Source: TampaBay.com, St. Petersburg Times

‘American Idol’ David Cook is one cool, calm singer-songwriter-guitarist

By Sean Daly, Times Pop Music Critic

When I first saw David Cook on the seventh season of American Idol — a show he’d wind up winning over Muppet Boy David Archuleta — I thought he looked like a weary door-to-door salesman pushing Hoovers in Boise. I also thought Cook had supremely bad hair, like a reverse mullet or, for that matter, a “skullet.”

Let me tell you: I’ve never been more wrong about a contestant. With a superheroic calm and a growly approach to hits by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, the rocker creamed the competition. The singer-songwriter-guitarist did it with old-school style and grace, never once relying on his brother Adam’s brain cancer as a plot point to earn the weepy vote. Ryan Seacrest might have brought it up; Cook never did.

Post-Idol, the 26-year-old has had a smash platinum album (2008’s David Cook, produced by Green Day knob-twiddler Rob Cavallo), hot celeb girlfriends (Idol’s Kimberly Caldwell) and an even hotter nine-month tour. He has also suffered heartache: On May 3, Adam Cook succumbed to brain cancer. David continues to play with an “AC” on his guitar, which are also the initials of his younger brother, Andrew.

As Cook heads to St. Petersburg to play the Mahaffey Theater Friday — and prepares a new album for release in summer 2010 — we called to compliment him on his unerring composure. We also tried to talk him into trashing a hotel room:

You are one cool dude, Cook. In all my Idol watching, I’ve never seen a contestant who was so incredibly laid-back. What was your secret?

I think with everything going on in my life — and with Adam being sick — I just didn’t care. There were more important things going on, you know? That’s no disrespect to the show. I was trying my best, and I enjoyed it, of course. But I just never got too worked up about it.

A.D.D.: As for Ellen DeGeneres’ role on Idol, Cook says, “I’m bummed to see Paula go. But Ellen is a knowledgeable fan of the show, plus she’s funny, so I’ll think she’ll do a good job.”

Okay, you have the cool part down for a rock star. But I think you should start trashing hotel rooms. No one does that anymore. Why is that?

I think people don’t trash hotel rooms because there’s a recession going on. (Laughs) The last hotel room I trashed was actually done by my dog.

A.D.D.: Cook’s dog is a Scottish terrier. Because Cook obviously wants to give him an identity crisis, he named his pooch Dublin.

If you were going to trash a hotel room in the future, how would you start the mayhem?

I’d probably glue the furniture to the ceiling. You gotta get the Gorilla Glue for that. Then maybe I’d have a good ol’-fashioned food fight.

I had you pegged for tossing a TV off the balcony.

Nah, we’re just having some good clean fun, right? We don’t want anyone to get hurt.

If you could claim any musician’s catalog as your own, whose would it be?

(Immediately) Springsteen. That was easy. I saw him a few weeks ago when he was at Giants Stadium. He did Born to Run in its entirety. He played for three hours. And here I am doing an hour, an hour and a half each night, and I come off the stage and say, “Man, I’m tired!”

Your audiences run the gamut from 14-year-old girls to 44-year-old women, the so-called Cougars for Cook. What’s the weirdest gift one of your more mature fans has given you?

An a– grab.

Excuse me?

An a– grab. We played in St. Louis the other night, and while I was walking to the stage, I got three a– grabs in a row.

A.D.D.: Cook said the grabs were pretty forceful, but not enough to bruise his tuchus. “I did have a handprint there though,” he chuckles.

I’ve always wanted to ask you about this. When you were in youth-league baseball, did you really serve up a dinger to future St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols?

It’s totally true. Absolutely, I was 16, in Missouri, in an American Legion game. I’m on the mound, I throw him a curveball, and it never comes down.

You should have thrown him your out pitch.

(Laughs) I didn’t have one! That’s the reason I’m in music today. I didn’t have an out pitch.

Amazing photos by Gene Schilling are up on his Flickr account.
Check them out here!

Source: JAM! Music

David Cook overcomes tragedy

David Cook has had the highest of career highs and the lowest of personal lows in the past year.

After auditioning only at the last minute, he went on to actually win the 2008 American Idol competition with his distinctive rock wail.

Following the victory, he had 11 songs debut on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest number of new songs by one artist in a single week since The Beatles in 1964.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Cook, 26, said down the line from Milwaukee prior to a show Monday at Casino Rama north of Toronto, his final stop on a short eastern swing of Canada. “I refuse to wrap my head around that because it’s a little strange.”

Cook released his self-titled major-label debut last November, with song contributions from Canadians (and real-life couple) Raine Maida of Toronto band Our Lady Peace and Winnipeger Chantal Kreviazuk, among others. He has been touring North America since February.

Contrasting all that monster career was the tragedy in his personal life; his older brother, Adam, died in May after a well-documented battle with brain cancer.

The Kansas City, Mo.,-raised singer says he and his family are coping as well as they can with the loss of Adam.

