Celebrities Dropping Like Flies

I guess it's getting dangerous to be famous these days.

Just in the last week we've lost four celebs now, with the news that Billy Mays has shouted his last Oxy Clean commercial at us. First Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson on the same day...if I'm a 50-year-old minor celebrity, I'd be pretty worried right now. We should probably get some medical personnel to check in on Linda Kozlowski, Jools Holland, Ellen Degeneres, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sharon Stone, Gary Oldman, Michelle Pfieffer, Annette Bening, Mark Cuban, Madeline Stowe, Colm Feore, Jeff Foxworthy, Jennifer Tilly, Tim Robbins, Viggo Mortensen, Megan Mullally, Marg Helgenberger, Jamie Lee Curtis, or anyone else born in 1958 (a list of whom can be seen on this page right here and contains a veritable who's who of the 1980's).

Seriously though, it is a shame anytime we hear about someone dying when they're only 50 years old. It should remind us all of the brevity of life and perhaps cause some degree of reflection, and at the very least help us appreciate what we do have.

And if nothing else, go do a load of laundry today in honor of Billy Mays...and power those stains away!

Clean Your Plate

I just had some random things to write tonight, so...here we go.

1. Settlers Of Catan (seen above) is easily my favorite board game ever. It's a great strategy game and each game takes long enough to get you involved, but it doesn't take three days. But my favorite aspect is that it's very much confrontational, hopefully in a good-spirited way. It's kind of like a cross between Risk and Monopoly, with the added mental/psychological twist of being able to trade resources and generally getting inside the heads of your opponents by jamming them in their attempts to build. If you're playing this game and you don't have people glaring at you by the time you get to five or six points, then you're probably not playing it right.

2. I don't remember where I saw this last -- actually, yes I do, but I don't want to admit that it was in a Hardy Boys book I was reading last night, and therefore feel the need to explain why I read books intended for 7-14 year olds -- but I find it interesting how food can often be used as a gift.

In the book, the Hardy brothers run the risk of seriously offending their mother by leaving to investigate a potential lead just when she had finished preparing dinner. She is quickly mollified when the boys come to their senses and stay for dinner before rushing off to tackle the next angle of their current mystery. I've seen this firsthand in not only our own culture, but especially in other cultures. My time living in Mexico included many a dinner offered to us on staff as a way of showing how much we were welcomed and appreciated there.

I always felt a little bad because I really don't like food as much as most people do. I mean, good food is good food, and when I'm hungry, pretty much anything is good food. But, contrary to the old proverb about the way to a man's heart, feeding me isn't necesarily the primary way to achieve my overall happiness.

And again, I feel bad about this because food is such a common gift, as it should be. It's a great way to spend time with other people, celebrate a momentous occasion, or to get people together who may not ordinarily have a reason to get together. Plus, food is typically cheaper than an actual gift, and it can be easily prepared in large quantities so as to involve as many people as possible.

But when food isn't in the top three things that make you happy, it's hard to get excited about another dinner invitation. I suppose this is part of the reason why places like bars and coffee shops exist; they allow for the consumption of something to go along with our interpersonal interactions. And both places offer some kind of mind-altering beverages, which, as I've heard so eloquently said about alcohol, can act as a "social lubricant" that help us shed some of our pesky inhibitions.

And I guess that's what it's all about: doing something that helps us take the focus off of the fact that we're all pretty bad at interacting with other human beings. If we all just gathered in a room and tried to have a party, things would be boring and awkward pretty fast. Throw in a bowl of chips and some salsa, and suddenly you're a karaoke machine away from a swinging shindig.

3. Speaking of board games, Milton Bradley (the baseball player, not the board game company -- had you going there for a second!) added another episode to his semi-annual segment on Sportscenter that profiles his meltdowns on the field. Apparently all he did this time was get ejected for vehemently arguing balls and strikes. But I especially appreciated that the folks at ESPN seemed to already have the edited video clips of his previous outburst ready to go at a moment's notice. It reminds me of the old SNL sketch featuring Dana Carvey as Tom Brokaw reading a series of news openers dealing with the death of Gerald Ford (as seen below).

