What to do in Oklahoma on Nov. 6, 2009
SHAWNEE - Hear 2008 “American Idol” winner David Cook, who has Tulsa ties, play at 7 tonight at Firelake Grand Casino, 777 Grand Casino Blvd.
For more information, go to www.firelakegrand.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
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David Cook to play Friday at Shawnee casino
David Cook (Associated Press photo)
A version of this story appears in Saturday’s The Oklahoman.
SHAWNEE – “American Idol” David Cook will return to Oklahoma to perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at Firelake Grand Casino.
Born in Houston and raised in Blue Springs, Mo., Cook was working on his music career in Tulsa when he won a spot on the reality TV singing contest. Just a week after he won “Idol” in May 2008, he had 14 songs listed on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs Survey and 11 on the Hot 100.
His self-titled debut album, released almost a year ago, has been certified platinum.
Cook credits his parents with enriching his musical beginnings. His parents had an eclectic record collection, so he listened to many different genres. He also grew up watching his dad play guitar. When he was in high school, he formed the band Axium with a friend.
After he graduated from Central Missouri State with a degree in graphic design, Cook chose to follow his passion for music rather than get a job in his degree field. He moved to Tulsa to play with regional band Midwest Kings.
By 2007, he had launched a solo career, playing gigs in bars and clubs around Tulsa. When his brother, Andrew, decided try out for the seventh season of “American Idol,” Cook went along for moral support. Cook opted to try out himself at the last minute.
When his sibling didn’t make the cut, Cook offered to quit, too, but his brother and mother insisted that he go on. He emerged as a dark horse favorite, winning the “Idol” title.
Cook, 26, embarked earlier this year on his first headlining tour, playing colleges, ballrooms and theaters. The tour has been extended several times, with the singer/songwriter/guitarist recently adding dates through the end of the year.
He also will appear on fellow Oklahoma “Idol” winner Carrie Underwood’s first holiday TV special, airing Dec. 7 on Fox.
For information or tickets to the Shawnee show, call 964-7263 or go to www.firelakegrand.com. Ticket prices start at $44. According to the casino, tickets are still available.
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David Cook to return to Oklahoma for Nov. 6 Shawnee show
SHAWNEE – David Cook, the 2008 winner of “American Idol,” will return to Oklahoma to perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at Firelake Grand Casino.
Born in Houston and raised in Blue Springs, Mo., Cook was working on his music career in Tulsa when he won a spot on the reality TV singing contest. Just a week after winning “Idol,” he had 14 songs on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs Survey and 11 on the Hot 100.
His self-titled debut album, released last fall, has been certified platinum.
However, music wasn’t the only career Cook considered.
“I thought I wanted to be a pro baseball player, but my fastball wasn’t fast enough and I couldn’t hit to save my life,” he says in a news release. “Performing was the only thing I ever felt I was great at.”
Cook can credit his parents with enriching his musical beginnings. His parents had an “eclectic record collection,” so he listened to many different genres. And he grew up watching his dad play guitar. When he was in high school, he formed a band with a friend. He continued to focus on music.
After he graduated from Central Missouri State with a degree in graphic design, he chose to follow his passion for music rather than get a job in his degree field. He moved to Tulsa to pursue his music career.
When his brother Andrew went to try out for “American Idol,” Cook went along for moral support. He decided to tryout himself at the last minute. When his brother didn’t make the cut, Cook offered to quit too, but his brother and mother insisted that he go on. He emerged as a dark horse favorite and eventually won the contest.
For tickets or information, call 964-7263 or go to www.firelakegrand.com. Ticket prices start at $44.
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Carrie Underwood to star in her own holiday TV special
Carrie Underwood (Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman Archives)
Oklahoma superstar Carrie Underwood will headline her own variety television special from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 7 on FOX, according to a news release.
The exact title of the special is to be confirmed at a later date. During the two-hour variety special, Checotah’s favorite daughter will perform new music from her new album, “Play On,” as well as previous hits and holiday classics.