“It put the brakes on for a second,” Cook said. “But I think, for me, and really for my family, the sooner that we could get back to the normal routine (was) best, as far as the grieving is concerned. We missed a show for the funeral and stayed out on the road. I’m lucky. I’ve surrounded myself with great guys, both the band and the crew, and we all rallied around each other and pulled through it.”

Among the four tracks that Cook co-wrote on his album with Maida was Permanent, a song about — and dedicated to — Adam.

“I wanted to write a song that was lyrically and emotionally naked, and we were able to pull that off with that song.”

Cook grew up loving OLP, so getting the chance to write with Maida was a “massive” deal for him. Not just for musical reasons, but also because Cook admires Maida for other reasons, such as his fundraising efforts with Kreviazuk for such charities as WarChild Canada.

“If my career kind of followed that of Raine’s, I’d be pretty happy with that,” Cook said.

Just two weeks ago, on Halloween, Cook got on stage to sing with OLP on their song Starseed, during the band’s stop in Kansas City.

“(It was) surreal,” Cook said. “It wasn’t that long ago, I was sitting in the back of the audience watching those guys.”

Cook said he watched most, but not all, of the 2009 American Idol season that concluded in May, when sweet-sounding soft-rocker Kris Allen narrowly defeated glam-rocker Adam Lambert. Cook performed with both men at Good Morning America’s summer concert series in Central Park.

“As I’ve said all along, I hope everybody sells a million records and I sell a million-and-one,” Cook said with a laugh. “They’re good guys and I consider them both friends, but they’re also, at this point, the enemy.”

As for the news that Ellen DeGeneres will be the new fourth judge on the next season of America Idol, replacing Paula Abdul, Cook is ever the diplomat.

“I think it’s great. Obviously, Paula was just a very integral part of the whole Idol experience for me, and for a lot of other people, so I’m sad to see her go. But I’ve met Ellen a handful of times, I’ve been on her show, and she is a knowledgeable fan of Idol. And so I’m happy for her and I’m excited to see what she does with it.”

Cooking something special

2008 American Idol 2008 winner David Cook will appear on Carrie Underwood’s FOX-TV holiday special on Dec. 7.

Cook told Sun Media he performs his own song Lie and duets with Underwood on the Van Halen song Why Can’t This Be Love?

Cook said he formed a friendship with Underwood, the winner of American Idol’s fourth season in 2005, after she performed on an episode when he was a contestant.

“She came in, I think it was for Idol Gives Back, and just immediately made herself accessible to anybody, just in the sense of she’d obviously been through it,” Cook said. “So she’s been a great friend the past couple of years. She’s as advertised. I think she’s got all the success she has ’cause she works her butt off, and she’s a good person.”

Source: PJStar.com

David Cook answers to fans

‘Idol’ winner addresses next CD, Peoria show, his dog’s wild ways

Bartender-turned-superstar David Cook – who ended up finishing Season 7 of “American Idol” with 56 percent of the 97.5 million votes cast in a surprise win over runner-up David Archuleta – is headed to town for a Nov. 19 show at the Peoria Civic Center.

Ahead of the concert, we decided to put the singer in touch with his fans. Some of the following questions were submitted to @danielle_hatch via Twitter the day of our interview with the star, who telephoned from a tour stop in Shawnee, Okla.

- Danielle Hatch/Journal Star

@misskleo: A question for David Cook: Are you always composing a song in your head and is it hard to turn off?

No, I’m not always composing a song in my head, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t do it a lot. Before, there were a lot of distractions, like a job and all that stuff. Now, my job is music, so I think about it a lot more. But in the same regard, I still enjoy it, so that’s a plus.

PJS: Do you find any certain things in your life that trigger the creative juices?

On plane flights and taking showers I usually come up with my best ideas. I don’t know why, but that’s usually when my head is clear enough to actually weed through all the crap.

@songkat: Ask him about his music. His dog. His holiday plans. Anything but Idol.

I have a black Scottish terrier named Dublin.

PJS: Does your dog tour with you?

He did, and then we were in New York and he got a little anxious while I was out and destroyed my hotel room. My dog’s way more rock star than I could ever be. He’s back in Kansas City, my little brother takes care of him. He did everything short of gluing the furniture on the ceiling. I just walked in and was like, ‘Damn.’

PJS: What are your holiday plans?

My little brother is graduating from college (University of Central Missouri), so I’m going to go be the doting brother there. My birthday is five days before Christmas, the Chiefs are going to be in town a couple of times, so I’ll be in Kansas City just relaxing for a minute. (Cook is turning 27. He has homes in both Los Angeles and Kansas City).

@Lainey02: Ask David how he enjoyed his “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” experience and when it’s going to air.

We took a two-week break from shows the second half of October and I got a chance to do a lot of really cool things and one of the things I got to do was head to Indiana, where my both of my parents are from and film an episode of Extreme Makever: Home Edition.” It was cool to be able to do something that wasn’t about playing a show or writing a song and do something that was bigger than me and bigger than this. It was fun. I got to get my hands dirty and actually be involved.

I think it’s going to air in January, but they keep me in the dark on these things.

PJS: What specific tasks did you take on?