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

I bet the Sportscenter anchors have a few stories they do this with:

"Brett Favre came out of retirement today and signed on to play midfielder for Eintracht Braunschweig in the German Futball Bundesliga."

"Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational today by sinking a putt from the parking lot with a snow shovel on the 18th hole."

"San Diego Padres second baseman David Eckstein shocked fans today by openly admitting that he has used performance-enhancing drugs. Eckstein admitted that, although he never used steroids, he has been known to snort pixy stix in the dugout between innings to meet keep his blood sugar levels on par with those of a hummingbird."

"LeBron James has been traded to the New York Knicks for Nate Robinson, the Statue of Liberty, the female half of the cast of Friends and a sympathy card signed by every New Yorker apologizing for destroying the one and final hope that the city of Cleveland has for winning a major sports championship."

...and so on.

4. If you didn't watch the U.S. men's soccer team beat Spain in the semifinals of the FIFA Confederations Cup this week, you should definitely tune in on Sunday to see the final against Brazil. The Americans played really well against the top-ranked team in the world, scoring twice and shutting out the vastly superior talent on the Spanish side. The U.S. has a tough task against Brazil, which beat South Africa 1-0 in the other semifinal to make it to the title game, but if the Americans can hold down the back line like they did against the surging Spaniards, then they have a shot. Even if you don't like soccer, it's huge because this is the first time the U.S. has advanced to the final of a FIFA international competition...and if everybody else in the world thinks soccer is important, we should at least support our boys in their efforts to make us better than everyone else at one more thing.

That's it for now...I'll be back soon with more movie thoughts and we're going to have Steph's review of the David Cook show at the fair last week...stay tuned...

Run, Megan, Run!

Even when you're only 12 feet away from a gigantic screen, Megan Fox is still really, really cute.

I was reminded last night that I very much dislike seeing a movie on opening night, especially when that movie is the most highly-anticipated nerd movie of the summer...or in the top three at least.

I figured that showing up 30 minutes early for the midnight showing would be plenty of time to at least have a reasonable seat. Apparently nerds have an affinity for waiting in ridiculous lines and saving seats for more than two hours, because getting there half an hour early still left me and my friend Lindsay relegated to the very front row of the sweaty, acne-riddled theater.

Even from such an inconvenient viewing angle, the movie was exactly what it was supposed to be: entertaining. I knew from the first one that the plot wasn't going to be anything special, and that the acting would be reasonable. And in these expectations I was not disappointed. But the special effects, the action sequences, and the amount of running that Sam and Mikaela had to do made for an exciting 150 minutes that I will no doubt revisit in the near future.

I hear that some viewers were down on the movie for having a weird plot, bad acting and...well, just too much stuff going on. But that's what happens with every sequel, especially if the first movie was really good. The Matrix trilogy is the best example; the first movie was so mind-bottling (it was so great, it was like my mind was trapped, like in a bottle) and excellent that they had nowhere to go but down. And down they went, with successive movies that overloaded us with weird terminology, way-too-out-there characters and a plot that seemed to be pulling crap out of thin air whenever it needed to explain something.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen did a little bit of this. Without ruining anything, there's a few instances where the writers seemed to be making stuff up as they went. It all kind of made sense, but it's almost as if the studio allotted the writers about 10% of the pre- and post-filming schedule and gave the other 90% to the post-production CGI team.

But even so, it's not like there were plot holes or things that were left unexplained. Well, not anything that normal people would notice, although I'm sure the nerd crowd will find a whole bunch of minuscule details to whine about on the internet. Which will clearly and finally solve the problem in the best possible way, as it always does.

