David Cook, winner of the 7th season of American Idol, is releasing his newest album, Chromance. This new album promises to be a fan favorite, with a new edge added to his music, but bringing the classic David Cook style. With the album releasing February 16, David sat with us and spoke about the new album and his upcoming tour.
You can stay up-to-date on his Facebook page, or go to Pledge Music to pre-order his new album and get exclusive updates on the album.
facebook.com/davidcook
https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/davidcooknewep
Side Stage Magazine: Hi! How are you?
David Cook: I’m good, yourself?
Good. Thanks for taking time to interview today.
Absolutely! Thank you for making the time.
Of course! I saw on your Facebook that your dog just passed away. I’m so sorry about that.
Thank you very much.
Yeah. I just wanted to give my condolences, because I know that that’s like losing a family member.
Yeah. Yeah, he was a good pup.
Aww, he was cute.
Thank you.
So, you have a new album dropping in like two weeks, what can you tell me about that?
Chromance is due out February 16th. I’ve been working on it for the better part of a year. This new EP is kind of a new chapter for me. My last record, Digital Vein, I really consciously treated that as a bookend. I wanted that to kind of close a chapter of my music career, dating back to 2006 when I put out my first solo record before Idol. With Chromance, I wanted to incorporate new influences. I really got into cinematic pop stuff the last few years, stuff like Halsey and Halsey’s first record Badlands and an artists named Aurora. I’m really trying to take those and shoehorn them into other stuff I like, like Nine In Nails and Massive Attack, and then take all that and try to figure out my voice in that lane. The end result is an EP I’m super proud of. I really tried to take creative chances, stuff that felt really outside my comfort zone, and you know challenge myself as a songwriter and a producer.
That’s really exciting! Do you think your fans of your classic stuff will dig this new sound you’re playing with?
Fingers crossed. I feel like these songs are so much inherently me. I don’t feel like I’m reinventing my wheel or anything. But I think it’s just a little more current, a little more of a musical challenge. I’m hoping that, as with any record, the fans will recognize that and get into that. The songs are strong, so hopefully the audience agrees.
That’s exciting! I’m definitely going to have to check it out in a couple of weeks when it’s out! How was your experience with Pledge Music? I’m seeing more artists going through the crowd funding route and including their fans in the production of it. How was that?
This is my second record with Pledge. My last one, I was a little hesitant to start. For me, I had already had Digital Vein finished, so I was like “How can we figure this out?” So we ended up using it as a pre-order vehicle. In the past, when I had done records, we’ve always had pre-order packages—a t-shirt, a poster and you get the record da-da-da-da. So we attacked it that way.
With Chromance, we brought them in pretty early. I wanted to expand on that direct line of communication and really try to bring my fans on for more of the creative process. I’ve been really pleased with the result. I feel like we’ve really been able to connect with the fans in a different way than we have in the past, and it seems like they really invested in this EP than they might have been otherwise. Hopefully, it’s a win for them, it certainly feels like a win for us.
I love campaigns like this that include fans. As a fan, you just feel like you’re more connected to the artist and you can see how much you drive their art, so that’s pretty cool that you’re continuing that.
Sure!
So I see you have some dates on tour coinciding with the release. Are you going to be adding more? Are you going to be seeing more of the States and adding more tour dates?
Yeah. We’ll add dates throughout the year. I think for us, it’s all about maximizing those opportunities as much as we can. Especially, with the new EP, we want to get out and play it for as many people as possible. There will certainly be more dates.
Cool. If you’re on the East Coast, I’ll definitely have to check your show out!
Yeah!
What are you looking forward to most being on tour?
Really, the same things I’ve always enjoyed about being on the road. I’ve always found it romantic to wake up in a different city every day and having different stimuli around. It’s an opportunity for me to kind of refill the creativity bank a little bit. I love the ability to see a live show, as an artist playing a show, and as soon as that song’s over, you’re going to know whether it’s good, bad, or in between, so I’ve always loved the live experience.
Do you like smaller concert halls with that intimate feel, or do you like bigger ones where you can just feel that energy pumping?
I think there’s pros and cons to both. I think you kind of hit on them. With smaller venues, there’s an intimacy involved and it makes for a different experience obviously than if you’re going to play for a big arena. There’s an energy in an arena that you’re not going to get in a small space. Truthfully, I love all of it.
That’s exciting! I love going and seeing my favorite bands, so I always wonder what it’s like on the other side.
For me, every show’s different. That’s what I love about the live performance! You can go and do the same show 500 times in a row and you can still walk out that 501st time and everything could just be different. Everything could fall apart. I think a lot of times the audience’s role in a show gets kind of under acknowledged. You can play a show for ten different audiences and you’re going to have ten different shows.
And then it’s a different experience for each and every person. It’s going to mean something different to everyone, so it’s kind of cool how that transcends differently with everyone.
Absolutely!
So, I have to tell you, with your first album after American Idol, my friend and I were kind of counting down until its release. We’re going to continue the tradition with this new album.
Awesome! Thank you very much!
And “Light On” was our favorite.
Yeah, that’s awesome!
Is there anything else you want to tell our readers about your tour or album or anything else that’s going on?
We’re really excited to come out that way, and we hope everyone comes out ready to have a good time!
Well, I’m excited! Thanks for giving us an intimate look into the process and the album, and I’ll be checking it out in just a couple of weeks.
Awesome! Thank you so much for making the time.
