david cook ainow interview

8/7/2019 David Cook AINow Interview

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AINow -- April 25, 2010

Interviewer: Renee

Renee: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

David: Aw no, thank you for makin' the time. I appreciate it.

Renee: Great. Well, I don't wanna take too much of your time. So I'm just gonna jump right into it with

you.

David: Absolutely.

Renee: And I wanted to ask you first off, what was it like to return to the Idol stage last night?

David: Ahhh. Um...it was a little nerve-wracking, I have to say. Uh --

Renee: Mm-hmm

David: I always uh... (laughs) I always kinda revert to like...Top 24, season seven David Cook there for a

minute. And then uh...but it quickly starts to feel like home. So I think about, maybe twenty, thirty

seconds into the song last night, I felt like I...kinda...found a pocket and got a little comfortable.

Renee: Nice. Well, I mean, even when you revert back...how bad could it be, since you never really, you

know, had a negative experience? (laughs)

David: You'd be surprised. I can be a little high-strung from time to time (laughs).

Renee: Really? (laughs) Have you been watching the show this season?

David: I have. And I've been uh...pleasantly surprised. I think the new judges have uh, really...kinda

reinfused the show a little bit. And uh...but uh, and I really don't think any of the contestants can, can

be uh...understated. They've been...incredible. It's been a lotta fun to watch.

Renee: I know people ask this, and you don't wanna say if you have a favorite finalist. I mean, are there

a couple, or a few that you think might go all the way, or that are the style you like?

David: Um...I wish I -- I think...I've really...kinda bought in to Casey Abrams' vibe. I think he's bringin' a

really...interesting musicality to the show this season. But uh, I think as far as pickin' a front runner or a

winner or anything, it's uh... (sighs) yeah I've been saying this a couple weeks now, I reallywould like to

see somebody just...kinda get in to the next gear and really separate themselves from the pack. 'Cause

I, I feel like right now it's such a close call.

Renee: It is. Definitely. Um, were you surprised that Stefano went home last night?

David: Um...no. Nah, I wasn't. And not because I think he did anything wrong. I think it's just...you get

into that point in the season where...ya' know, everybody's good. Somebody's gotta go home,

so...um...and it was a bummer seein' him go. I got a chance to just talk to him, uh, for a little bit


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backstage before the show. And he's...he's a, he's a really genuine, really nice guy. So it's alway-- you

know, you never wanna see anybody go home. But um...you know I'll -- I'll be rootin' for him.

Renee: I think we all will.

David: Yeah.

Renee: That's great, thanks. Ok, so enough Idol. Let's talk about your new music. Let's talk about the

single, which was fantastic. I watched it last night --

David: Thanks

Renee: And it's awesome. Um...so tell us: why was "The Last Goodbye" chosen as the first single from

the new record?

David: Um...I, I think uh...you know, the choosing of this song was a, was a very collaborative process.

And I think, you know, what, what...everybody kinda tuned in to is we really wanted to come out with

somethin' that...got people's attention. And, and you know, with the last record, uh...I don't know. I

had -- both of our singles, "Light On" and "Come Back to Me," kinda fell more into the mid-tempo, uh,

range. And so we wanted something really upbeat. Um...but uh, you know, and what I love about that

song is musically, it is upbeat. It's up-tempo and, and, and kind of a driv-- like a driving song. But

um...lyrically, it's still kind of in my wheelhouse. And, and so...uh, just felt like, you know, the right one

to, to maybe reintroduce some people to me.

Renee: What was the inspiration or the backstory behind this track?

David: Um...you know, I, I, I've certainly been there, and I...I would think that probably most people have

been to that experience where...you've been in a relationship just a bit too long, and maybe it's time to

just say goodbye and, and uh...and move on. And so that's kinda where this song came from. It's not

really about any one...relationship. But uh...a few relative experiences, I suppose.

Renee: OK. I -- well we've all had those.

David: Yeah.

Renee: So...you wrote this one with Ryan Tedder. Right?

David: Uh, yes I did.

