David Cook Interview
Friday, July 3, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. CST
AARON KEKER: This evening you will be performing at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
DAVID COOK: Yep!
AARON KEKER: How far is Thackerville from your previous residence in Tulsa?
DAVID COOK: How far is it?
AARON KEKER: Yeah!
DAVID COOK: Aw man! These geographical questions are going to kill me.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: I’ll say a couple of hours. (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) No man! I’m not trying to pull out the map or anything. I was just curious.
DAVID COOK: I wish I knew. (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: I’m in the same state. I know that.
AARON KEKER: I noticed that a majority of your songs on your debut album were published by Analog Heart Music, Inc.
DAVID COOK: Uh-huh.
AARON KEKER: Was Analog Heart Music, Inc. named after your solo record Analog Heart?
DAVID COOK: Yes it was. For me, that was like my first foray into doing music outside of the band atmosphere. You know, it was just me and I love what Analog Heart represents. Analog to me means nostalgic and means historical. I guess from that standpoint, I’ll divide that like Analog Heart and a digital world kind of thing.
AARON KEKER: Right. Now is that your publishing company too?
DAVID COOK: Uh-huh. Well I mean I got a publishing deal through Cherry Lane.
AARON KEKER: Okay.
DAVID COOK: But that is my publishing company, yeah.
AARON KEKER: I heard a thirty second snippet of “Straight Ahead” from Analog Heart.
DAVID COOK: Yeah! Yeah! “Straight Ahead.”
AARON KEKER: What are some of your favorite songs from Analog Heart?
DAVID COOK: I love “Straight Ahead.” “Silver” I think was a great song “The Truth.” I’m trying to think of what else, it’s been a while. I like “Porcelain.”
AARON KEKER: Uh-huh.
DAVID COOK: Just more for kind of the imagery of the song. But yeah, for a million different reasons, I love all of the songs on the record.
AARON KEKER: Okay. I am better at Wii Bowling than I am at real bowling
DAVID COOK: (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) I believe my highest score in real bowling is 165.
DAVID COOK: Okay.
AARON KEKER: I watched a video of you bowling on You Tube. What is your highest score ever at bowling?
DAVID COOK: My highest score ever at actual bowling is probably a 173. My highest score on the Wii Bowling is probably like 220.
AARON KEKER: Wow!
DAVID COOK: But I found a loophole. I found a cheat.
AARON KEKER: Did you? What’s that?
DAVID COOK: I won’t divulge it, —
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) Aw! Come on!
DAVID COOK: the cheat. Well you know if you and I ever compete at Will Bowling, I got to have some sort of an edge.
AARON KEKER: Well you’re right!
DAVID COOK: (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: Actually you’re going to be here on July 12th, so maybe I need to bring the Wii backstage and we can get a little tournament going.
DAVID COOK: Let’s do it!
AARON KEKER: All right!
DAVID COOK: It’s on!
AARON KEKER: All right man!
DAVID COOK: It’s on!
AARON KEKER: One of my favorite songs from your debut album is “Lie.” Will that song ever be released as a music video?
DAVID COOK: I hope so. I know right now we have “Come Back to Me” out and it’s still kind of making an upward spiral. So I think when it comes time to pick another single, I know “Lie” will probably be in the mix. I think it’s a fantastic song and I feel like there’s a lot of people out there that can relate to the message behind it. So, you never know.
AARON KEKER: I remarked in my album review of David Cook that I thought “Declaration” and “Heroes” had soundtrack potential. Will we see either of these songs released on a soundtrack album anytime soon?
DAVID COOK: I know we’ve pitched it to certain things and I’m certainly not opposed to getting music out there in any avenue that we possibly can. As of right now, I don’t think that there is any solid. But if there’s anything about this business I’ve learned in the year that I’ve been in it is never say never.
AARON KEKER: Your debut album was released on November 18, 2008 and was certified platinum by the RIAA in just a little bit over two months. Are you surprised it was certified platinum so quickly?
DAVID COOK: Absolutely! Yeah! I think given the economic climate as well as the musical climate it’s so hard you know to sell a million records anymore. And to be able to do it that quickly it is a testament to a lot of things. I think it’s a testament to the fact that we’re able to put together a great record. I also think it’s a testament to kind of the brevity and reach of a show like American Idol. It gave me an amazing platform to be able to do something like that. There’s a lot of things that play into that being the end result.
AARON KEKER: Are you planning on releasing any additional live tracks kind of like “Permanent” that you did?
