Hangovers suck.
But skipping work over a hangover isn’t cool, either.
In fact, putting the nose to the grindstone in the middle of an alcohol-induced headache can actually bring positive results, as Ashley Cooke and four co-writers discovered. They held a four-day songwriting retreat, Jan. 6-9, 2025, at Smith Lake in Northern Alabama as she started building material for what would become the ace album, released Nov. 14 by Big Loud. They were so productive in the first part of the trip that they turned their last night of the retreat into a big celebration. They paid for it on getaway day.
“We woke up super hungover,” she remembers.
But Cooke and her writing partners – Johnny Clawson (“Weren’t for the Wind,” “Swear Words”), Seth Ennis (“Amen,” “Boys Back Home”), Joe Fox (“It Won’t be Long,” “Last Night Lonely”) and Kyle Sturrock (“Texas,” “Get to Drinkin’”) – had a quota for the trip, and they were one song short. They’d started the retreat by writing a verse and chorus for a song called “Raised Running,” and finishing that was the quickest way to meet their obligation.