The Oklahoma native will be joined on stage by special musical guests and chart-topping artists including Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley and fellow “American Idol” winner and former Tulsa resident David Cook. Additional guest stars will be announced later.
Underwood rose to fame as the winner of “American Idol” Season Four. Now a four-time Grammy Award winner, the 2009 Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, the reigning Country Music Association (CMA) and Academy of Country Music (ACM) Female Vocalist of the Year, Underwood is a bona fide country music superstar.
Her newest album, “Play On,” for which she collaborated with producer Mark Bright, will be released Nov. 3 on 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville. The album’s debut single, “Cowboy Casanova,” is the fastest-rising hit of the year on country radio, exploding with massive first-week sales of 110,236 digital copies.
The achievement marks Underwood’s claim as the only solo country artist to debut a digital single this year above the 100,000 units mark – a feat she’s accomplished not once, but twice.
Underwood also found success with her single “Home Sweet Home,” which served as the farewell music on “American Idol” last season. Earlier this year, she became the first country artist in history to have 10 No. 1 singles from her first two albums, including “I Told You So,” “Just a Dream,” “So Small,” “All-American Girl” and “Last Name.” To date, Underwood is the best-selling “American Idol” winner in the U.S. with album sales of more than 10 million.
Underwood’s holiday variety special is a production of Big Red 2 Entertainment, and is executive-produced by Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman. Shankman and Lythgoe also serve as directors of the special.
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Collective Soul bringing tour to Tulsa, preparing to release new album
Collective Soul (Photo by Joseph Guay)
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Collective Soul continuing to gather fans
Exposure on ‘American Idol,’ ‘Twilight’ helps post-grunge band grow audience without compromising sound
More than 15 years after lighting up the post-grunge musical landscape, Collective Soul continues to “Shine.”
The Atlanta-based group is co-headlining a new tour with “I Don’t Want to Be” singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw and preparing to release its eighth studio album on a new label. The tour will bring the band Tuesday to Tulsa’s SpiritBank Event Center.
“We’re just kind of getting our groove, because we were in the studio for almost three months just finishing up the new record. But so far, so good,” said Collective Soul guitarist Dean Roland in a phone interview from Wichita, Kan.
“It’s what we love to do, it’s our passion, so we just play our music and enjoy it and love it,” he said. “And hopefully, people can share in our experience.”
For their set, Collective Soul can pick from a plethora of past hits, from the band’s 1993 breakout “Shine” to power ballads “The World I Know” and “Run” to guitar rockers like “Heavy,” “December” and “Precious Declaration.” But the band – Roland, his singer-guitarist brother Ed Roland, bassist Will Turpin, guitarist Joel Kosche, and new drummer Cheney Brannon – also is introducing songs from their second self-titled album, due out Aug. 25, at their shows.
“When you’re playing new music, or songs that people haven’t heard before, there’s always a little bit of a look. You know, you see the eyes kind of like squinching, going, ‘hmm,’ kind of thinking a little bit. But the response has been great so far,” Dean Roland, 36, said. “People are starting to become more familiar with them now, so it’s fun to see that process happening.”
If the first two singles are any indication, the band is continuing to build on the lush melodies, snazzy guitar riffs and hooky pop-rock songs that have been their hallmark since shining onto the mainstream music scene.
The album, nicknamed “Rabbit” because of the cover art by Atlanta artist Joseph Guay, will mark the rockers’ debut on Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records. The first two tracks – the earnestly catchy “Staring Down,” about finding the bright side after a bad relationship, and the driving “Welcome All Again,” based on the band’s recent studio experience – have been released to pop and rock radio, respectively.
“Our approach in the studio from the start was, like, let’s go away for the first time in years … isolate ourselves, hang out, write songs, play music, not worry about checking into a studio. Let’s try not to make it a business and do what we did 15 years ago when we were kids just starting to make music,” Dean Roland said.
They recorded the album in Lake House studio, on the second floor of his brother’s house on Lake Keowee, S.C. The house is big enough for the bandmates and engineer to all live together during the process. They were able to collaborate organically, particularly on the song “You,” which got the whole band working together.