Renee: And what was that collaboration like? What's it like to work with him?

David: Um, Ryan is great. You know, we actually, we both share a Tulsa connection. And so, um...we,

we, we kinda immediately fell into a rapport with one another. And...um, obviously, I mean, the guy...is

an incredible songwriter. And, and uh...so just uh...it was actually really easy. Ya' know, just to sit in a

room and...bounce ideas off one another, and really come up with a track that we both felt really great

about.


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Renee: OK. And then...do you have a plan for a music video? Or is it too soon for that at this point?

David: Um...you know, we, we have plans of, of shootin' one. We're still actually goin' through

treatments right now, actually. To try to figure out uh, what the right vibe is. I, I know...um, I want to

do somethin' a little bit uh...a little bit on the lighter side. And keep it...keep it fun, and...um, but it's just

tryin' to find, you know, the right vibe for...uh, a 28-year-old guitar player. (laughs)

Renee (laughing): Right. So do you have any concepts in mind at this point?

David: Um, we've bounced around a few. I uh...um, I'm not sure exactly what all I'm allowed to say, so --

Renee: Right

David: I wouldn't say that uh...

Renee: But you do have some?

David: Yeah, well I do have quite a few, actually.

Renee: OK. So we're looking forward to seeing that come out.

David: There you go.

Renee: Hopefully sooner rather than later. Um, OK. So let's shift on to the whole album. You know, I

know that's not out yet. We're waitin' for it anxiously. Uh, can you give us an idea, you know, have you

done other collaborations? Obviously you did the Ryan Tedder. But you know, how much of it is

collaborated, and how much maybe you've written alone?

David: Um...you know, the record was very collaborative. I, I did some writing with uh, with Andy and

Neal from my band, and...uh, I, I wrote a ton of songs with David Hodges. Um...Johnny Rzeznik from the

Goo Goo Dolls is on one of these tracks. Uh...got to write with uh, my tour mate from the last tour, a

guy named Ryan Star. Um...and then uh...Kevin Griffin from Better Than Ezra. Um, the list goes on. But

uh, I, I definitely uh...I really, you know I, I think I got a jonesin' for it on the first record, and I really

enjoyed it on this one. The, the collaborative process of...you know, two heads are better than one,

three heads are better than two. So...

Renee: Right. Do you have any that you've selected for the album that you wrote alone?

David: Um...no, actually. I, I think everything is a cowrite. I, we haven't necessarily finalized the

tracklisting, but I think right now there's, there's no solo...solo writing on this one.

Renee: So when you do this, I mean, kinda take us through it. How -- about how many songs do you end

up with that you have to choose from?

David: Uh, we wrote...upwards of 80 songs for this record. And uh, and had from there to pare it down

to, we tracked...uh, I think fourteen songs. And...gotta pare it down to eleven or twelve from there to

make the final cut on the album. So um...it's uh, it was a process, to say the very least.


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Renee: Was it tough to choose the ones you liked?

David: Absolutely, yeah. I mean...uh, you know, I, I...I invest a lot of myself into each of these songs, and

so it's always tough to kinda sit in a room with...you know, your team and...just say "OK, that song's not

as good as that song." And then it's like: Well wait a minute...I don't --

Renee (laughing): Right.

(David laughs)

Renee: So what was it like recording this album with your own band instead of the studio band?

David: Uh, I think it made all the difference. You know, I've always been a big proponent of uh...of uh,

you know, it's not always about the best musicians. It's, it's about the rightmusicians. And I think for

this record, um...you know I, I managed to get both. I think these guys were...the right musicians for this

record, and as such, also the best musicians for this record. So...um, and it, and it just made the process

more fun. You know, to be able to sit in a room with, with guys that you know...the way that they're

playing that guitar part is the way that they're gonna play that guitar part on stage. And so there's

gonna be this continuity to the live show, which is somethin' I'm really excited about, is to get out on

stage and, and really...play these songs, you know, the way that I hear 'em in my head, which is...big and

loud and in your face.

Renee: Right. Well like you said, you said a couple of your bandmates helped you write some of them?