By the time I got there they had already demolished the old house, but I got a chance to put on some of the drywall and the decorative brick on the front of the house and help design rooms, so I was all over the place.

My first job out of college, I moved to Tulsa to start a band and I took a job painting apartment complexes. And hated it. It’s part of the story now, I suppose.

@Laurie_0: Feelings about the tour ending?

Dec. 2 is our last show. It’s sad. This has been nine months of my life, and in that aspect, I’m bummed. But I’m also really excited about getting to work on another record and building more of a catalogue and hopefully extending the legs on this thing. We’ve been really fortunate to have what’s happened to us happen – a platinum record and two platinum singles and all that is massive. So it’s onward and upward, I hope.

@ItsAFugue: D.C. said that he wants 2 use piano influences on his next CD…are there any other new influences he plans 2 experiment with?

I don’t want to make the same record again, and I definitely want there to be a progression. But there’s also something to be said for not ostracizing the people who got into the last one. So we’re just going to try to expand a little bit. I really want to broaden the scope and incorporate new instrumentation and try different things. I know specifically I want to get into more strings and piano and more riff-based guitar. On the last record, we did a lot of churning-it-out guitars and let that wall of sound be the basis for a lot of these songs. I want to get into more riff-based stuff, bands like Injected and Big Wreck are bands that I really get into and they were always really good about finding riffs.

@holdtolight: Who will David be writing with on his new CD?

Not sure yet. I’ve always said I have no qualms about working with anybody, I think great songs can come from anywhere. I just want to make a great record and hopefully keep playing great shows. I’m hoping the shows I’m doing now are great.

PJS: One writer wrote that he is coming down from Chicago and bringing a friend from South Africa to the Peoria show. How does it feel to have fans all over the world?

I’m extremely humbled and flattered by that. I remember being in shock the first time I flew out to L.A., and to fly from South Africa is quite a bit loftier. I just don’t ever want to get to the point where I feel like any of us are taking that for granted, so it really is a matter of putting a premium on putting out substantive, good music and backing it up with a good live show. I feel like if we can do those two things, everything else will fall into place.

PJS: What can we expect at the show?

The night before the Peoria show is the one-year anniversary of the record being out, so we’re working on some big stuff for that and invariably we’ll bring that with us to Peoria. So I’m excited to get out there. I came off the “Idol” tour and there were a lot of bells and whistles, it was a big production. I wanted to get back to, for lack of a less cliche way to say it, back to the roots of the whole thing. The guys that I play with now are guys that I’ve been in bands with prior to, and in some cases I’ve been friends with them for a long time, so it’s just a matter of coming out on stage and having fun and cracking jokes and trying to play these songs for the best of our ability and really try to engage the audience.

Source: Examiner

David Cook talks with Examiner about tours, future plans, and mysterious tattoos

Okay, okay, so when interviewing an AI alum, some people worry about asking them too many questions about American Idol. But, considering David Cook admittedly owes a lot to the show that has launched his already-successful career, it makes sense to ask him about his pre-Idol pursuit of music. So that’s exactly what I did when I had the chance to interview him the other day. Not surprisingly, he said he would have never considered giving up music, Idol or not. He might have perhaps considered moving it to a hobby, but he’d never give up his first love. And that is why his whole experience on the show was hard for him to believe, as he admits to thinking to himself every week “I’m done.” He even went so far as packing his bags before every results show but, as we all know, that was never needed. His career has soared as he, along with his many fans, take it all in.

Although his tour is winding down, David is busier than ever. He recently finished his part on Carrie Underwood’s upcoming holiday special, calling his performance of “Lie” a “cool, live version.” He calls Carrie “great,” and goes on to say that she’s “one of the really good friends I’ve gained through the Idol process.” He also recently wrapped an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition in which he auctioned off one of his guitars to help the affected family, along with personally pitching in on the makeover process. David said “It was good to do something that wasn’t about plugging in my guitar or talking about myself” but, instead, helping someone else. David is no stranger to philanthropy, and has done a great deal for cancer research after losing his brother, Adam, to the disease. As far as the tour thus far, he said the most surreal moments were performing before 115,000 people in the Philippines as well as playing at an old venue in his hometown back in Kansas City.

When asked about how his songs have evolved from the album as he has been on tour, David said that it’s a bit of a combination of his band purposefully doing so, and it happening as a natural process. As he points out, no one wants to go to a live show that sounds exactly like the album. He also notes that this album was really made on the fly due to time constraints with the AI tour but, as he says, “I really like the niche we’ve carved,” calling it “high energy.” When it comes to writing songs, David says he lets the producers consider the current musical trends, but he simply writes what’s personal to him. As he put it, “It’s my job to be artistic and it’s somebody else’s job to reign me in.”

David doesn’t have much free time these days, but he doesn’t complain, as he says that is he and his band members get along extremely well. They hang out when not performing, and had even gone out for band mate Andy Skib’s birthday the night before. The self-declared “word nerd” also reads when he gets the chance, and recently finished Michael J. Fox’s Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. And, of course, David can’t get enough music. When asked what he’s listening to these days, he listed Erin McCarley, Crash Kings, Green River Ordinance, and Chantal Kreviazuk among the many artists he favors.