My point is, this is a fun movie, and when treated as such, it's a very entertaining way to spend an evening. There are even a few truly genuine moments, including the psychologically intriguing relationship between Optimus Prime and Sam, which has the elements of a father and son, brothers in arms, and the dynamic of coming from different worlds but still finding a connection. Sam and Mikaela are also an interesting take on modern dating relationships; she's working in a garage while he goes off to college, they set up a webcam date...and they're still dealing with going back to "normal" life after getting sucked into an intergalactic war between giant transforming robots. And then they get sucked back into that same war between those same giant transforming robots, and have to deal with a relationship in the midst of all of it.

Quick side note, best line of the movie:

Sam: "You said it first."

Go see it to find out what that's all about. It's totally worth it.

I guess that's what I'm getting at; this movie isn't going to take the place of Gone With The Wind or anything like that, but all the nerds in the theater last night gave it an enthusiastic round of applause as the credits rolled, and I left feeling like I would like to have a giant transforming robot with two glowing red swords for a friend. Either that or Megan Fox in those boots running around with me. Yowza.

And after all, isn't that what we all really want, deep down inside?

Even If You Don't Need It...

I just found out that Tom-Tom GPS offers a variety of celebrity voices to read you your directions as you drive...and that one of them is Burt Reynolds.

The Bandit can read driving directions to you.

The only way this would be more awesome is if they got Norm MacDonald to read the directions as Burt Reynolds from those old SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketches.

If you were wondering what to get me for my birthday and/or Christmas...look no further.

We Always Suspected Jack Black Was A Caveman

...although, technically, in the movie, they lived in huts...

By Dan Kidder

If I'm going to write movie reviews -- which I am -- then I should probably explain, briefly, what my movie tastes are.

For one thing, I tend to enjoy the movies I see, partly because I don't go see movies I don't think I'll like, and also because most movies today are at least enjoyable on some level. And if it's really bad, it's nice to have someone there so we can make fun of how awful it is.

With that said, I must also say that there aren't very many movies that make it into my "must see" list. Most movies fall into the "it was a good movie, but I probably won't see it again" category for me. Glad we've got that straight.

For my reviews, I'm going to break up my analysis into three parts (before, during, after) and an overall conclusion. I'll do my best not to spoil anything, but if you want to go in fresh, you don't have to keep reading.

And now, the movie "Year One," starring Jack Black and Michael Cera.

Thoughts Going In: The trailer had some funny lines, and I like Cera's delivery...he's the perfect combination of awkward and uncertain, but still saying exactly what he's thinking. I expected it to be a bit raunchy (it is a Jack Black movie) and for there to be some swing-and-miss jokes at which only the lowest-brow moviegoer would laugh. Given the hint about the tree of knowledge and all that, I also was curious to see how "offensive" it would get.

For the record, I really don't believe in getting "offended," especially not over something so trivial as a movie. This should apply to the people outside the theater when "Angels & Demons" opened up, as they held their protest signs and compared Dan Brown to the devil. It's a movie. If you don't agree with it, you don't have to go see it. And now back to the review.

Thoughts During: They didn't mess around setting up too much plot or anything, but jumped right into the funny stuff in the first scene. I was in a full theater, and people laughed...a lot. I laughed out loud at a couple of scenes; one in particular that was so ridiculous I nearly choked on my cherry slurpee. I didn't see anything overly raunchy; they did drop some choice words here and there, but most of it was innuendo, which is clearly the smarter way to go about comedy these days.

Black is funny in the most random ways, including a scene in which he starts humming along with the background music that we in the audience assumed only we could hear. Cera delivers some very quotable lines, and the supporting cast is funny enough to keep things going without overshadowing the main characters. And the outtakes during the credits...good stuff.


Thoughts After: Seeing a comedy is different than seeing an action movie because you leave with a different feeling. After seeing "300" in the theater, I left feeling like getting in a fight with the guy walking in front of me, just because I was so pumped up.

After comedies, my usual feeling is one of general amusement, but without any specific physical result. This movie did what it was supposed to; I left feeling like I just had a great time.