DAVID COOK: We talked about like a deluxe version of the record. We talked about; you know putting out a live record. We talked a lot of different angles. I know right now the record hasn’t been even out for eight, nine months.
AARON KEKER: Right.
DAVID COOK: So we wanna kind of give it a little bit more room to breath and then attack what to do next. I know we’re on the road until the end of the year. So the jury is out on what to do right now.
AARON KEKER: Right. I’m all about getting those live tracks off of iTunes.
DAVID COOK: Aw dude! I’m with you!
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: I love live records. I’m certainly wouldn’t be opposed to doing one.
AARON KEKER: Of course acoustic too.
DAVID COOK: We’ve done like the random one off acoustic gigs and I love ‘em man. To me that’s a sign of a good song when it works acoustic and it works like kind of balls to the walls full band. Again I wouldn’t be opposed to it; even doing like an acoustic live record would be really cool. It just depends on time, angle and logistics.
AARON KEKER: When you’re on tour, do you like bring out the acoustic guitar and just practice?
DAVID COOK: Well we actually have a mobile kind of make-shift recording studio set up with us on the road. So a lot of what we do is we’ll record a riff acoustic to just kind of sit on it in hopes, that once the tour and record cycle is done we’ll get to work on another record.
AARON KEKER: Right.
DAVID COOK: I mean acoustic guitar is a pretty big part of what we do…. Whether we’re practicing for the show that night or coming with new ideas. Yeah, you can’t really get by on the road without an acoustic guitar. (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: Right. (Laughs) You posted a blog on March 22nd regarding fans finding your hotel room and even calling your room number.
DAVID COOK: Uh-huh.
AARON KEKER: Not only that, but they have attached things to your tour bus. My question for you is whether The Beatles madness has slowed down and whether you are still continuing to be accessible to the fans?
DAVID COOK: Absolutely still accessible to the fans! One of my favorite things is to, you know after the show talk to people. Go out and sign stuff. Having conversations with these people because I think it’s good for business.
AARON KEKER: Right.
DAVID COOK: I don’t know. I’ve always enjoyed talking to people. As far as Beatle mania —
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: (Laughs) I love that phrasing. I don’t know that we’ve ever really had to deal with Beatle mania. But if it happens we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
AARON KEKER: Right. You’ll finally be performing with your band in Chicago on July 12th.
DAVID COOK: Uh-huh.
AARON KEKER: How excited are you to perform in Chicago at the House of Blues?
DAVID COOK: I love Chicago. One of the best shows that I ever saw was in Chicago at the Vic Theatre. I got to see Our Lady Peace and an amazing show. So to be able to come to the city that I’m absolutely in love with and to play at a place like the House of Blues, I’m really, really excited. I think it will be a great time.
AARON KEKER: Yeah! You know, actually Our Lady Peace is going to be here sometime in August.
DAVID COOK: Yeah! They’re supporting a new record. I’m actually going to try and catch one of their CD release shows here coming up. So we’ll see.
AARON KEKER: Now you will have a layoff between July 12th and July 15th for Duluth. Will you be spending time in Chicago; you know walking around the city —
DAVID COOK: If I have anything to say about it, I will for sure.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: If you see an awkward looking dude in a Fedora walking around it’s probably me.
AARON KEKER: Oh, really? Well you know we got to get our Wii Bowling game in right?
DAVID COOK: Absolutely! Absolutely! Got to make the time!
AARON KEKER: Yeah! Do you have any superstitions before you perform on stage?
DAVID COOK: You know, I’m a pretty superstitious guy but when it comes to shows not really. I know we as a band, we kind of put our hands in the circle and do the whole hoorah thing. I’m a big believer in power, positive thinking, so I just try to visualize what I want to do before the show starts and hopefully it comes out that way.
AARON KEKER: Right. Will you perform any songs acoustically at the HOB similar to your acoustic performance of John Lennon’s “Merry X-Mas (War is Over)” on December 3rd at Rockefeller Center?
DAVID COOK: We’re always talking about keeping shows fresh and that certainly is not a bad idea. So maybe?
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) The music universe lost a very talented musician in Michael Jackson on June 25th.
DAVID COOK: Uh-huh.
AARON KEKER: Did you grow up listening to Michael Jackson as a child?
DAVID COOK: Absolutely! I remember like “Scream.” I remember seeing the Thriller video for the first time and being just scared out of my mind.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: What I loved about Michael is he wasn’t just a musician. He wasn’t just a performer. He was kind of this guy that transcended pop music and pop culture and made it bigger than what it would’ve been otherwise. Its guys like him that paved the way for things likeAmerican Idol and people like myself. I think Quincy Jones said it best, “Michael Jackson doesn’t come along once in a lifetime. Michael Jackson comes along once.” I think that is a pretty half way to sum it up.
