Fuck Yeah! David Cook

BlogCritics.org: David Cook Discusses Hitting the Road with This Loud Morning

David Cook stepped back into the spotlight this year with his highly anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore record, This Loud Morning. In support of his latest music endeavor, the singer and season seven American Idol winner kicked off his current co-headlining tour with singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw, along with L.A.-based band Carolina Liar on October 9

Earlier this week, Cook spoke with me about how it feels to be back on tour and playing new material, his desire for listeners to take in This Loud Morning, and spilled some details about his upcoming music video for his new single, “Fade Into Me”.

How has the tour been going for you, so far?

Good, you know? It’s been a little grueling, I think, getting back into the swing of being on the road, but I’ve really enjoyed it. We’re out on the road with Gavin DeGraw and Carolina Liar. We get along great with those guys. It’s a good vibe out on the road right now, which makes it all that much more fun.

Were you at a point where you were ready to get back onstage and perform?

After the last tour, we spent a year on the road, and I was ready to get off the road for a minute and that lasted about a month. I spent the next year and a half waiting to get back on the road, so I’ve been ready for some time.

So, how was that first night of the tour being back onstage?

[laughs] The first night of the tour was awesome. We had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction, but other than that, it was great.

For fans that haven’t seen you in awhile or haven’t had the opportunity to see you live previously, what can they expect from you during this tour?

A lot of energy. I think being off the road for a year and half has really afforded us the opportunity to refill our tanks. With these new songs, musically, they’re really challenging, and I think what that does is it kind of forces us to walk on stage every night with our A-game. With acts like, again, Carolina Liar and Gavin DeGraw, I think they keep the bar pretty high for us. So, just a lot of energy, a lot of fun. I make a few sad attempts at cracking jokes every night.

We just try to keep it organic. I never want to play a show where it feels overly programmed, processed, and all that. For anybody that comes to one of our shows, the goal for me is to make sure that’s their show. That nobody else is going to see that show ever again. You know what I mean? I try to make it different everyday.

[…]

I know the tour just started, but do you have a favorite song to play live off of This Loud Morning?

It changes every night. I think lately, I really enjoy playing our new single, “Fade Into Me,” which sounds like a plug, but it’s not; I really have enjoyed playing it. I think past that, I’m really excited about playing all these songs. Again, to be off the road for a year and a half and toiling in the studio and all that, the light at the end of the tunnel for me was like, “Okay, I’m going to get to play these songs live at some point.” To finally be there now, it’s kind of the gas in the tank for me.

You have a new lead guitar player, Devin Bronson, on tour with you guys now. What’s the onstage chemistry been like between him and the rest of the band?

Great! You know, I was worried when we made the change. My last guitar player, Neal, I’d known him for a long time. Neal got an opportunity that he had to take. We love him, and we wish him well. And so, we went through the audition process and Devin came in and really just did a great job, not only just playing guitar, obviously, he’s a good guitar player, but really acclimating himself to the group. I think he’s made a real seamless transition for us. I love having him out on the road; great hang, great guy. We’re kind of firing on all cylinders right now, it feels good.

[…]

Alright, I heard you shot the video for “Fade Into Me” last week; do you have any idea what the time frame for the release date is, and can you talk a little bit about the video concept?

I don’t know a release date. The content of the video, I wanted to showcase how we are live. I feel like it’s really easy sometimes to throw a tie on, and comb your hair, and put together this really sweet storyline; and I think “Fade Into Me” could have definitely taken that angle and it would have worked. I wanted this video to be kind of a no frills, no pretense kind of look at us on the road. It’s a lot of live footage, really just for lack of a better way to phrase it, it’s more of a day in the life kind of thing.

[read the entire interview here]