The plot wasn't intricate, but it wasn't supposed to be. The story made sense though, despite some intentionally-overlooked historical inaccuracies (such as, Cain and Abel clearly did not exist at the same time as Abraham and Isaac). The Biblical aspect of the movie was interesting; they definitely took some liberties with how they presented the characters, but in the end they were so satirical that they shouldn't be offensive...they were just so over the top that it would be impossible to take any of it seriously.

The comedy and the story work together very well to make a movie that makes sense but isn't going to get anybody lost. The camaraderie between Black and Cera is developed very well, and the absurdity of romance in that time is explored with amusing results. Again, the subtlety of the innuendo through most of the movie is excellent, and it makes the more overtly physical comedy that much more funny. There are some funny gross moments, but nothing that would make most of us feel uncomfortable for long.

Overall Thought: Go see it. It's funny in a clever way, and it's clean enough to see with a date...unless your date is really picky about those things. Basically, if you like Jack Black at all, you will love this movie.

There you go...the first of what I hope will be many, many successful, enlightening, well-received movie reviews. Transformers 2 comes out next weekend, so be sure to check back then to see what I think.

David Cook and The Hot Chick

Steph and Julie are at the David Cook show at the fair tonight...I hear they get to take pictures backstage for a couple songs, which we will be sure to post for you. Good times.

Right now I'm enjoying "The Hot Chick" on FX, starring the incomparable Rob Schneider. It's an underrated movie with plenty of cheap laughs. But every time I see it, I can't help but think that a girl waking up as Rob Schneider would be way, way worse than a dude waking up as Rachel McAdams. Gross.



Oh, and way to go USA soccer, getting trounced by Brazil this morning. I know he's good and he just hauled in a record for a transfer fee, but the dude's name is still Kaka'. As in, the sound a bird makes. Or, if the accent mark is ignored, the Mexican slang word for poo. Not very manly either way.

But the weekend is almost here...I'm going to go see "Year One" and share my thoughts with you, so check back for that and the David Cook performance...

Dancing Grandmas Agree: Eve 6 Is Cool

By Dan Kidder



Eve 6 put on a sweet show at the San Diego County Fair on Tuesday night, but honestly, two words sum up the performance best:

Dancing grandma.

Since their debut album in 1996, Eve 6 has always lingered around the periphery of popularity in the mainstream, perhaps coming closest with their graduation ceremony staple "Here's To The Night." But the distinct vocals and heart-gripping lyrics of lead singer/bassist Max Collins combine for a unique sound that still connects with a fan base that's growing once again.

After breaking up in 2003 to pursue other projects, the band has reunited -- minus former guitarist Jon Siebels, who has been replaced by Matt Bair, formerly of a NY-area group called "Bandcamp." Collins and drummer Tony Fagenson, who is, in my humble opinion, one of the best drummers in the business, had been working together in a band called "Sugi Tap" but have put that project on hold. As Eve 6 once again, the trio has another album in the works, but no release date has yet been determined.

The performance at the fair seemed to revive interest in the band, as casual passers-by slowly turned into dedicated spectators, and in more than a few cases, progressed into full-on fanhood. By the end of the show, even a diminutive Asian grandmother was cutting a rug with her laughing, yet slightly embarassed, daughter and grand-daughter looking on. I don't care who you are, dancing grandmas are cool. And therefore, Eve 6 is cool. Game. Over.

Personally, I've been a fan since I was in high school (which was at the time their debut album dropped, coincidentally), so I was beyond excited to see my favorite band perform after the disappointment of living in a world where Eve 6 was no longer together. And they did not disappoint again.

They started the show with some high-energy tunes, including "Rescue" and "Promise," which is another one of those songs that people heard and said "oh yeah, I remember that song...that was these guys? I love these guys!" or something comparable. We all knew that the inevitable "here's something new" song was coming, but I have to admit that I very much enjoyed the song "Little Tiny Everything," which is a song Sugi Tap performed but is going to be released on the new Eve 6 LP.

