David Cook sounds tired.

It's Tuesday afternoon. He's in Washington, D.C., where he has a concert scheduled for Wednesday night. Monday night he played the Delaware State Fair. Saturday night he's at MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

The American Idol 2008 winner has been on the road since March, relentlessly promoting his self-titled debut album in pretty much any venue that would take him. He's played colleges, theaters, casinos, clubs, fairs and festivals.

IF YOU GO
WHO: David Cook

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: MGM Grand at Foxwoods

HOW MUCH: $20, $35, $45

INFO: mgmatfoxwoods.com


How are you? I ask to open our brief telephone interview. “I'm doing OK, I guess,” he replies. The day before our chat, Cook replaced the bass player in his band, resulting in the fourth rescheduling of our interview. So perhaps he's just not in the mood for yet another Q&A.

I try for light-hearted: “I was a Jason Castro fan right up to the second he was eliminated and then I threw my considerable support to you. Is that OK?”

”Whatever gets it done, I guess.”

I try frivolous: “Facebook or Twitter and why?”

”Neither. I try to take what little free time I have and use it on relaxing.”

I try sucking up: “According to my pals on Facebook, your fan base ranges from 7-year-old girls to 46-year-old women, all of whom say hello.”

”Awesome. Tell them I said 'hi' back.”

Ooo, results. I press on: “If I said that to Chris Daughtry, he'd probably shoot himself. What's your reaction?”

”Yeah, I'm just glad I have fans, you know.”

OK, one step forward, two steps back. I was a big Cook fan during that season of Idol, and not only do I really want to like him, but I want him to come across as likeable in this interview. But I'm starting to sweat a little, and I don't think it's the humidity.

I dig deep: “What's the question you wish every interviewer would ask, but they never do?”

”I feel like I've been asked everything I want to be asked, to be honest with you.”

Ouch. Back to the obvious: “What kind of reaction are you getting on the tour?”

”I feel like a good one, like we are able to strike a chord with people,” he says. “Being on the road, with the economy the way it is, it's hard to know how it will go, but it's been good.”

I note that the tickets for his MGM show are ridiculously affordable, at $20, $35, and $45 (note: there are only a handful of $20 seats remaining).

”I want people to come to the shows,” Cook explains. “No matter how I got to this point, I am a new artist, and so any way we can get people into the door. I want people to get into this record, and we've got to have them listen to it first.”

One stop for Cook this summer was opening the Home Run Derby during Major League Baseball's All-Star break.

”Never mind the fact that we got to do it at all - that was amazing - but to be a part of the festivities of the All-Stars, I'm a big baseball fan. That was a kid-in-a-candy-store thing for me.”

Speaking of starry-eyed, I tell Cook that what I most appreciated about him during his stint on Idol and right after he won was his sense of appreciation of what was happening all around him.

”You always took a moment to just sort of drink it all in,” I tell him. “During the finale, you looked around and it was like you were thinking, 'Remember this, remember this.' You did the same thing after you played that first time on SNL, where you finished the song and you gave this little sigh and looked like, 'Holy crap, I just played Saturday Night Live.' Is it still like that for you or are you a jaded rock star now?”

Cook gives a little laugh.

”Oh, it's still like that for me,” he says. “I mean, who gets to do this? Ever?”

e.bass@theday.com
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