CountryMusicRocks Interview With Kristy Lee Cook

Kristy Lee Cook has returned to country radio with brand new single, “Lookin’ For A Cowgirl.”  Co-written by Cook and Bridgette Tatum, “Lookin For A Cowgirl” is a rockin’ new track that showcases Kristy Lee’s strong vocals, coupled with her fun & feisty side.  Kristy Lee Cook’s voice is a sweet addition to country music and the country radio airwaves.

CountryMusicRocks got the opportunity to sit down and catch up with Kristy Lee Cook.  She chatted with us about her new single, what she is looking forward to in 2015 and much more.  Cook also shared with us what she is looking forward to this holiday season, as well as what she does in her “spare” time!

CountryMusicRocks (CMR): You recently released your brand new single “Lookin’ for a Cowgirl” to country radio. Give us a little background and tell us a little about that song?

Kristy Lee Cook: “Lookin’ for a Cowgirl” was actually co-written by a good friend of mine Bridgette Tatum. She wrote “She’s Country” for Jason Aldean. I call her my twin. She’s really country, she loves fishing and the outdoors, she’s a cowgirl. We wanted to write something that was me. I connect with her, she’s in my head and she knows what I’m thinking and what I want to say. All I have to do is tell her something and it will spark amazing things in her brain, she’s an amazing songwriter. I went in and said I really wanted to write something that describes me as an artist, and says this is who I am, and it’s rockin and fun because that’s who I am onstage. We went in and started talking about cowgirls, and we were like when was the last time anybody has sang about a cowgirl?! So we started just going okay, lookin’ for a cowgirl, let’s try to describe that. Then we just started writing and she came up with this awesome, really catchy riff and melody, and we just started writing the song. It came together so fast. We actually wrote it three years ago, we had it forever. I knew when we wrote it that it was something special.

CMR: You were recently featured in Rolling Stone Country & they exclusively premiered your new single. What has it been like for you garnering attention with your new music from the music industry?

Kristy Lee Cook: I try not to get too excited when things are going right, because at any moment, they can go wrong. So I try not get too excited, but I’m really hopeful that this one will do what I think it will. I feel like there is an empty spot in country music for this sound. I’m really excited about it, but I’m not going to let myself get to the point where I’m so excited about it, and things are going good, and people are picking it up & they’re loving the song, and then boom that was that.

CMR: I know you’ve been out on the road promoting your brand new single. For folks that haven’t seen you in concert yet, how would best describe your set?

Kristy Lee Cook: It’s pretty rockin’. My set is pretty fun and uptempo. I will through a ballad in here & there, but I’m very much rockin’ driven. I love performing, I love having fun onstage, and I love people to have fun. I don’t like to just stand in one spot and sing. It’s very entertaining.

CMR: It is tough for anybody to get their foot in the door in the music industry, but it seems especially tough for female artists. What keeps you going, and what is your drive to continue doing what you love?

Kristy Lee Cook: I’ve been told no, and so many doors have been slammed in my life, that I just feel like sometimes the hardest roads pay off in the end. If you don’t give up, I feel like that’s a good lesson for other people to not give up on their dreams. And I don’t want to give up on mine. I truly believe that God made a country singer. I just want to do absolutely everything I can before every door is shut and locked.

CMR: Your fan base is very loyal, so I assume that is behind your drive and passion as well?

Kristy Lee Cook: Yes! Country fans are very loyal. They’re very loyal and in tune with what’s going on. 

CMR: What’s in store for 2015 for you? What are you looking forward to most in the new year?

Kristy Lee Cook: 2015 is right around the corner, this year went by so fast! Next year, honestly, I’m just really hopeful that this single is going to do really well. If it does well, then I can go on a tour and that’s what I really want to do. I hope next year I’m on a tour and at the award shows, that would be fantastic. So hopefully!! It’s all kind of in radio’s hands and the fan’s hands to get it going.

CMR: The holiday season is upon us. Do you have a certain holiday tradition that you look forward to year after year?

Kristy Lee Cook: Stockings! I love stockings!!! My favorite thing is when I’m with my family. My grandma makes so much food, and cookies, divinity, fudge, and all kinds of stuff. My favorite thing is going to her place when the whole family gets together and eating all the food and junk food, and then having stockings.

CMR: In your spare time, and I use spare time loosely, but in your spare time you’ve been making & selling wallets. Tell us a little about that project & how you got into it?

Kristy Lee Cook: That is something I do hobby wise. It’s just something fun. It got started because of that whole device that can scan your credit card from across the room or whatever, and that happened to me. So I looked up a wallet that would prevent that, and that was the wallet. And I was like, this is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. So I wanted to bedazzle it and jewel it up, so I did. I posted it on facebook and so many people wanted to buy one. I was like, huh!, this could be kind of fun. So I just started making them. It’s been like a year now of making wallets. I just do it here & there, it’s fun. They’re time consuming, and they’re a little bit more expensive because they take me like an hour and a half, and I use swarovski crystals and all that stuff. It’s time consuming, but it’s a lot of fun.

CMR: For folks that are just getting to know you, what is one thing that you would like to convey to fans about you & your new music?

Kristy Lee Cook: If they like country music and they are listening to the country stations, I try to put stuff out there that relates to people, that’s real, and that is not so, I guess we’re kind of getting “poppy” these days, and I’m just trying to not do as much of that. Honestly, I love doing old school stuff too. I grew up singing oldies, Patsy Cline and all that stuff, and I love doing that kind of stuff too. I just like to try to keep it as country, and if it’s musically a little more on the edge, then lyrically I’d like to try to keep it really country. With this one [Lookin’ for a Cowgirl], it’s real rockin’ and driven by guitars and stuff. It’s more of like the first “She’s Country” by Jason Aldean sound, and that’s more rock country, but the lyrics are very country. I tried to find a balance.

CMR: Country Music is consistently evolving and growing. What is it that you love most about this genre?

Kristy Lee Cook: The thing I love about country, I think the most, is that it’s just a lifestyle. For me it is for sure. A lot of people in the country world are very humble and genuine. I was just in Vegas, and the NFR is going on, and even the cab drivers were saying “I love when the cowboys are in town, they’re so nice.” It’s very true. You meet people that are cowboys or cowgirls, and they’ll give you the shirt off their back. They’re really friendly and they’re really nice. And with country music, that describes country people. That is what it’s supposed to do. I feel like it’s a whole lifestyle, country, the outdoors, hunting, fishing, it doesn’t matter if you do all of them or just one of them. I feel like it all kind of goes hand in hand.

We foresee a lot of great things ahead for Kristy Lee Cook with the new year approaching! She’s already off to a great start with her new single “Lookin’ For A Cowgirl.”  It’s a must-have for your country music playlist! Add it to yours today by picking it up on iTunes HERE.

Keep up with Kristy Lee Cook by visiting her Official Website, Like her on Facebook and Follow her on Twitter.