Sam Cook-Parrott is the 22 year-old songwriter behind Philadelphia’s Radiator Hospital, a band Allston Pudding has had its ears metaphorically attached to for quite some time now. Radiator Hospital is playing a show Sunday night at o’Brien’s with a slew of great local bands: Ex-Magicians, Fleabite, and Congratulations. We got the opportunity to virtually chat with Sam, as most of us internet-crazed people do, about the band, what the fuck DIY actually means, their new album, and maybe a fun game.
Allston Pudding: First off: where did the name Radiator Hospital come from? I’ve always wondered.
Sam Cook-Parrott: It’s an auto body shop in my home town of Grand Rapids, MI. I thought the sign looked cool and it had a good ring to it, especially taken out of that context it kind of just sounds like 2 words that aren’t supposed to be together. It’s just a name! Had to call it somethin’ I guess.
AP: I find your format of putting out “albums” really unique. You have one official full-length and then a few side EPs or projects whenever you feel like it. I guess where I’m going with this is: why?
SCP: I guess because why not? I am just a dude making music, I can do that in any way I see fit. It wasn’t until we did our LP Something Wild last year that it even occurred to me that we maybe don’t put out music in a traditional way. I am first and foremost a fan and collector of music, I love making music and engaging in the rich history of pop music, but I’m also 22 in the year 2014. The way people and especially young people consume music is drastically different than it was even 10 years ago and so it’s fun to do it all. I’m just a dude livin’ my life and singin’ songs.
AP: The Philly music scene seems really collaborative, and I think Boston is the same way. No one is in just one band, and we all support each other like family. Is that what drew you to Philadelphia from Michigan?
SCP: Yeah that’s a part of it. The scene in Grand Rapids was a lot like that too. Philly has a lot going for it, a lot of killer bands and people doing cool stuff. When I decided I needed a change of scenery, I already knew a lot of people doing cool stuff in Philly so it seemed like a no-brainer. I love the community I am involved with here; it’s fantastic.
AP: How is the new LP coming along? What should we expect on this next one?
SCP: It’s going great. Still writing the last few songs for it but I’m really happy with the new ones we are doing, and it feels leaps and bounds better than our last LP to me. It’s a lot more personal and a bit darker. Gonna be mostly rock songs, our last proper LP was like 60/40 rock tunes to quieter tunes, this one will only have a couple quieter ones.
AP: I feel like a lot of bands throw out the term DIY, even when it’s not relevant at all, but it seems like an integral part of Radiator Hospital, not a gimmick. How do you keep up with every aspect that goes into writing, recording, pressing, touring, etc? You must have a really organized calendar haha.
SCP: Yeah it’s interesting. The funny thing about DIY is like, there is essentially nothing special about it, it’s just living your life and doing things naturally. It’s a very integral part of what we do only because we are literally just a bunch of folks doing stuff that feels good and feels right for us. We have all played in bands for years and we will all play in bands for years after this one. The only thing I’ve ever been good at in my life is singing songs, and every day I wake up incredibly thankful that if everything in my life was gone, if all my friends and family and money and possessions were gone, I could open my mouth and sing a song. That sounds silly, but “DIY” really means nothing, it’s literally just doing what you love. It shouldn’t be as exciting and revolutionary as it sounds; it should be the starting point for everything. There are about a billion bands and humans on this earth that are making DIY music in this very moment, they might not even know it. We are not revolutionary in any way; we are one small group of people in a huge pantheon of DIY music, not just punk but country, jazz, folk, blues. “Non-DIY” music is essentially something that started in the latter half of the 20th century, largely through recorded music. I don’t know, clearly I have a lot to say about it haha. That seems to be a common talking point for Rad Hos, like “they are making this great music, and with a DIY spirit!” like 1. As if we are the only people doing that and 2. As if there is any other way to open your mouth and sing a damn song. We make music from our hearts and so do a great many other people. It’s so fun you should try it!
Also lol I just ranted and didn’t answer your real question. It’s not hard to keep up with that stuff because it’s the fun part of doing it! Writing and recording is fun to do, booking tours and going on tours is super fun, we don’t press our own records but coordinating getting them and stuff with our friend Marco who presses them is fun! It’s an excuse to give our friend a call and catch up and also figure out how we are gonna get our records and stuff. It’s all fun and it’s all just a part of living life and being involved in punk and DIY. I mean after I went on and on about how punk and DIY don’t mean anything, that’s actually complete bullshit, it’s an entire movement and lifestyle that has existed for decades and if you don’t know about it or aren’t a part of it then I’m not going to explain it because it can’t be explained and would be hella boring if you could. It’s just like, a way to live your life, engaging with the people around you and being a real conscious human being. I think this is sort of an interesting moment in music writing where blogs and people are starting to pay attention to shit that has been happening for a very long time and it seems so silly to have to answer like “how DO you do it?!” like I don’t know you just do it, the same as anybody does anything and the same way people have always done it. Who the fuck would want to play music if you were just gonna have everyone else do everything for you? I don’t know sorry if this is coming off hostile, I could go on and on haha. Also my calendar looks like garbage and can’t be read by anyone other than me 🙂
AP: When I listen to Radiator Hospital, I get this overwhelming feeling of yearning and wanting something more than you can physically handle. Am I crazy or is this how you feel too? Or are we both crazy?
SCP: This is how I feel too, and we are both crazy. We are all just folks livin’ on planet Earth feeling big feelings and trying to understand it all, trying to connect, trying to leap into someone else’s head, even for just a split second, just to know if everyone is like this.
AP: Word association time. What word first comes to mind when you read these:
Orange – JUICE
Pudding – DELICIOUS
Boston – JONATHANRICHMAN
Guitar – BORING
Kid Rock – BAWITDABA
Bernese Mountain Dog – LOVE
Watch this sweet video of Sam doing a solo version of “Our Song” below, and dream of how magical this show will be until Sunday night.