The tempo slowed down a bit in the middle, as the group delighted all the recently-graduated high school girls in the crowd with a perfect rendition of "Here's To The Night." But they picked it up again with "Open Road Song" and a medley that included "How Much Longer" and a cover of Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream" that sounded great. I had hoped that they would play a cover of "You Don't Know It Feels" after seeing a clip of it online, but between the medley and a later song that included some recognizable Petty riffs, I was more than satisfied.

Another new tune, called "Red & Black," was one of my favorites. It's another song that Sugi Tap put together, but the slow, driving pace and the distinct lyrical meter make it undeniably Eve 6. The band played more than a dozen songs, including "Think Twice," "On The Roof," "Jet Pack," "Superhero Girl," and "Leech," and concluded with a two-song encore that featured one more new song and ended with "At Least We're Dreaming."

Now, I'm a grown man. I pay taxes. I buy groceries. I vote.

But Eve 6 made me feel like I was in high school again, singing as loud as I could in front of complete strangers, jumping up and down just because a guy behind a microphone told me to, and cheering for people who have those little pockets of air in their shoes.

And that was just one more thing I now love about Eve 6: their quirky sense of humor. Before playing the song "Tongue Tied," Collins asked us to raise our hands if we were wearing shoes that have those air bubbles in them. He also commented that he would keep his hand down if he were wearing them, implying that those who do so should be somewhat embarassed to admit it. But he also said that the air-shoe wearers in the crowd were that much better off than their fellow human beings because they could jump up and down more easily during the ensuing song. Sadly, I did not have shoes with the little air pockets. But I still jumped. Oh, did I jump. And it was grand.

I also appreciated how Max would say, from time to time, "the name of the band is still Eve 6, and next up is..." and go on with the show. He struck me as being a very real guy, a bit nervous about being in front of people, but used to it after 13+ years of performing. Great showmanship is always entertaining, but vulnerability, sincerity and a touch of awkward humor helped the fans connect with the band on a deeper level. We already feel like we have common ground with them, since, as I'm sure it is with others as it is with me, their music has been with us through the milestones of life. But having seen them live, and shelling out $20 for a t-shirt like so many others, I feel like I know my favorite band just a little better now.

And anybody who can claim to have a little dancing grandma as a fan is cool in my book.

Movies About Grumpy Old Guys

By: Dan Kidder

I watched "Gran Tourino" and "Up" over the weekend, and I've consequently decided to be a grumpy old man (possibly racist) who eventually befriends a weird kid (possibly fat) and ends up sacrificing something for the sake of the friendship.

But first...to get old and grumpy...check and check.

It's a bit odd how similar the two movies are; if you've never seen them and don't want to have it ruined...well then you came to the wrong place.

Right off the bat, both old guys lose their wives within the first 10 minutes. They both are now dealing with life without a longtime companion, and they're both understandably grumpy about things.

Then they both meet an annoying neighbor kid...in GT he's obviously Asian, and Clint Eastwood has all kinds of fun racial slurs to employ (some of which he had to have made up), while in Up the chubby kid looks like he could kind of be Asian...? I'm not entirely sure I can talk about this since I'm really, really white. Moving on.

In both, it turns out that the annoying kid is somehow thrust into the old guy's life, and they find a way to coexist with minimal talking and a few humorous interactions that invariably leave the old guy frustrated and even grumpier.

There are more parallels, as the neighbor girl corresponds with the bird Kevin (I love that the fat kid named the bird Kevin, and it turns out to be a female), the Asian gang kids driving the ghetto Honda are similar to the army of dogs, and Clint Eastwood's WWII M-1 Garand rifle is used much in the same way as Carl Frederikson's metal walker.

My facebook friend Jack pointed out that Up is pretty much the non-racist version of Gran Tourino. I think he's right, and it's funny because Hollywood always seems to come up with ideas in pairs like this. We had Paul Blart: Mall Cop followed by Observe & Report. It goes all the way back to the late 80s, when Turner & Hooch came out after K9 (which launched the career of Jim Belushi into the stratosphere for good!). Then came Wyatt Earp against Tombstone (we all know who won that one), Dante's Peak vs. Volcano (James Bond vs. Tommy Lee Jones!), Armageddon vs. Deep Impact (thanks to Aerosmith, we all lost), A Bug's Life vs. Ants (which nobody cared about unless you were six at the time), Mission To Mars vs. Red Planet (Val Kilmer! Gary Sinise! Tom Sizemore! The Oscars were buzzing that year!), and The Prestige vs. The Illusionist (Wolverine does magic...or something...I only saw one of those two).

