the bands Dimeland and Wild Hunt. Drew was a special guitarist and a wonderful individual who will be deeply missed by the Bay Area music scene and by the many who were fortunate enough to have collaborated with or otherwise known him. We have lost an incredibly kind, funny, and talented human being.
Wild Hunt also weighed in on Cook’s loss via their Facebook page:
Drew was a kind, hilarious, talented and ultimately original human being, who will be sorely missed by us and those fortunate enough to have known and/or collaborated with him. He initially joined Wild Hunt back in ’09 to help keep the project afloat when it struggled with personnel changes; he later became a driving force for the band, and it seems almost ridiculous to think of the Hunt without him. And that’s an issue we will be deliberating.
Cook’s passing on Wednesday, April 22, and it’s been a struggle to divert my thoughts away from the precious few experiences I shared with him. I remember his eagerness to share his years of musical fandom; he was the one who turned me on to the likes of Portal and Gorguts. I also remember his self-deprecating sense of humor. He once insisted that I drop the needle on his favorite side of Wild Hunt’s first record: side four, which contained an etching of the band’s logo in lieu of any music. I even distinctly remember the two birthday messages I received from him since we met: one was a photo of a skull hologram card from the Trakworx control room, the other a shot of a severed head, covered in birthday cake of course, on a silver platter. A generic “happy birthday” would have done the job for most others,
Cook and his bands, Dimesland and Wild Hunt, represent all that is wonderful about metal music from the Bay Area. They are heavy and incredibly smart while furiously rocking out with technical flair. In other words they are unique.
1- Photograph by Amanda Henderson
The lead guitarist and frontman of the North American Vanguard ensemble for the last 25 years, Nolan Cook was fired
Homer Flynn who is the president of The CryptiCorporation, the record label that represents the residents and in a style totally branded by the house, tells us:
"The Residents recently approached me with an unusual and specific request. The group, as the majority of us knew, is an ongoing association, with the collaborative aspect having its most appreciated value. Meanwhile, they were preparing to start a new project, coming to the conclusion that Nolan Cook one of its lifelong members, could not fit in your future plans.
With sadness and regret, I inform Nolan of the group's decision.
eekie was a pseudonym The Guitar Playing Resident used between 2017 - 2019 on The Residents' In Between Dreams tour.
Randy soon discovers that the figures in the promo photos are named eekie ,erkie Cha -Cha and Tyrone in what seems to be these names' first public use
The name was seemingly used to subtly usher away the personas of Randy, Chuck, Bob, Carlos, and Rico, who had prominently featured in The Residents' work from 2010 - 2016.
Lionel Bob (usually referred to simply as "Bob") is a pseudonym used by The Residents' guitarist between 2010-2016.
The name was retired following the conclusion of the Shadowland tour in 2016, and was replaced by Eekie
Bob is all but confirmed to be a pseudonym for Nolan Cook, who is credited as guest on the 'Talking Light: Bimbo's' concert film & 'Shadowland' live album.
lionel bob joined The Residents some decades following the creation of the band, possibly during the late 1990s. His identity was revealed as part of the group's Talking Lighttour in 2010.
carlos bobuck (usually referred to simply as Carlos) was an identity ascribed to the fictitious former drummer of The Residents, created for the group's Talking Light touring show in 2010 and appearing intermittently until 2015.
Carlos was said to have joined The Residents in 1972, and to have retired in spring 2009, first moving to Van Horn, Texas, and then to his birthplace in Mexico to care for his ailing mother.
Roger "Bunny" Hartley met Randy Rose, Charles Bobuck, and the other people who would become The Residents and The Cryptic Corporation in Shreveport, Louisiana in the mid-1960s, and joined the group in its earliest incarnation.
After disappearing from the group's lives for an extended period of time, Bunny reappeared in 2008, communicating with The Residents and their fans through email correspondence and a series of YouTube videos, as well as inspiring the group's album The Bunny Boy and its associated tour.
Bunny would then disappear from public life again for ten years, resurfacing once more and resuming email correspondence in April 2019 around the time of the release of the book The Bunny Boy Emails.
Hello everyone. First, allow me to correct some of the reporting.
I've actually been gone since the stroke of midnight, April 20, 2023, immediately after the U.S. tour. I just decided not to make a declaration about it. I consider that sort of thing as private and undeserving of a public airing.
Secondly, while I have never delivered pizza, I have indeed worked as a driver from time-to-time over the years in order to supplement my music income. This scenario is common to the great majority of artists around the globe. I suppose that the present-day Cryptic Corporation looks down on working people. This is a great example of what I mean about
heart / lack of...
Thanks everybody for your support and friendship and I hope to entertain you in the near future. There are some fun new endeavors on the horizon.
Love, NC.