David: Mm-hmm

Renee: So that must be really great, to actually be play-- recording it with them.

David: Yeah, yeah. I mean I wouldn't, I wouldn't be on stage with these guys if I didn't respect them as

musicians and as writers and as...and as people. And so uh, to be able to uh, sit in a room and write

with these guys and, and uh, and have some of those tracks make it to the rec-- make the record, I think

speaks uh...speaks very highly of them.

Renee: It does. That's awesome. So tell us, why was "This Loud Morning" chosen as the title of the

album?

David: Um...it just kind of fell in place perfectly. It's actually part of a song lyric, uh, in "Rapid Eye

Movement." it's the closing track on the record. And the lyric is "Give me one more quiet night before

this loud morning gets it right and does me in." I love the sentiment of that, you know? The...I mean"loud," it's abrasive, it's in your face. And then "morning" is...you start anew and...you know, the sun's

just comin' up and...um, just the way that that...kinda flowed together just worked for me. And,

and...musically, this record um...you know, the opening track is a song called "Circadian." And...that,

that song's about, you know, falling asleep and escaping the day, and...uh, you know, using sleep as a

reprieve, and...and then the...the, the middle of the record is kinda...it, it represents the gestation cycle

of a relationship from start to finish. And then the ending track, Rapid -- "Rapid Eye Movement," is


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about...waking up and realizing that you've lived this entire life in a dream, and...now you gotta face the

actual reality. And so, um...kind of a, kind of a loose story arc within the record, but definitely leaves

itself open to interpretation by the listener, which is somethin' I really wanted to strike a good balance

to.

Renee: Interesting. And then you know, that was actually, a coup-- so many of our fans asked if therewas some kind of, like, dream or time theme, you know, based on the first song and the last song that

you told us about.

David: Mm-hmm. Um...I, I think it's loose. I...I don't like the term "concept record," because I feel like,

that...really uh...almost pigeonholes the record a little bit. And so it's not, I -- it's definitely notthat.

Um, I just wanted to...create uh, I guess a...a theme within the record that leaves it as, as, as open as

possible to where people could find what they wanted to in these songs.

Renee: OK, that makes sense. Interesting. OK. Um, what about -- let's talk about the album cover art,

which is very cool.

David: Thank you.

Renee: Um, is there supposed to be some kind of symbolism or deeper meaning? Or is it just a really

cool picture?

David: Um...you know, I, I probab -- I, a little bit of both, I guess. I don't know. Um...I just had this, this

kind of mental image of uh...of speakers kinda comin' out of the ground and...ya' know, and let's make,

maybe a sunrise. And so that's...kinda where that came from. And uh, our photographer, uh, Lauren

Dukoff, and, and then the creative team at RCA and 19 really...uh, drove it from there.

Renee: OK, that makes sense. Hmm. OK, another fan question we had is: Why you choose Matt Ser -- isit Ser-li-tic?

David: Ser-leh-tic.

Renee: Ser-- I'm sorry. Serletic, for the record's producer, and how is his style different than Rob

Cavallo's?

David: Um, you know Matt, uh...was just the right producer for this record. We needed a...you know, I

wanted to bring in somebody that had uh, like, a lot of musical knowledge. Um, and somebody who

really uh...was interested in taking the time to...create...the right scope...for each song, you know? I

wanted each of these songs to like, kind of tell their own story, but also work as a cohesive unit. Andso...um, you know, goin' in with Matt was great. He definitely takes the time to find...the right sounds,

and, and...find them at the right moments. And so...um...I think uh...the difference between him and

Rob is...um...wow. That's uh, that's a lofty question. I actually think --

(Renee laughs)


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David: They're both, I mean they're both obviously amazing producers. Um...I think with uh...I, I think

with Rob, it was-- you know, workin' with Rob was just, everything was more of a gut call. And with

Matt, um, we really...took the time to make sure that every decision was the right decision. And uh, and

both ways work for different reasons.

Renee: OK.

END OF INTERVIEW

david cook ainow interview

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