The point is...a good idea is still a good idea (or bad, depending) even if a bunch of people have it at the same relative time. And since Hollywood has always been, and will always be, the denizen of originality and substance of our culture, I'm sure we can expect more of the same.

Oh, and one could make further comparisons between Gran Tourino and Up...such as...the gang leader and the Alpha dog both have funny voices; both Asian kids (Russell and "Toad") are trying to earn something by helping the old guy; neither of the kids has a good home life, including the absence of a father, which explains why they gravitate towards the old guy; and both old guys have their prized possession (the car and the Adventure Book) that they end up sharing with the kid. I'm sure there are more.

But I found it interesting, and if you have seen/will see both, it's a fun little way to compare the two. Since I'm a grumpy old guy like Clint and Carl, I found both movies good, but they should have ended with the old guy finally getting some peace and quiet. Maybe if Carl had his old WWII rifle...

(Thanks to screenjunkies.com for the list of suspiciously similar movies...check it out at http://www.screenjunkies.com/movienews/11-pairs-suspiciously-similar-movies to see how many you remember...)

Coming Soon: Reviews/Photos/Stories from the San Diego County Fair

Check back later this week to see our take on a few of the concerts happening at the San Diego County Fair, including David Cook and Eve 6.

Basically, the way that Stephi feels about seeing David Cook is the way I feel about seeing Eve 6, only mine is about 47 times more so, and not romantic in any way. Ok maybe a little. But not enough to endanger my hetero street cred.

Q&A With American Idol Winner David Cook

By: Stephi Rae

Auditioning on a whim for American Idol in August 2007 got David Cook further than he had ever imagined.
Originally there to support his younger brother Andrew, David was then encouraged to try out as well. Thanks to his rich, raw vocals and devotedly powerful performances, millions of fans watched as rocker David Cook took the title as “American Idol” for season seven, winning with 56% of the votes.
The week following his win, Cook made history on Billboard’s Hot 100 list, placing 11 songs on the charts. This gave him the highest number of new singles in a week, the most since the Beatles placed 14 songs in 1964. Continuing on with his success, he debuted his album in November 2008, which was certified Platinum, and by January 2009 exceeded over one million copies in sales.
When I first heard that David was coming to the San Diego County Fair I knew I had to get tickets. However, I knew I had to find out more about this down to earth, humble, gorgeous man. Is he really who he seems to be when we see him on television? I set out on a mission and was ecstatic when word came to me that I landed a phone interview with the “Idol” winner.
It’s 3:30 p.m. eastern time, and David Cook is eating Frosted Mini Wheats — the first thing he has eaten all day, actually. We are chatting via phone while he is in Columbus, Ohio on his way to perform in Newark, Ohio. His voice is just as deep and melodic over the phone as is it on TV.
Talking with him makes me all giddy inside, but I don’t want to come across as a crazed fan either. However, the minute I start talking to him, it’s like we’re old friends. He is one of the most laid back, genuine guys I have ever met. I know right away that he is the real deal: truly an American Idol.

Stephanie Rae: Are you excited to be coming out to San Diego?
David Cook: Absolutely. I got a chance to get out to San Diego when we came through on the Idol tour and it seemed like a beautiful city. I think we walked around and you guys had like an Urban Outfitters somewhere and we walked around there. Carly (Smithson) tried to give me the big ole’ dime tour as best as she could.

SR: What has life been like since American Idol?
DC: Best word I can use is non-stop. We’ve literally been go go go for about a year and a half now. I’m very excited. Actually after this week I get a two week break before we come to San Diego, so very excited. I should be well rested for San Diego.