Of course, all of us Cookie fans are wondering what’s next and, although David says a live album is not out of the question at some point, he really wants to focus on making music for his sophomore effort. Although David says he’s hesitant to call it “more of the same,” he does say it will be an extension of what they’ve already started with the hugely successful debut album. As he put it, they’ll be “broadening the scope, ” creating “more of a sense of urgency” as well as giving it a more “up tempo” feel. They’ll be incorporating some piano-driven pieces, as David says he’s intrigued by using different instruments to create new sounds. David also said he’d like more “riff-based guitar work,” and, surprisingly, calls himself a “mediocre guitar player at best.” A modest musician to be sure! As far as the band name goes, he threw out The Anthemic to let it happen organically, and he thinks it’s going to stick. If David can make it happen, he also plans on keeping all the band members the same for the next CD.

As for some of his unreleased songs, such as “Souvenir” and “We’re Only Honest When We’re Sleeping” making the next album, David doesn’t rule it out. He doesn’t want to commit to it either but, as he said, they are “all in the running.” Another thing he doesn’t rule out is the possibility of seeing him on Idol once again (in the mentor capacity). But don’t ever expect to see him at the judges’ table, as he doesn’t think he could dish out any harsh critiques knowing how hard it is to do what they do. When asked if there were any other current TV shows he’d like to guest star on, he names Dexter, House, and Family Guy among his faves.

While few can deny that David Cook is an open book when it comes to giving his fans some great scoop during an interview, he does say there are some things he’d rather keep close to the vest, such as the meaning behind the new “14″ tattoo he has on his right forearm. David said he’d rather keep that private and, besides, he’s truly enjoyed all the speculation. Speculate away, fans!

Source : Freep.com

5 questions with David Cook, rock singer and guitarist

David Cook is on the last leg of what has become a marathon tour, and he’s got his eye on the future.

Cook, 26, the rocker who won “American Idol” in 2008, is already hard at work on a follow-up to his successful post-”Idol” debut, a self-titled album that has sold well over a million copies.

The Blue Springs, Mo., native and his band, the Anthemic, will bring their Declaration Tour to the Colosseum at Caesars Windsor on Saturday. And he just might test out a new song that he hopes will make the new album, due out next summer, he says.

On that sophomore effort, Cook wants to show more depth and to collaborate more with other writers. He doesn’t have a producer on board yet, but he promises there will be more “riff-based guitar and more piano.” To that end, Cook — a guitarist — is trying to beef up his piano-playing skills. “The goal right now is to try to get it to where I can play it live.”

QUESTION: You’ve been on the road since Feb. 13 for a tour that originally was supposed to run through the spring. Did you anticipate you’d still be on the road today?

ANSWER: No. It’s a testament to the demand, which is great. To have a record out that’s done so well … how many people can say that? We’ve been extremely blessed to be on the road this far. The one thing I really wanted to harp on with the tour … I wanted to come out and do the record justice with good shows. I didn’t want to come out with all the bells and whistles. I wanted it to be an accessible rock show.

Q: When does work begin in earnest on the new album

A: The day we get off the road. I am legitimately kind of enamored with the record process. As such I can’t wait to get started. I’m excited. With the last record, it was tough because I was on the road (for the “American Idol” summer tour in 2008) for a lot of the record process. We used a lot of technology to keep me involved. I’ll be in the studio and be a little more hands-on. I’m looking forward to that.

Q: You recently took in a Bruce Springsteen concert in New York, where he played his entire “Born to Run” album. Afterward you said you were in awe and had a lot of work to do. What was so awe-inspiring?

A: They played three hours and 15 minutes. Not long before that show we had done a show in San Diego for an hour and 45 minutes and I thought I was going to die. So to see someone like him put that much energy into a show … that was incredible. You can’t possibly walk away from that not feeling like you’ve learned something.

Q: Not many artists come out and greet their fans after shows, but you do that pretty regularly. Why has it been so important for you to stay connected to fans?

A: Without them we don’t have places to play. We don’t have anything. I feel like if I were in that position I would like to know I was appreciated. It’s part of the relationship. We want people to feel like they got more than just the collection of songs for the ticket price.

Q: Of all the other “Idol” alums, you have connected more with Carrie Underwood; you’ll be on her Christmas special on Dec. 7 on Fox. Why have you two become such fast friends?

A: We both kind of lived in the Tulsa area for a while. She’s from Checotah and I lived in Tulsa. I don’t know. It’s one of those random things. We’re two people who met each other who happen to get along. She’s been amazing. She’s made herself available. Someone of her stature has no reason to do that. She calls me Cookie, and I call her Ms. Underwood. And it’ll probably stay that way until I reach her level.

Here’s what else David Cook had to say on other topics during a Nov. 6 interview:

On his loyal, hard-core fans, some of whom have criss-crossed the country attending dozens of shows:

Cook is at a loss to explain it, but he says he appreciates the support. “I think sometimes things just happen … We don’t take our relationship with our fans very lightly at all.”

