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Two chances to see, as Ryan Seacrest puts it, 'your American Idol'--one in Charlottesville, the other in Richmond. |
By RYAN BROSMER
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
David Cook never meant to win the seventh season of "American Idol," the No. 1-rated show in the United States for five consecutive seasons. He was comfortable back home in Tulsa, Okla., making music and putting off getting a real job.
Cook never even meant to audition; he went to support his younger brother, Andrew.
The younger Cook didn't make the cut--but David did, and he went from Tulsa to Hollywood.
And now his music has taken him into the hearts, homes and ears of people around the world.
He'll be stopping for two dates in Virginia, first at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville this Sunday, and then at The National in Richmond on Tuesday.
Back home, prior to his run on "Idol," Cook had already self-released one album and had another on the way.
"I bartended and was playing acoustic gigs a couple of times a month," Cook told Weekender, recalling his life back in Tulsa. "I'd given myself a cutoff: If I wasn't headed in the direction I wanted by the time I was 26, then I'd make it a hobby and get on with life.
"Thank God it didn't turn out that way."
Instead, it turned out that he won "American Idol" with a record-breaking 56 percent of the votes--and the records didn't stop there. Cook started breaking records on the Billboard charts immediately after his season-seven victory.
By the end of 2008, Cook had an album out that has sold over a million copies, firmly cementing him as a platinum-selling rock artist.
Cook said he isn't sure if the "American Idol" path to success was any easier than if he had continued doing things on his own, self-releasing albums and booking his own shows.
He said "Idol" is, really, just a different route.
"There's so much talent out there that it's just a matter of trying to find it all," Cook said. "And I think any way that that can be found is a good thing."
Cook found his niche on the show by playing cover songs that he had arranged himself to fit his style. Post-"Idol," though, he's making a name for himself with his own tunes--and to do so, he's had to find some talent of his own to bring along on the road with him as a backing band.
The lineup has been solidified in Cook's recent tours, and the band now goes under the name the Anthemic.
"It's been great. A lot of the guys I've known for years and have played with in bands before," Cook said. "So, I think what that does is gives us a little bit of a one-up coming out on the road as a new band--that we already knew how to play together."
For a period of time after his "Idol" victory, Cook was part of tours supporting the show with past winners and runners-up--but now he's better able to do his own thing, and he has some ideas.
"I really wanted to get back to basics," Cook said of his recent headlining tours. "I think being on the show and then doing the "Idol Tour," that's a big production. There's a lot of bells and whistles to it and that's fine. I thoroughly enjoyed it--but when the time came to get out on the road for this record, I wanted it to be real. I wanted to get rid of as much of the smoke and mirrors as possible.
"We just come out and plug the guitars in and turn them up and try to have fun."
"American Idol" being the top-rated television show in the nation, has, naturally, a varied audience--and that's been passed on to Cook. From middle school boys to middle-age moms, Cook can probably claim one of the most-eclectic fan bases in music.
"We kind of get all types, and I love that," Cook said. "To me it means we're doing something right. And that's kind of the goal. I really want this music to be something that engages people. Not just girls, not just guys, not just certain races I just want it to be across the platform something that people can get behind."
Cook's emergence into the mainstream has allowed him the opportunity to work and become friends with many of the musicians that have shaped his alternative-rock sound.
"I got to write with a lot of people on this last record," Cook said. "Definitely the guys from Our Lady Peace, I'm a huge fan of their band. I've gotten to write with [Our Lady Peace vocalist] Raine [Maida] and become really good friends with them It's just literally like 'David's Favorite Bands' flashcards." That includes names like Johnny Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls and Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra--bands that fit perfectly into the sound that Cook crafted for himself on his newest album.
Coming off of a family-oriented program, there might be pressure for an artist to restrain himself, making sure lyrics and style mesh well with the message. But Cook said that hasn't been a problem.
"I definitely feel like I want to make 'Idol' look good, I want to make 19 [Records] look good, I want to make myself look good," Cook said. "I don't think there's any hindrances put on me now that I didn't put on myself before.
"I just want to put out good music. I'm not out to push an agenda or anything. I just want to put out good records and play good shows."
Ryan Brosmer is a writer living in Fredericksburg.
| What: "American Idol" winner David Cook, in concert Where: The Paramount Theater, 215 East Main St., Charlottesville; and The National, 708 E. Broad St., Richmond When: Sunday Oct. 11, at the Paramount; doors open 6 p.m., show is at 7 p.m. Also Tuesday, Oct. 13, at The National; doors open at 7 p.m., show is at 8 p.m. Cost: $35 at the Paramount, $25 at the National |