“That song definitely is kind of special to us ’cause it was us sort of going back to where we came from and the way we used to record. And that was one of the first songs that came out of that process, so it sort of like laid the groundwork for the rest of the record,” he said. “It was a nice creative space; there was no distraction besides our selves.”
Unlike many bands to emerge in the post-grunge heyday of the early ’90s, Collective Soul has continued making music over the years, with a few personnel changes.
“Obviously, it’s a business and you want to sell records and you want to make money … but you can’t compromise your art to point that you’re following, like, current trends. I mean, you can blend that in a little bit, but you’ve got to stay true to yourself. You’ve got to try to make your own way and make your own sound,” he said.
In the past year or so, the band has received exposure that has helped bring new fans to the fold. Their song “Hollywood” was used as theme music for the 2008 season of “American Idol,” and Season 7 champ David Cook, a former Tulsan, covered “The World I Know” on the reality show. Then, their ballad “Tremble for My Beloved” was featured on the hit soundtrack to last year’s blockbuster “Twilight.”
“It’s great. It’s totally cool,” said Dean Roland, who also frequently chats with fans on the micro-blogging site Twitter. “We see it now, getting back out on the road … some of the audience is younger. And that’s fun to see when you’ve been around for 15 or 16 years; it’s fun to connect with a younger generation.”
In concert
Collective Soul and Gavin DeGraw
With: Green River Ordinance.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday. July 7. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: SpiritBank Event Center, 10441 S Regal Blvd., Tulsa.
Information: (918) 369-9360 or www.spiritbankeventcenter.com.
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BAM Column: David Cook plays Tulsa’s Gray Snail, performing tonight in Thackerville
David Cook performs an acoustic set at Tulsa’s Gray Snail Saloon June 23 after his sell-out show at Cain’s Ballroom. The former Tulsan and Season 7 “American Idol” winner will play tonight at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville. (Photos provided by Cathie Dillard)
A version of this column also appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Concert: Gray Snail Saloon talent still Cook-ing
It’s no secret: Season 7 ‘American Idol’ winner still packs ‘em into Tulsa nightspot where he had standing gig
When David Cook takes the stage tonight at Thackerville’s Winstar World Casino, it will be his third Oklahoma show in less than two weeks.
Actually, it will be his fourth, if you count last week’s post-concert acoustic performance at the Season 7 “American Idol” winner’s old stomping grounds, the Gray Snail Saloon in Tulsa.
Cook, along with bandmates, buddies and opening act Ryan Star, played for a packed house of about 250 fans and friends June 23 at the Gray Snail, after putting on a show that night for a sell-out crowd at Cain’s Ballroom.
Before the singer/songwriter/guitarist had “The Time of My Life” on the reality TV contest, he moved from his hometown of Blue Springs, Mo., to Tulsa to join popular regional band the Midwest Kings. By the time he auditioned for “Idol” in 2007, Cook had launched a solo career, playing a regular date every other Wednesday at the Gray Snail with pal Dan Crossland.
“He was still booked when I was watching him on TV. … Right before he left to go to L.A., he said, ‘Hold my spots, I may be right back,’” Gray Snail owner Rob Mason said with a laugh. “Then he got on to where he was in the final 13, and then we pretty much knew after that we might not see him for awhile.”
Credit Cook, 26, for not forgetting where he got his start. In an interview with me last August, just three months after winning “Idol,” he expressed nostalgia for his old haunt, even as he was playing crowded arenas on the “American Idols Live!” tour.
“The crowds are a little bigger, and you … just have more resources available to you. But I don’t know, part of me actually kind of misses playing the Gray Snail on a Wednesday night,” said Cook, whose publicist confirmed that he returned last week to the Tulsa bar.
So, when his first solo tour brought him June 23 to Tulsa, the now-famous Cook visited the Gray Snail for what was supposed to be a private after-party for 50 people following the Cain’s show.
