In 2019, Bill Hader appeared on 92nd Street Y to discuss his HBO series, Barry. Throughout the lengthy conversation, the acclaimed actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member discussed his impressive career, as well as his struggle with anxiety. It was this particular segment that hit David Cook in the heart. “He was talking about his relationship with anxiety and how he navigated it while he was on SNL. He referenced that he acknowledged it almost as if it were a separate entity. I found that interesting,” says Cook.
His song “Reds Turn Blue,” released last summer, encompasses his own ongoing battle with an anxiety disorder. The cornerstone to his upcoming EP, The Looking Glass, out April 16, the rock-flecked track “was a bit of an experiment for me,” Cook tells American Songwriter earlier this year. “I had wanted to touch on it for awhile. I felt like it was something that I wanted to put out there and acknowledge it. The song morphed into this letter from my anxiety to myself.”
Through being emotionally honest, the flood gates opened wide for him, creatively. “Before, I had written more stream of consciousness. I would write in bursts without really focusing in on each word or phrase and trying to say the things I wanted to say in the way I wanted to say them fully. Having the extra time with this pandemic allowed me to live in the details a little bit more than I had been able to.”