On when he began recognizing some of these hard-core fans:

“Week one. That’s the coolest thing about it. We know some fans by name. That just solidifies the bond that hopefully is going to last a long time.”

On how surreal it is to now be friends with one of his music influences – Raine Maida, lead singer of the Canadian band Our Lady Peace. Maida – and Maida’s wife Chantal Kreviazuk – collaborated with Cook on several songs for his current album. Cook recently sang a song with Maida’s band during a Halloween concert in Kansas City. And they appeared together in a Yahoo video that captured the two golfing with Rob Cavallo, the man who produced Cook’s current album:

“It’s a little weird. For those who saw the Yahoo video – he talks a little bit of trash about me. It’s kind of tough for me to reciprocate,” Cook jokes. “Raine is just a chill dude. His wife said something very flattering – he may not find it flattering – but she said ‘I see a lot of you in Raine.’ I don’t know. That’s huge for me. But Raine may hate that.”

On whether fans might get their wish for a third single to be released from his current album:

“I’d be surprised if we did. But again, I’ve learned to never say never.”

On surprises he has in store for the last leg of the tour, which ends in early December:

Cook already debuted a new song called Make Believe to a St. Louis audience Tuesday night. He may have something else up his sleeve, though. “We do have the one year anniversary of the record coming up,” Cook says, referring to the release Nov. 18, 2008 of his current album. “We do want to do something special for that.” For the record, he plays a concert Nov. 18 in Hammond, Ind.

On his never-released song “One Second to Change Your Life,” which was used during a montage during World Series highlights on ESPN:

“It’s a song we wrote for the record, but it didn’t fit the flow of the record for whatever reason. It was just kind of sitting there in limbo.” The folks at ESPN, he said, “asked if they could have a crack at it.” That’s something the baseball-loving Cook got a kick out of. But as far as the song potentially making it onto his second album: “It could be an amazing song. But it has to fit the record.”

On whether he and his band will be producing more episodes of Pork Beans, a random collection of videos that have captured behind-the-scenes hilarity. The most recent one featured Cook interviewing a plastic chicken:

“We’ve actually got a few ideas up our sleeves,” Cook says. “The ideas have gotten more and more elaborate.”

On why he joined Twitter (he’s @thedavidcook) after months of resisting the social networking site:

“I got beat down. I stopped looking at it as something I had to do.” And as soon as that happened, Cook began seeing twitter as a different way of connecting with people, and sharing. If he’s listening to new music, he likes the ability to instantaneously be able to tweet about it. “It’s immediate, which is cool.” But he says he still won’t be tweeting about what he had for lunch or other mundane matters. He will, however, get involved in twitter wars with his younger brother Andrew Cook, the most recent of which had the brothers trading insults via twitter even though they were together in Kansas City. Cook, of course, blames his brother. “You have to defend yourself,” he said. “If you look back at no point have I started any of these twitter battles, or wars.”

On how his raw foods diet is going:

When he came back to the tour after a two week break Nov. 3, Cook told listeners at an acoustic gig that because he’d gorged so much on bad food during the break, he had started a raw foods diet.

“It’s going decent,” Cook said, describing his version of a raw foods diet as including lots of fruits and vegetables and occasionally some fish and chicken. He hopes the diet will be a trigger to keep him eating healthy.

On his 2010 tour plans:

“The goal right now is to get a record out by the summer, and then we’ll be out on the road.”

On who he’d love to go on tour with:

Cook lists Bruce Springsteen, Our Lady Peace, Ben Folds and Switchfoot. “The list goes on and on,” he says.

Source: The York Despatch – Idol Chatter

David Cook won over millions of fans on American Idol with unique versions of other artists’ songs.

Friday night, he won over the crowd at the York Fair grandstand with his own music.

His 13-song set list didn’t include a single full-blown cover (unless you want to count the Tulsa band MWK’s pre-Idol “Til I’m Blue”). And no one in the audience seemed to care.

Fans in the jam-packed track seating jumped to their feet with the first chords of “Heroes” and stayed on their feet until the show ended more than an hour later with David tossing guitar picks into the crowd.

Along the way, David stopped performing long enough to thank the crowd three or four times for their support.

On about the fourth occasion, he explained why he’s so thankful.

“I’m been saying thank you a lot tonight, and I mean it,” he said. “It wasn’t that long ago that we were doing this to nobody. To be able to do travel the country and play music and have people show up …”

David’s words trailed off as the cheers drowned him out.

Of course, most of those fans showed up because they adopted David Cook as their favorite on season seven of Idol and have been following him ever since.

Fans like Katie Nace, 16, of York, who admitted she’s slightly obsessed with Mr. Cook. She knows why his guitar bears the intials “A.C.” She knows he’s left-handed. She knows he used to work as a bartender.

And she knows every single lyric to every single song on his CD, which makes her more than slightly obsessed in the mind of friend Kara Bell, 15, of York.

“I kinda screamed very loudly,” Katie said of her reaction when she learned the season seven Idol would be playing at the York Fair.

Standing in line waiting for a chance to meet David and his band backstage, Phyllis Seitz of York proclaimed him “the best Idol ever.”