“The gist of what we were expecting to show up was in the VIP room, and the other 200 and some people out in the main bar area got themselves a real nice little show for nothing,” Mason said. “He was up close and personal. I think the first line of people in front of the stage were about a foot and a half from him.”
Mason said they tried to keep the saloon soiree hush-hush, not even confirming it with Cook’s people until 4:30 p.m. the day of the Cain’s concert. But word got out and spread on MySpace and Twitter.
“Nothing’s a secret if it’s on Twitter,” said Little Rock, Ark., fan Sydney Frames, who attended the Cain’s concert and then hit the Gray Snail after getting a message that originated on the micro-blogging site. “He (Cook) did say … something at one point that this was the worst-kept secret ever.”
Oklahoma musicians Bryan Jewett and Nick Gibson joined Cook, Star and their bands onstage. Cook and Co. performed for about 30 minutes, playing Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies,” his hit “Light On” and more.
For Frames, the highlight was hearing the Midwest King’s “Make Me” with Cook’s former MWK bandmate and current guitarist Andy Skib on vocals.
“It was cool just having them two feet away from you doing what they do,” Frames said. “It was awesome.”
Tonight’s Thackerville concert will be Frames’ 10th Cook show; 11th if you count the Gray Snail.
Fremont, Calif., fan Cathie Dillard stopped at the Gray Snail between the Cain’s concert and her trip to Oklahoma City to see the “Idol” again June 24 at the Diamond Ballroom. It wasn’t a huge sacrifice for the loyal fan: She’s been to more than 50 Cook shows on the tour and plans to be in Thackerville tonight.
But the Gray Snail event was special, even if it was cramped, because Cook and the others could be more laidback.
“I was smashed in. There were parts of my body that were sweating that I didn’t know could sweat,” Dillard said with a laugh. “There were so many people there … but it was amazing.”
For Mason, the downside to last week’s acoustic event was that the Gray Snail was so crowded he didn’t get a chance to thank Cook for the support he’s given back to the venue.
“Honesty, it was a disaster,” Mason said with a laugh. “We didn’t have any lead time, we were trying to get everything squared away … it turned out to be a lot bigger than we expected. But, oh sure, absolutely, it went great.”
In concert
David Cook
When: 9 tonight.
Where: WinStar Casino, Thackerville.
Information: (800) 622-6317 or www.winstarworldcasino.com.
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Green River Ordinance playing Tulsa Tuesday, set to tour with David Cook
Green River Ordinance
Pop-rock band Green River Ordinance will perform Tuesday at Tulsa’s SpiritBank Event Center as the supporting act for the Collective Soul-Gavin DeGraw co-headlining tour.
After wrapping that tour later this month in Florida, the Fort Worth, Texas, quintet will embark on another tour, this time in support of 2008 “American Idol” champ and former Tulsan David Cook.
The band has been receiving a lot of airplay on television, starting with the single “Outside” being played on “The Hills,” according to a news release. Another track, “On Your Own,” popped up on “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Real World/RoadRules Challenges: The Duel 2,” exposing the band to an even more massive mainstream fan collective.
Green River Ordinance continues touring in support of its EMI/Virgin Records debut, “Out of My Hands,” with no end in sight. The band continues to receive critical accolades for its powerful live sets.
For instance, Alternative Press hailed GRO as one of the “Top 100 Bands To Watch in 2009″
Be sure to check out BAM’s Blog Friday, when I’ll have a column about David Cook’s show this weeknd in Thackerville and an interview with Collective Soul’s Dean Roland about Tuesday’s Tulsa show.
