In looking through my pictures on my camera, I found one of a collection that I am fairly proud of. That being of Young Governor (also known as Ben Cook.)
Clockwise from top left: "Bedtime Stories" 7" on Southpaw, "Call Me When the Cat Dies" 7" on Criminal IQ, "English Tim" 7" on Static Shock, "Hidden Love" 12" on Parts Unknown, "Virginia Creeper" 7" on Platic Idol and "Cindy's Gonna Save Me" on Dirtnap.
A bit of a biography on the guy known as Young Governor. His real name is Ben Cook. Among other projects, he is currently the third (?!) guitarist in Fucked Up and vocalist for the Marvelous Darlings (see below.) Word has it that his sister is an '80s teen star named Rachel-Leigh Cook but for the life of me, I can't remember any movies or television shows she was in. Whatever.
Ben also happens to be a creative genius. On most of these records he plays damn near every instrument and does all the vocals and I'm pretty sure he also records everything himself. Not since Jay Reatard have I been impressed with someone's versatility in the creative process of their own records. "Virginia Creeper" was the first EP of a steady stream of releases that have been coming out since 2008. I'm pretty sure I have mostly everything he's released under the Young Governor moniker but I could be wrong. Going on that first record alone, I thought he was good. But with every record since (and the "Hidden Love" 12" in particular) he has continued to win me over with his one man pop-punk song writing capabilities. I guess you could reference Jay Reatard in describing his sound but I have a feeling that if I ever met Ben, he'd be a swell cat and most people couldn't say that about Jay when he was alive. That kind of down to earth-ness speaks to me more than a hairdo or a flying V guitar ever will. Check out his blog and tell me the guy doesn't seem likable: noguvnoluv.blogspot.com
Ben Cook related: Marvelous Darlings. Left to right from top to bottom: "I Don't Wanna go to the Party" and "The Swords, The Streets" both on Deranged, "Shoot the Piano Player" on Taken By Surprise, "Only Ones for Miles" on P Trash, "Sleeping Like a Dead Man" on Bachelor, "Teenage Targets" and "I'll Stand By Her" both on Plastic Idol
An amazing power-pop punk band from Toronto which Ben graciously provides the vocals for. Heartfelt and dangerously powerful tunes with a glam rock edge, Ben and Matty Darling are the primary songwriters and have yet to let me down. Each EP is just as perfect as the last and not one bad song on any of them. I've found myself playing these so much that I made a cassette of all of these songs but it's just not the same as listening to the vinyl. Guitarist Matty D. looks like he got cryogenically frozen for twenty years on the set of a Poison video but we'll excuse that because dudes got some hooks and I'm pretty sure the ladies love his look anyway. Matty also used to live in Hollywood and was partying like Spuds McKenzie until he got deported and is now back in Toronto. An "E: True Hollywood Story" waiting to happen. Starting with any of these records is a safe bet but just how accessible they will be remains to be seen as these guys are gathering a lot of attention from larger outlets.
Wasn't Rachel Leigh Cook a 90's star? haha, not that i keep track of anyone on the cast of "She's All That". <3
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