And sitting in the third row and anxiously waiting for the concert to start, Alyssa Reigart, 22, of Dover, recalled scooting to the front of the couch and listening intently as David sang “Always Be My Baby” on Idol’s Mariah Carey night.

“I absolutely love what he did on Idol,” Alyssa said. “Now, to get to see him like this, it’s like coming full circle. He could sing ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ and it would sound great.”

And several fans said they appreciated the fact that David seems like a down-to-earth guys who’s just darn genuine when he sings.

But not every fan was a Cook fanatic from his days on Idol. Take Elizabeth Kessler, 20, of Stewartstown for instance.

“My friend told me about his CD, and it was really good,” she said, referring to concert-going colleague Kristin Adams, 19, of Fawn Grove.

Then Elizabeth rattled off a long list of songs from the CD that she hoped to hear during the upcoming concert.

Back in row three, Alyssa didn’t bother listing songs, saying she wanted to hear “everything off the album.”

David nearly obliged.

His set included 10 of the 13 non-bonus tracks on his self-titled debut CD, one noteable exception being “Permanent.”

Fans were also treated to a one-track taste of the 2006 independent CD “Analog Heart” and an unreleased song, “We’re Only Honest When We’re Sleeping.”

As for highlights, there was an raucous rendition of “Kiss on the Neck” — much more raucous than the hidden track on the CD — with a touch of “Hotel California” mixed in.

And there was a guitars-blazing extended version of “I Did It for You” that had the crowd in a frenzy.

But the wildest cheers of the night came when David launched into his current single, “Come Back To Me,” which was also his last song of the night.

Did it all work?

Just ask the fans.

“It was fantastic, as usual,” said Britney Marsh, 20, of Carlisle.

As usual?

Turns out it’s the second time Britney has seen David live. She was at his Dickinson College show earlier this year.

Seems Britney’s mom, Penny Seaks, is something of a David Cook fanatic. Britney admitted they’ll likely also be in the audience the next time he performs in the area.

“This time, he had a little more stage room than at Dickinson,” she said. “So he interacted with the crowd more. That was nice.”

Victoria Keener, 13, of Carlisle, said she could sum up the show in one word: “Amazing.”

“It sounded exactly like his CD,” she said.

And Mindy Meredith, 21, of Perry Hall, Md., described the show as “awesome.”

“He’s got a great voice. He’s a great entertainer. And he’s hot.”

Hmm. Your friendly Idol Chatter critic wouldn’t be a good judge of that.

But the music sure was.

Set List

1. Heroes
2. We’re Only Honest When We’re Sleeping
3. Declaration
4. Life on the Moon
5. Bar-ba-sol
6. Kiss on the Neck
7. Mr. Sensitive
8. Til I’m Blue (MWK song)
9. I Did It for You
10. Light On
11. A Daily Anthem

Encore

12. Straight Ahead (from Analog Heart)
13. Come Back to Me

Source: The York Despatch

David Cook talks about upcoming York show, his music and his next album

Back in March, when David Cook played a show at Penn State York, the 1,000-plus seat Pullo Performing Arts Center sold out in a week.

His debut album had recently gone platinum; his tour of college campuses was well under way.

Six months later, the season seven American Idol is still on tour and preparing for a Friday night show at a considerably larger venue, the Toyota Grandstand at the York Fair.

That debut album is still on the Billboard 200, 42 weeks after its release. And David’s latest single, “Come Back To Me,” is number 17 on the adult contemporary singles chart; it previously cracked the top 10 on the Billboard’s adult top 40.

Idol Chatter interviewed David Tuesday, the same day someone discovered 30-second snippets of 11 unreleased songs on the Internet. Those “weren’t meant for public consumption,” David said.

The good news for David Cook fans: He’s already working on music for album number two. Here’s what David had to say about his music, his next album, the upcoming show in York and a variety of other topics.

Make sure to check back late Friday night for a review and photos from the York Fair show.

Idol Chatter: Lots of fans who heard those song snippets the other day kept saying on Twitter: “Please give us a deluxe version of the first album.” Are there any plans for anything along those lines?

David Cook: “We’ve kind of had some casual talk about it, but so far, nothing firm has come up. I’m not opposed to it. I just want to make sure if it’s done, it’s done the right way. I imagine if it’s going to happen, the ball should be rolling in the next couple of weeks.”

Chatter: You did the college tour. You passed your 100th show last month. You’ve got events scheduled through mid-November. How long do you plan to stay on tour?

David: “The goal right now is to stay on tour until the end of the year, then get into the studio to work on another record. I think the goal is to not stop working. I figure if I’m keeping busy, then I have a reason to stay busy.”

Chatter: I know you’re less than a year removed from the release of your first album. But have you started thinking about that second album?

David: “Absolutely. We’ve started writing for another record already. We really don’t have anything prepared to start playing in public yet. That’s another thing we’re kind of up in the air about. Do we play it now and get a gauge on it? Do we try to hold onto it until it’s time for the record? There’s all sorts of options out there.”

Chatter: There are songs on your set lists that aren’t on the first album. So those aren’t songs up for consideration for the second album?