Green River Ordinance tour dates:
With Collective Soul and Gavin DeGraw
June 22 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
June 23 Piere’s Fort Wayne, IN
June 24 The Egyptian Room Indianapolis, IN
June 26 Des Moines Arts Festival Des Moines, IA
June 29 The Beaumont Club Kansas City, MO
June 30 Cotillion Ballroom Wichita, KS
July 7 Spirit Bank Event Center Tulsa, OK
July 9 Snowden Grove Amphitheater Southaven, MS
July 10 World’s Largest Block Party Chicago, IL
July 11 Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, OH
July 13 House of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC
July 14 House of Blues Lake Buena Vista, FL
July 15 Revolution Ft. Lauderdale, FL
With David Cook
July 20 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room
July 22 Mahnomen, MN Shooting Star Casino
July 23 West Bend, WI Washington Country Fair Park
July 24 Prior Lake, MN Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
July 25 Monticello, IA Great Jones Country Fair
July 29 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
July 30 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
July 31 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
Aug 3 Bethlehem, PA Musikfest
Aug 6 New York, NY Nokia Theatre at Times Square
Aug 7 Isle Of Palms, SC The Windjammer
Aug 8 Columbus, OH Ohio State Fair
Aug 9 Perrysburgh, OH Owens Community College
Aug 15 Lewisburg, WV State Fair of WV
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Concert review: David Cook at Oklahoma City’s Diamond Ballroom
David Cook performs a show on his “The Declaration Tour,” which he brought to Oklahoma City Wednesday night. (Associated Press photo)
David Cook proved in person Wednesday night that his as-seen-on-TV potential and promise are real.
He rocks.
The 2008 “American Idol” winner and his talented band energized a sold-out Oklahoma City crowd with a short but potent rock ‘n’ roll show.
“This is our first, like, big (solo) tour,” Cook said, chuckling at the shrieks that accompanied his every word. “So we want you guys to leave here tonight feeling like your appetite for a rock show has been satiated.”
Job well done: His emotive hour-long set of power ballads and soaring anthems thrilled with screaming guitars, thundering drums and casual charisma, creating an arena rock sound and vibe that seemed a bit too big for the overheated Diamond Ballroom.
The show capped off an Oklahoma homecoming trip for Cook, who was living, playing clubs and tending bar in Tulsa when he auditioned for “American Idol” back in 2007. The singer/songwriter/guitarist, who grew up in Blue Springs, Mo., also played a sold-out concert Tuesday night at Tulsa’s historic Cain’s Ballroom, plus an acoustic post-show jam at one of his old haunts, the Gray Snail Saloon.
Fervent fans welcomed Cook back to Oklahoma: Despite the summertime heat, more than 100 people were lined up outside the Diamond Ballroom by 5 p.m. Wednesday – two hours before doors opened – jockeying for the privilege to stand closest to the stage. Though the crowd of about 1,000 leaned toward squealing female fans, the show drew a good mix of men and women, including young couples, parents with children, grandparents, teenagers and, yes, the cougars who so famously love Cook.
When the house lights went down, they chanted Cook’s name, and when their “Idol” seized the stage with the sexy, pulsating “Kiss on the Neck,” they yelled in adulation.
Cook’s jaunty hat, black V-neck T-shirt, facial scruff, electric guitar, gravelly voice and wide grin were all in place as he hit the high points from his platinum-selling self-titled album, including the angsty “Mr. Sensitive,” the heartbreaking “Lie” and the anthemic “Declaration.”
But some of the show’s best moments came when Cook delved beyond his 2008 post-”Idol” debut, including the passionate “Make Me,” a song from his days with the Tulsa-based touring band Midwest Kings. It was a fitting choice, considering Cook’s capable current band includes former MWK guitarists Neal “Doctor” Tiemann and Andy Skib.
The 26-year-old singer and his bandmates reached all the way back to 1986 for the highlight of the night. They got the entire crowd dancing and shouting along when they transformed Cutting Crew’s pop hit “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” into a full-blown, post-grunge rocker.
Throughout the night, Cook showed he has lost none of the easy charm, goofball tendencies and disarming humbleness evident on the seventh season of the reality TV singing contest.
After commenting on the stifling heat inside the venue, he performed the uplifting “Heroes” with a guitar pick stuck to his sweaty forehead. He often joked with the crowd and even asked at one point for the house lights to go up so he could see and thank his fans.
“There’s some of you that’s got the idea to move around a little, have your hands in the air, shaking your head a little bit, maybe shaking you’re a – -, whatever feels comfortable. But the idea is to move around,” Cook quipped as the band broke into the grungy-bluesy groove of “Bar-ba-sol.”
