{"id":7493,"date":"2026-02-03T13:21:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=7493"},"modified":"2026-02-03T13:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:23:34","slug":"interview-cory-wong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/03\/interview-cory-wong\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Cory Wong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0501-2-90x60.jpg 90w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/odesli.co\/embed\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Falbum.link%2Fs%2F7fttWtjzkhPgTRpNy9pII6&#038;theme=light\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" allow=\"clipboard-read; clipboard-write\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><strong>Hello Cory, how are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m good, thanks! I\u2019ve had had quite a bit of time off the road over the last couple of months, so I\u2019ve been chilling and being creative in my studio everyday when my kids are at school.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Congratulations on the release of \u201cLost In The Wonder\u201d how does it feel now it\u2019s out in the world?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It feels so great to have this out in the world. This collection of songs was really fun to make because they were all collaborations that featured different performers, all with the backdrop and throughline of my production\/arranging\/writing\/performing. This is one of those albums that really shows a different side of my artistry than what you see in a live show of mine.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s your favourite track from it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s really hard to pick favourites on an album. When I\u2019m this close to making it, it almost feels like having to pick your favourite kid. A couple years from now I think I\u2019ll have a clearer picture, but if I had to pick right now I\u2019d probably say \u201cLisa Never Wanted to be Famous\u201d because it\u2019s been so many years in the making.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are your favourite memories of recording it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The fun thing about this album is that it was recorded in so many different places. I think one of my fondest memories is hanging out at Benny Sings\u2019 studio in Amsterdam and writing\/recording \u201cLost in the Wonder\u201d in one day. I sent Benny a handful of songs and ideas before I flew out to Amsterdam; but when I got there, it was clear that we were meant to come up with something together on the spot. We had coffee and talked for a couple of hours in his studio which is basically underneath a bridge next to a beautiful canal. We talked life and artistry and career stuff, and then this song just came out of us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What was the easiest and most challenging part of recording it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The challenging part of that one was just finding some time in both of our schedules that was open that allowed me to fly out there. The easiest part was the collaboration and recording. He\u2019s a true artist who knows his own voice and instincts, and we drew things out of each other that hadn\u2019t been explored before.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s your 19th project what\u2019s changed in your writing and recording process since the first one?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always growing and evolving both in my personal and artistic growth, so it continually shapes my writing and playing. As far as my writing, I\u2019ve learned to trust my instincts a bit more and be more open in my collaborations. For recording, I\u2019ve never stopped studying the engineering and technical side of things, so I\u2019m mixing and producing all of my albums now.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019re also going out on the road, on a scale of 1-10 how excited are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s always a 10. I love playing live. I\u2019m a live guy. My music goes from being meticulously arranged to having jumping points into improvised exploration. The fun part is when that line gets blurred for both the audience and us as a band.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>How are preparations going?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been working on a bunch of new arrangements for songs off of the new album, and also new arrangements for stuff deeper in my catalog. I also worked on a bunch of new music for a residency I did at the Blue Note in NYC with Joshua Redman and Kenny Garrett. I\u2019d like to try a few of those tunes with my full band too.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019re a virtuoso guitarist, who are your 3 favourite guitarists?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prince, George Benson, Pat Metheny<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you like to warm up?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I separate my warmups by physical, musical, and mental.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I try to make sure my body is warmed up and loose by doing some light exercise and stretches (gotta stay limber). The ideal guitar warmup includes about 5 minutes of coordinating my hands together and getting them to cooperate\/move with each other, and then about 5 minutes of practicing some tough lines or phrases that I\u2019ll be playing that evening. Mental preparation usually consists of clearing my head of distractions, and focusing on being present. I also try to absorb some sort of art in the day that will get my mind curious or provoke lateral thinking.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are you listening to at the moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m on year two of a Henry Mancini obsession.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What three things are you looking forward to doing in 2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Continued exploration of writing and recording.<\/p>\n<p>Playing shows in places I\u2019ve never been before.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to get Donald Fagen to return my phone calls.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><br \/><br \/><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello Cory, how are you? I\u2019m good, thanks! I\u2019ve had had quite a bit of time off the road over the last couple of months, so I\u2019ve been chilling and being creative in my studio everyday when my kids are at school.\u00a0 Congratulations on the release of \u201cLost In The Wonder\u201d how does it feel &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191,42,118,181,157,39,129,256,52,247,139,31,132,30,153,37,180,142,177,73,150,175,243,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative","category-band","category-bass","category-blues","category-brass","category-disco","category-drums","category-funk","category-guitar","category-interview","category-jazz","category-keyboards","category-lyricist","category-music","category-percussion","category-piano","category-pop","category-producer","category-rock","category-singer-songwriter","category-songwriter","category-soul","category-u-s","category-vocals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7493"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7500,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7493\/revisions\/7500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}