David Cook - Profile

Cook was born in Houston, Texas, raised in Blue Springs, Missouri, and currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His parents are Beth (née Frye) and Stan Cook. He is the middle of three brothers. Adam is the oldest, and Andrew is the youngest.

Cook's interest in music began early in life. He began singing in second grade, when his elementary school music teacher gave him a solo in a school choir performance. He proceeded to perform in virtually every Christmas and PTA program. He received his first guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, at the age of 12. He also participated in choir and drama programs in middle school and high school. At Blue Springs South High School, he performed in musicals, including The Music Man, West Side Story, and Singin' in the Rain. In addition to this, he was an active member in the Blue Springs South High School National Forensics League (or NFL), where he qualified for the national tournament twice for duo interpretation, an event that relies on performance and interpretation of a literary work.

He was also an avid baseball player during high school. After losing interest in sports, he focused more on music. He earned a theater scholarship to the University of Central Missouri, but he abandoned theater after two semesters, graduating from the school in 2006 with a degree in graphic design. While in college, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. After his college graduation, he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to pursue a career in music, telling his family, "I just want to give myself until I'm 26 years old to get a job."

Cook was the lead singer and guitarist of the band Axium from 1999 until 2006. He formed Axium in his junior year of high school with drummer Bobby Kerr. One of the band's songs, "Hold", was picked up by AMC Theatres Movie Tunes and was played before previews on over 20,000 screens nationwide. Axium was also named one of the top 15 independent bands in the country in the "Got Milk?" independent band contest, and it was chosen as the best band in Kansas City in 2004.

In 2006, after the breakup of Axium, Cook relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and joined the regional touring band Midwest Kings (MWK), playing guitar, bass, and singing backup vocals. He recorded one EP, Incoherent with Desire to Move On, with the band in 2006.

Cook released a solo independent album, Analog Heart, in 2006, for which he also designed the artwork. The album was chosen as the fourth-best CD released in 2006 by website Music Equals Life. Cook also won the Urban Tulsa Weekly's "Absolute Best of Tulsa" award for "Best Locally Produced, Independent Album" in 2007. He had completed recording his sophomore album before his appearance on American Idol. Over the weekend of April 18 to April 20, 2008, Analog Heart was listed as the number one album for "Today's Top MP3 Albums" on Amazon.com. Soon there after, the album was removed from Amazon. His musical influences include Our Lady Peace, Alice in Chains, Big Wreck, Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell, Switchfoot, Bon Jovi and Collective Soul.

Discography
Single
2008 "The Time of My Life" [ click here for lyric ]
2008 "Light On"

Studio Albums
Axium
2002: Matter of Time
2003: Blindsided
2004: The Story Thus Far

Midwest Kings
2006: Incoherent With Desire To Move On

Solo
2006: Analog Heart
2008: TBA

Live Albums Axium
2004: Alive in Tulsa

Uncharted Singles
2007: Optimistic to a Fault (aka Better Never Than Late)
2001: Dear Heaven

Background Info
Birth name David Roland Cook
Born December 20, 1982, Houston, Texas, USA
Origin Blue Springs, Missouri, USA
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, bass
Years active 2001—present
Label(s) RCA 19 Records
Associated acts Axium
Midwest Kings