David Cook is a man with a mission, and a wicked sense of humor. Calling after a sound check in Amarillo, Texas, he's feeling good, quick to laugh and dead serious about riding the road of success as long as he can.
"Coming off 'American Idol,'" said the rocker who took top honors in television competition's seventh season, "I knew anything could happen. I look at this as my only shot, and I want to make it work until someone calls my bluff."
That's not likely to happen anytime soon, though. His tour recently was extended to mid-October and now it's running into December, filling 90-plus percent of available seats. Watch for him Saturday, July 11, at the Chesaning Showboat Music Festival.
David Cook
"We've played 73 shows with 73 different set lists," he said. "I like to maintain that spontaneity, to let the music stand alone."His self-titled album went platinum, and his first three singles -- "Time of My Life," "Light On" and "Come Back to Me" -- hit the Top 10 on the adult-contemporary charts. He got rave reviews playing the Philippines with the former contender he calls Archie -- "American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta.
And he still runs into people who look for proof of his talent, as if winning "American Idol" makes everything that followed suspect. True, the vocal competition centers on singing others' songs, but Cook's album is a sound reflection of what he offers.
"I was lucky that the record label and others involved let me try my own thing," he said. "The band and me, we have a connection, an intimacy with the music we've written. I think everyone gives a little more when it's their own. It's been interesting, for sure. It's amazing."
While Cook took up the guitar when he was 13, and founded his first band when he was 15, it was his brother Andrew who always dreamed of winning "American Idol." He's the one who headed for the audition, asking Cook to come along for support.
Once there, Cook said, his brother and his mother talked him into auditioning, too. The rest is television history. "I've asked Andrew to tour with me but he's into finishing his education now," Cook said. "I'd have him up there in a minute."
His older brother, Adam, in early May lost his battle against brain cancer, a cause Cook championed as a runner in the Race for Hope-D.C. and in his song "Permanent," performed on this season's "American Idol."
It was a devastating blow, but Cook handled Adam's death like a veteran, continuing with the race and the tour. The stage is his home, he said, "and I find comfort there. It's therapeutic, surrounded by people who care. And it sure beats the hell out of lying in bed, crying."
The experience also bonded him with audiences going through their own devastation, he said, especially in areas hit hard by the economy.
"In concert, we make a musical and a social connection with our fans," he said. "There's a lot of responsibility on us to entertain people who've spent their hard-earned money on coming to see us, and that's something we welcome. I love singing. I love talking to people, and I'm very appreciative of everything that has come my way."
And speaking of empathy, he watched season eight of "American Idol" in a whole new way.
"The level of talent was amazing," Cook said. "I used to get down on someone if they didn't sing well but now I'm thinking they probably didn't get enough sleep or they're fighting a bug. I'm on the other side now; I'm less judgmental."
He's also more appreciative of what caustic judge Simon Cowell has to say.
"It took me about two weeks to figure out the trick with Simon," he said. "You can't take what he says at face value. Take the bluntness out, forget the pain it causes, and you'll find constructive criticism you can use. And if Simon says you sound good, you know you're doing something right."