David: “Not necessarily. I wanted this tour to be about showing people that we were more than just the last year and a half. So some of the songs that we play live are songs that I put on (the independent album) Analog Heart in 2006, songs that I played with the band back in Tulsa. I just wanted to show more of the spectrum, a little bit. So as far as those songs making the record, it really hasn’t been discussed. But I wouldn’t take that as a no or a yes.”

Chatter: And what’s the timetable for the new album? Did I hear you say you’d like to get back in the studio at the start of the year?

David: “We’re going to try to get in, I want to say February and try to get a new record out by the summer.”

Chatter: “Come Back To Me” is your current single. Any plans to release another single anytime soon?

David: “That’s another thing that’s been casually talked about. I think right now “Come Back To Me” is still doing what we want it to do. When and if that changes, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. But right now, I’m really enjoying seeing the kind of longevity “Come Back To Me” has had.

Chatter: You were here for a college show back in March. I think we were something like show number 27 on the long list. Have you changed your set since then, or will York Fair fans essentially see the same show?

David: “We play different set lists every night. I think since show 27 we’ve worked up new covers and switched some stuff around. And some songs have sort of evolved as the tour has gone on that have really kind of taken on a different vibe. I think the people who came to our last show in York, I don’t think they’d be disappointed if they came out again.”

Chatter: You were on Good Morning America this summer and performed a very rocked-out version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies” with Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. Any reason you selected that song for that particular occasion?

David: “It’s a cover we’ve played for a while. If we didn’t play it in York, I’m pretty sure we played it around York. We’d been working on it for a while, and it was something we thought Adam and Kris would sound great on. Kudos to them. They’ve got a ton of stuff going on, and they came in and got it done. It’s a fun song for us. We’ve done enough to it to where I don’t think people necessarily expect it the first time they hear it.”

Chatter: You had a lot of success with different interpretations of popular songs on Idol. As a recording artist, what’s your philosophy about putting cover songs on your albums?

David: “My philosophy is, right now I’m really trying to establish my music and myself as an artist. I don’t know that putting a cover on a record would be the right move right now. Down the line, if we can get some longevity out of this, I don’t think I’d be opposed to it. It’s just a wait-and-see attitude. But I’m really proud of the original music we’ve put out and humbled by the reaction it’s received.”

Chatter: Now, you’re a big sports fan, and you got to perform at the All-Star game Home Run derby. Tell me what that was like.

David: “That was like a pinch-me moment. I just remember walking up on stage and seeing a lot of the ball players sitting out in foul territory and thinking, ‘Oh, Lord.’ I did get a chance to meet some of them. I actually got to meet a lot of the guys from Baseball Tonight. I got to meet John Kruk and David Winfield, which was huge for me, and Peter Gammons. I got to meet Hank Aaron while I was there. It was just kid-in-the-candy-store stuff.”

Chatter: You’re raising money for cancer research in honor of your brother through Race for Hope, correct?

David: “Absolutely. I’ve got a great relationship with ABC Squared (ABC2, The Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure Organization). I think, especially with Patrick Swayze passing away the other day, and Sen. Kennedy, plus my brother, it’s just … I hate watching people go from it. The sooner we can get a cure, the better.”

(Note: David’s Team in Race for Hope, D.C., 2009 has raised more than $135,000 compared to a goal of $75,000. Go here for more information.)

Chatter: Judging from some of the Tweets I was reading last week, it sounded as though some of your former Idol colleagues were trying to organize a season seven reunion around your show at the Fonda Theater (in Los Angeles, Calif.). Did that work out?

David: “They came, yeah. I have to say that was one of the nicest things. I think it speaks volumes about the relationship we all had when we were on the show. I’ve been really bummed … that’s the one bad thing about being on the road as much as we have — family and friends, I don’t get to see them nearly as much as I’d like. So to get to catch up with everybody for that evening was really, really cool. It sounds like everybody’s doing great things. I’m a fan of every one of them.”

(Note: Among those who showed were Ramiele Malubay, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson, Brooke White, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado.)

Now for a couple of questions sent me by David Cook fans, who apparently still had the Video Music Awards on their minds Tuesday.

Chatter: Pro-Kanye or Pro-Taylor?

David: Pro-Taylor.

Chatter: Favorite Lady Gaga song?

David: (Laughter) “I don’t like to dance, so it’s not ‘Just Dance.’ Wow, man, I don’t know. I always think that lyric about the disco stick is funny, so whichever song that is.” (”LoveGame,” just for the record.)

Chatter: What was your nickname growing up?

David: “Cookie. Just because of my last name. People weren’t trying too hard, I don’t think.”

I had more questions from fans to ask, but David also had other interviews to do.

Want more? Here’s a link to the interview Idol Chatter ran prior to the March show.

Source: The York Despatch

York Fair bound, David Cook talks about those new song snippets

David Cook fans are all abuzz today.

Someone discovered 30-second snippets of 11 songs many fans had not heard before on the Cherry Tree Lane Music Group Web site.

