Hello all my music lovers and leaders of tunes! I am so happy to bring you another great interview. Today, I had the chance to chat with Alt-Soul artist Cookie Rabinowitz. Cookie's musicial style is a fusion of funk, hip-hop, rock, and R&B! With roots in Philadelphia, you can expect to serious musicially style and flavor from Rabinowitz's latest album Four Eyed Soul!
What is your earliest memory of music?
What is your earliest memory of music?
Cookie Rabinowitz: Ah, music. I was around nine, she was
much older and made me a little nervous, but I felt an undeniable attraction
that pulled me in. Eventually, she took me for everything I had.
What is the most difficult thing you had to endure
in life? How did it affect your music?
Cookie Rabinowitz: We all endure difficult things, and
it’s all relevant. An upper middle class man in the suburbs who comes home from
work and finds his wife in bed with the gardener. A beautiful woman minding her
own business, walking to the store to get an iced tea, getting verbally
harassed and objectified by some jerk. People lose their loved ones,
their health, their jobs. I’ve been through some shit, but I guess the music
is affected more from just the pain than what caused it. Hopefully people will
hear my music and will identify with it, and whether it makes them want to
fight or f….ornicate, I’m good with that.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Cookie Rabinowitz: All the ones you recognize by one
name: Stevie, Curtis, Marvin, and Sly.
Lets talk about your lasted album, Four Eyed Soul. Describe Four Eyed Soul for all the MMWOS readers.
Cookie Rabinowitz: It’s a Cookie Rabinowitz Album. I
write and record music all the time. There’s a band too. Tone Whitfield, Erik
Horvitz, John Swana, Tony Reyes, and Neil Simpkins. We all make the music and I
think it’s a “sound” a sound that is “Cookie Rabinowitz” “Four Eyed Soul”. It’s
joy and pain translated through the mouths, fingers and limbs of six guys.
What is your favorite track from the album, why?
Cookie Rabinowitz: I can’t really pick one. It’s hard to
listen to my own music that way. I can tell you my favorite song off of “Music
Of My Mind” is “Girl Blue”. Well actually, it’s a tossup between “Girl
Blue” and “Golden Lady (Where Were You When I Needed You)”.
What song from the album best epitomizes the feel
of Four Eyed Soul?
Cookie Rabinowitz: They are all very much, for better or
worse, “Four Eyed Soul”.
How do you feel about being a independent artist
in the music industry?
Cookie Rabinowitz: From the perspective of an artist,
it’s amazing. From an industry standpoint, we all know it’s not easy out
there and we all know why. I try to deal with that as an artist as well. I try to be creative in everything I do weather it’s writing a
song, making a YouTube video, posting 140 words or less, a packaging concept
for the music... talking to a booking agent. If I look at it as a business that
I’m struggling in, I lose. However, if I look at it as something that I’m
constantly creating and discovering it all of a sudden becomes an amazing
creative “work in progress”.
What ways has Philadelphia inspired your
music?
Cookie Rabinowitz: Philly to me just has so much fucking
soul. So much more than I have. So I just let it seep in.
How will your music change the current state of
the music industry?
Cookie Rabinowitz: I’m more concerned on
how it might change the mood of a human being or maybe even a house pet. If a
Cookie Rabinowitz song was playing and a child stopped crying and started
dancing or a dog stopped barking and started wagging it’s tail, that’s the type
of change I wanna make.
What has been your biggest challenge with your
music and in the industry?
Cookie Rabinowitz: With everything it’s energy. I’m
healthy and have a lot of gratitude for that. I work and pray hard to
keep my energy level high so I can keep it moving. Sometimes I get exhausted so
I have to take a nap. Naps are good.
When can we all see you in concert? Where can we
buy your music?
Cookie Rabinowitz: You can get all that
info at my website http://www.cookierabinowitz.com I designed it and keep it up myself (and with the help of Google – HA!).
It’s not very pretty and neither am I, so I think it’s a good fit.
Finally, what does music mean to you?
Cookie Rabinowitz: It’s my significant
other. I love her. I’ve loved her since I was nine…. And I always will.
(photo courtesy of Cookie Rabinowitz)
(photo courtesy of Cookie Rabinowitz)
