What's Cooking, David?

When David Cook, winner of the American Idol seventh season, was here in 2009 for a back-to-back concert with his namesake, David Archuleta (also the AI runner-up that same season), he looked very sad and it was because he was grieving for his brother Adam who succumbed to brain cancer barely a month earlier.

During a one-on-one, David seemed “out of tune,” so to speak, but it was understandable considering the emotional load he was carrying then.

“It’s good that I had my music as outlet for negative energy,” David confessed during an exclusive phone Conversation recently. “It served as an effective therapy.”

Out of that dark period in David’s life came This Loud Morning (released locally by Ivory/Sony Music), a follow-up to his eponymous debut album. Describing the circumstances around the making of that album, David said, “I got off the road and all the things that happened that I hadn’t been dealing with while I was on the road reared their head. So as I began writing the songs that would eventually make up the album, the act of using them as therapeutic outlets became a major release for me, and I think the end result is a bit of up, a bit of down, and a lot of honesty.”

Included in the album is The Time of My Life, which was David’s winning song in the 2008 American Idol Songwriter’s Competition and which he will surely sing during his concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on July 14 and at Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City on July 15.

“Music has always been my life,” added David who first played a guitar at age 12 and formed his first band at 15.

You were in the Philippines in 2009 for the first time. How have you been since then?

“Yeah, that’s been a while. I’m very excited to get back.”

I’m glad to hear you sounding much more upbeat than you were the last time I talked to you.

“Absolutely! I think, you know, I’ve got more time to become more mature since American Idol which was four years ago. I’ve got more comfortable in my own skin and I really do feel like that that confidence comes through in my music. So there’s all the more reason to be excited about and meet my fans in the Philippines again and kind of show them how I have grown as an artist and how we’ve grown as a band.”

You were with your namesake, David Archuleta, when you came to the Philippines in 2009. David has been here thrice after that. He did a solo show, recorded an album and starred in a soap (Nandito Ako for TV5). Would you like to try some acting like your namesake?

(Laughs) “I don’t have any experience in acting. But then, for me it’s just the right thing at the right time. If the right offer came at the right time, uhm, yeah maybe I would give it a try.”

What if the right offer came at the right time while you are in the Philippines, would you bite?

(Laughs some more) “Well, if the right offer came along at the right time, I guess I might do it Manila.”

And, of course, if the price is right?

(Laughs all the more) “I’ll have some people handle that.”

You mentioned American Idol. Did you watch the recent (11th) American Idol closely?

“Oh yes, I did.”

It was a close competition between Phillip Phillips (the winner) and Jessica Sanchez (second placer, photo), wasn’t it?

“Absolutely! It was a close competition. They are two very different artists and very different performers. Hmmmm, it’s an overused line and I’m hesitant to use it but I really can’t think of anything else to say about Jessica. I really think that girl can sing anything and make it sound incredible. So, you know, to watch her was a lot of fun. I have been through that experience so I know how it felt.”

How would you like to do a duet or a concert with Jessica?

“I’d love to, absolutely! She’d be a really tough act to follow but yes, absolutely, I’d love to do a duet or a concert with her. That would be challenging.”

If and when, what kind of song would you like to do with Jessica, maybe one of your songs from your album This Loud Morning?

“Oh wow! I would refer to her…whatever she wants to sing.”

When you watch American Idol, what comes to your mind?

How would he like to do a duet or a concert with Jessica Sanchez? ‘I’d love to, absolutely! She’d be a really tough act to follow... I really think that girl can sing anything and make it sound incredible.’

“Uhm, watching the show now I think I have a lot more empathy for the contestants. There’s just so many things to do, so many activities to attend to that sleep is really a luxury. When I watch the show, I would ask myself, ‘Are these guys getting enough sleep?’ You know. ‘Are they sick?’ You know.” (Note: Phillip Phillips was suffering from a kidney ailment throughout the season. He underwent surgery days after the show ended.)

Of course, American Idol did a lot to you. You’re big time now. I wonder, did you have to sacrifice anything for it? Did you put anything on hold?

“Yeah, I kind of put my life on hold. I just finished recording my second kind of indie record. I had just received a job offer to do graphic design for an arts and entertainment magazine during my second audition for American Idol and they told me that they couldn’t hire me if I couldn’t be around so I turned down the offer.”

Could you tell us more about your indie album?

“It’s a follow-up to This Loud Morning which was released just a year ago. I had a lot of fun with that album and I’m moving forward with new material.”

What keeps you busy between recording and concerts? How do you spend your free time?

“You know, I’ve just moved to Tennessee from L.A. where I lived for four years, so I’ve been busy unpacking boxes and boxes. Then, I’m off to the studio to start working again.”

How are you different now that you’re coming back to Manila from how you were in 2009?

“I think the first time I came out there I was kind of exhausted and emotionally devastated. If I remember right, I went there right after my (older) brother died (of brain cancer). So I was a bit mixed-up. I think now, I’ve recovered from that tragedy although I know that you don’t really completely recover from it; you just have to learn to live with it. That sad feeling doesn’t really go away.”

Having lost a loved one recently, I know how it feels. I wonder, how did you survive the grieving process?

“I think everybody deals with it differently, I’m sure you can attest to that. I think for me, I was fortunate that I had music so I was able to take out that negative energy through a positive outlet, which is my music. My second album, This Loud Morning, was a very therapeutic process for me.”

(Note: Ticket prices to David Cook’s concert are [Smart Araneta Coliseum] P4,500 Patron VIP; P3,500 Patron; P3,500 Lower Box VIP; P3,000 Lower Box; P2,500 Upper Box A; P1,000 Upper Box B; and P500 General Admission…and [for Waterfront Hotel, Cebu City] P4,000 SVIP; P3,500 VIP; P3,000 Gold; P2,000 Silver; P1,000 Bronze; P1,500 SP Balcony; and P700 Balcony]. Call Ticketnet at 911-5555 [Manila] or 232-6888 or 514-3500 [Cebu]. David’s album This Loud Morning is available nationwide at P430, from Ivory Music & Video, the exclusive licensee of Sony Music in the Philippines.)

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