On Twitter, Starryskies80 declared that “it’s like Christmas morning for all of us.”

Referring to one of the new songs, — “Maybe Tonight,” I think — Makeover_girl says that a musician “is amazing when, through 29 seconds, a song can make you cry.”

LoveForeverKay plans to attend a David Cook concert tonight at the Allegan County Fair in Michigan, but was having trouble getting ready because all she can do is listen to the new snippets. And librarybunny says: “Holy moley … leak of unreleased David Cook song snippets has pretty much thrown my whole day out of whack.”

And everyone, I mean everyone, seemed to be begging for full-length versions of the songs.

Just by chance, I happened to be interviewing David Cook today since he’s headed this way to play the York Fair Friday night (go here for ticket information). So I had to ask about those new snippets.

David said they “weren’t meant for public consumption.” (In fact, they appeared to have been taken down by late this afternoon.)

But folks won’t have to wait too long for new David Cook music. Plans are under way for album number two.

Here’s what David had to say about the song snippets.

Check back later this week for the full interview, including what he said about plans for the new album.

Idol Chatter: So, I’m on Twitter today and it sounds like some new song snippets were released. Can you tell me what happened with that?

David Cook: “I don’t know that they were released. I think someone just found my publisher’s Web site, and they’ve got stuff up there.”

Chatter: So that wasn’t a planned release of any sort.

David: “No it wasn’t. Those songs are all kind of real rough demos, songs that may never see the light of day.”

Chatter: Were those songs that didn’t make the first album?

David: “Some of them, yeah. Some of them were songs from before Idol. Some of them were songs that didn’t make the cut for the record. Sort of a hodgepodge of a lot of things.”

Chatter: Have you checked Twitter to see what people are saying about them?

David: “I haven’t. I’m not sure I want to know. They’re really rough demos.” (Told that the reaction is unanimously positive, David laughs). “Well, I guess that’s a good thing.”

Chatter: One thing fans keep saying is, “Please, give us a deluxe version of the first album.” Any plans for anything along those lines?

David: “We’ve kind of had some casual talk about it, but so far, nothing firm has come up. I’m not opposed to it. I just want to make sure if it’s done, it’s done the right way. I imagine if it’s going to happen, the ball should be rolling in the next couple of weeks.”

Source: The News-Herald

‘Idol’ winner has found success for which he’d hoped

By John Benson
Correspondent@News-Herald.com

“American Idol” season seven winner David Cook just wants to rock.

And apparently so does America, with the evidence being Cook’s self-titled 2008 platinum album.

What’s unique about this musician? He is, so far, one of a kind in terms of “Idol” winners, which have included the pop singer (Kelly Clarkson), the country singer (Carrie Underwood) and so on. Prior to David Cook, the one thing the show hadn’t given us was the straight-out rocker, one who straps on the guitar and kicks out the jams.

Fans can see Cook in action when he comes to Northeast Ohio for a sold-out show Thursday at the House of Blues. His set will include material from his new CD, songs from his 2006 debut, “Analog Heart,” and even a few familiar covers (Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box,” Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies”). The News-Herald talked to the 26-year-old Texas native about his bar-band style, the pesky “American Idol” tag and why he recently changed his band’s name.

The News-Herald: It was just a year ago when you were the latest “Idol” winner hoping the high-profile exposure would translate into a career. Now a million albums sold with club dates selling out all over, what were the last 12 months like?

David Cook: Really, the goal I set for this whole thing, the last year, has been met and exceeded. I just wanted to put out a good record and have it do well. And the fact that in this musical climate and this economic climate we were able to go platinum is pretty amazing. Past that, I’ve always been kind of concerned with just putting out good records, playing good shows and letting everything fall where it’s going to fall. And I feel like the reactions and the responses have exceeded expectations every time.

In looking back at your post-”Idol” success, what’s been the biggest surprise?

Everything has been kind of a surprise. I think I’ve always been one of those hope for the best, expect the worst kind of people. So we certainly put a lot of work into making this successful. But at every step on this whole path the odds are stacked against you, so really I’ve been kind of pleasantly surprised about everything: the way the record has been received, the way the show has been received and really the fact that we’re able to still be on the road this long after the record came out.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that the moniker of “American Idol” winner is a tricky affair. While one dreams of winning the reality show, as soon as the label is bestowed on them they begin the process of distancing themselves from the tag. So are you looking forward to the day when being an “American Idol” winner is no longer what people talk about when discussing David Cook the musician?

Nope, I look at it this way: If people want to call me “American Idol” David Cook for the rest of my life, I’ve been called way worse than that. So I’m pretty happy with it.

We do see where you’re attempting to change the band’s name to The Anthemic. What’s that all about?

We’re trying to fit in David Cook and The Anthemic. I just think it’s a fitting name for what I want this to be, and what I feel like I want this to be. We want these songs to be big. I don’t want to come out and half-ass it. And I think in that regard, we want everything to be bigger than life.

We’re guessing you chose The Anthemic only after realizing The Heartbreakers and the Silver Bullet Band were taken.

We were going to go with The E Street Band (laughs), but somebody — I don’t know who — already took it.