AARON KEKER: My youngest brother emulated and dressed up as Michael Jackson’s character in the music video Thriller when he was five years old.
DAVID COOK: Oh wow!
AARON KEKER: (Laughing) Yeah. That’s funny that you were bringing up “Thriller.” Did you try to emulate anyone growing up?
DAVID COOK: Actually I probably tried to emulate everybody at one point. I kind of grew up with a vocal mimic. Zeppelin. Country like Garth Brooks. Journey. Stuff like that. I always tried to sing like certain people until I got into my early 20’s and I was like maybe I should find my own thing.
AARON KEKER: Well, you know it’s lucky that you did. Otherwise, you would’ve been just doing cover songs at you know local bars.
DAVID COOK: Absolutely! I played them before all of this Idol stuff because cover bands always make more money, which is kind of a bum out.
AARON KEKER: Well yeah! Yeah! I don’t think you are doing to bad right now, right?
DAVID COOK: Yeah! Yeah. Not now!
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: But there was a time. (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: Right. (Laughs) What was your reaction when you were informed that you would be on the cover of The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009 alongside President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain?
DAVID COOK: The funniest thing about that is that I didn’t know.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: I got a call from my mom and she was like “have you seen The World Almanac?” And I’m like why would I see The World Almanac. Why?
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: She goes “you’re on the cover” and I didn’t catch it to later that day. I walked into like a Wal-Mart or something and I saw the book. It kind of freaked me out. Then an end of a joke came in that it must have been a really slow year. They had Obama, McCain and me then a picture of some flags. There had to be more stuff that happened in the year than that.
AARON KEKER: Right.
DAVID COOK: But hey, I will take what I can get. (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: You know, I think I actually watched the interview and they just said that you just made a huge impact, I think in the music world that year.
DAVID COOK: Oh, wow! Well thanks World Almanac.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) Yes.
DAVID COOK: (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) Well we all either know someone or have a family member who has passed away due to cancer. So my sympathy goes out to you and your family regarding Adam.
DAVID COOK: Thank you very much.
AARON KEKER: Yeah. If you could do a tribute cover song of Adam’s favorite musician, what song would it be?
DAVID COOK: Well this is where it gets tough. We actually kind of joked around about this at the funeral because they had some of his favorite music playing on the PA during the visitation and stuff. You would hear like snippets of me and then you would hear like The Cure and Depeche Mode. I just remember joking with somebody that I’ve learned two things about my brother today. That he was extremely well respected and loved by his peers and his family and that he had terrible taste in music.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: Based on the fact that it got played every five minutes at the visitation, I would probably say “Boys Don’t Cry” (Laughs) by The Cure.
AARON KEKER: Right. (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: (Laughs)
AARON KEKER: Some of my favorite duets are Shaun Morgan and Amy Lee on “Broken” —
DAVID COOK: Yeah! Yeah!
AARON KEKER: and “Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore” with Jon Bon Jovi and LeAnn Rimes. If you could record a duet with any musician and release it on your next album, who would it be and why?
DAVID COOK: That’s a tough one. There’s a lot of people. If it’s a guy, I would love to do a cover with Bruce Springsteen. I think that would be amazing. I actually missed a chance to go see him in New Jersey a couple months ago and I’m kicking myself for that. So hopefully when he plays the Meadowlands in the fall, I’ll catch that. I’ll say Fergie if it’s a girl. Why not? Interesting.
AARON KEKER: Final Question. It may be a little premature, but any idea when your next album will be released?
DAVID COOK: The second record will be released before the third record.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs)
DAVID COOK: That’s about all I know right now.
AARON KEKER: (Laughs) In other words you got no working song titles or anything yet?
DAVID COOK: Nothing yet, Aaron. We probably have sixty or seventy like riffs and noodle ideas to work with but nothing firm yet. I kind of want this next record to be as organic as possible. So I think, you know, what we’re going to try to do as a band is kind of hold up for a little while and knock some songs out and then go from there.
AARON KEKER: When is the last tour date for this year, do you know?
DAVID COOK: I wanna say right now its October 18th, I think it’s the last tour date we have right now.
AARON KEKER: All right, David! Well thanks for your time and I hope you have a wonderful holiday. And I will see you July 12th.
DAVID COOK: All right! I’ll start practicing my Wii Bowling.
AARON KEKER: All right man! Bye!
DAVID COOK: Bye!