On several songs, Cook encouraged the crowd to take over the chorus, listening with a smile on his face. And he so charmed the fans he could get them to sing, clap or cheer with little more than a crook of his finger.
Cook and Co. abruptly exited the stage with the final strains of the power ballad “Come Back to Me,” but several minutes of screaming, chanting and clapping brought them back for another big love song, “Light On.”
The budding rock star closed the show with a song he wrote back in 2006 at a friend’s house in Tulsa.
“Now, three years later, it’s on a freaking record. It’s kind of ridiculous,” Cook said as he launched into the stirring “A Daily AntheM,” a tribute to his late brother Adam, who recently died of cancer.
As he and the audience belted out “oh, oh, whoa-oh” together, Cook climbed a huge speaker to lead the fans in waving their arms, then finished with his hands clasped in a kind of celebratory gratitude.
The show certainly left fans clamoring for more: Cook’s entire set, including the encore, was only an hour long. With much of his album left unplayed and his reputation for creative covers, it seems that Cook could have given his adoring audience more music for their money.
Cook was ably assisted in his quest to rock the crowd by high-energy opener Ryan Star, a fellow reality TV show veteran from “Rock Star: Supernova.” His ballads “11:59,” “Breathe” and “Last Train Home,” along with “Psycho Suicidal Girl,” got fans warmed up for their “Idol.”
See the full set list for the show after the break.
Wednesday Video Spotlight: David Cook
David Cook (Associated Press photo)
“American Idol” David Cook is back in Oklahoma, where he will perform tonight at Oklahoma City’s Diamond Ballroom.
He played a sold-out show Tuesday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa; the Season 7 champ lived in T-town before winning the reality TV show.
When I talked to Cook last summer, he mentioned that he sometimes longed for the days when he was playing Tulsa clubs.
“The crowds are a little bigger, and you … just have more resources available to you. But I don’t know, part of me actually kind of misses playing the Gray Snail (Saloon in Tulsa) on a Wednesday night,” he told me in a phone interview from the road.
Guess he made it back: Check out these YouTube videos of the singer/songwriter/guitarist’s post-show acoustic jam last night at the Gray Snail.
I’m also posting a couple of official videos from Sony BMG’s MyPlay and a few other goodies I found on YouTube.
It’s my first time to see Cook perform live, and if he’s half as entertaining onstage as he was on “Idol,” it should be a great show.
David Cook - Come Back To Me (Official Music Video) - Celebrity bloopers here
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“Idol” winner David Cook playing Oklahoma City tonight
David Cook is back in Oklahoma to play tonight at Oklahoma City’s Diamond Ballroom. I’ll be reviewing the show for you tonight. (Associated Press photo)
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman.
“Idol” winner brings tour to city
Season 7 “American Idol” winner David Cook is back in Oklahoma performing, but his star has risen considerably since his days of routinely playing Tulsa clubs and bars.
Cook, 26, will play at 8 tonight at the Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S Eastern Ave. Doors will open at 7 p.m. The show is the latest stop on the 2008 “Idol” champ’s first solo tour.
For tickets and information, call 677-9169 or go to www.diamondballroom.net.
“The Declaration Tour,” featuring opener Ryan Star, continues through October. Cook took the tour to his old Tulsa stomping grounds Tuesday night for a sold-out show at historic Cain’s Ballroom.
The rocker, who grew up in Blue Springs, Mo., famously won a spot on the reality TV singing contest in 2007, when he accompanied his younger brother Andrew to an Omaha, Neb., audition. The elder Cook was pressed into trying out and made the cut.
At the time, Cook was living, playing clubs and tending bar in Tulsa, trying to establish himself as a singer/songwriter/guitarist.
His self-titled post-”Idol” debut album was released last fall and has been certified platinum. Forbes.com recently ranked Cook No. 8 on its list of top-earning “Idol” alumni. Since winning “Idol” in May 2008, he has reportedly earned $2 million.
-BAM