SR: How do you think your life will change now since passing on the American Idol torch?
DC: Hopefully it doesn’t. I’ve enjoyed being as busy as I have been. We’ve been able to play a lot of great shows and hopefully we keep putting out good music and playing good shows and everything else will continue to fall into place the way it has.

SR: What is it that surprised you most of the fame from winning, either negatively or positively?
DC: Really just that so many people seem to care, I guess, about everything. What songs were playing at a particular show, what color our hair is, what shirt were wearing… it’s neither good or bad, but it’s just kind of like - really??!

SR: What is your favorite or the most gratifying aspect of what you do?
DC: I think that’s two-fold… That we get to create something. I love creating things. And secondly, that we perform a special service, you know what I mean. I think our job is to go on stage every night and try and entertain people and when we get to pull it off that’s one of the most gratifying aspects.

SR: Coming from the simple life as a bartender, to now being thrown into this fame… Has it had any changes on you as a person?
DC: Well I’ve forgotten how to make a lot of drinks which is a problem, but I guess past that… It’s opened my eyes up. I’ve become a lot more observant just to everything, I think… learned to appreciate everything around me.

SR: What motivates or drives you as a person and as a performer?
DC: I think like for all of us… is making my family proud.

SR: Now for the fun questions…
SR: Who has been the coolest/most fun celebrity you’ve met?
DC: David Archuleta.
SR: Oh please no…
DC: What?? That dude’s famous, man. You wanted a fun question, I gave you a fun answer.
SR: Are you guys still friends?
DC: Yeah, absolutely. We actually just finished up a show in the Phillipines a couple weeks back, and we got a chance to catch up. He’s a good guy.

SR: Favorite Food?
DC: Right now, Frosted Mini Wheats…
SR: I knew you were going to say that!
DC: Hey it’s the first thing I’ve had to eat all day… I will say Chicken Taquitos from a place called Quick Trip… I don’t think they have them in San Diego.

SR: Favorite movie?
DC: The Jerk…I love The Jerk.

SR: Do you still do crossword puzzles to unwind?
DC: Crossword Puzzles, Soduko… Yeah pretty much all those nice USA Today Games.

SR: Have you had any crazy experiences with over-excited fans?
DC: (laughs) We actually had our first bra thrown on our stage not too long ago. It landed on our bass player Joey’s bass. I feel like we hit a milestone.
SR: Have you had the panties yet?
DC: We’ve had the panties…We’ve had the panties in mass. But that was our first bra.
SR: Making it big now!
DC: Yeah, it was a special moment for the band, I felt like we bonded.

SR: Where would you like to be with your music in five or ten years?
DC: Hopefully employed, that would be nice. I think the whole goal for me and for this band is that we want to make good music and play good shows, and hopefully, hopefully, you know, everything will continue.

SR: Who has influenced you musically?
DC: Everybody. I think that’s part of what I’ve really learned from this whole process is just to kind of be observant of everything… Family, friends, strangers, everything in between.

SR: What is it that you would want people to know about you that they don’t see superficially?
DC: Nothing, man. I kind of pride this whole thing on being a little bit transparent... I’m hoping people see me accurately.

SR: If you could give one message to performers trying to “make it big,” what would you tell them?
DC: That sometimes it’s a good thing to hear “No” ninety-nine times before you hear “Yes” once.

SR: Be honest, do these interviews get old… I know you are doing them like 24/7?
DC: Um, they can… This one is actually kind of refreshing. I don’t get these questions asked a whole lot.

SR: And last question…
SR: All the girls in San Diego will want to know…Is David Cook single?
DC: I’ll never tell… I will never tell.

There you have it; what you see is what you get! A legitimately nice guy - and funny too - with dominant vocals and bold heartfelt songs, he is here to share his talent with his fans. Don’t miss your opportunity to see him live at the San Diego Fair, Del Mar. June 18, 7:30 p.m. on the Heineken Grandstand Stage.

Q&A With American Idol Winner David Cook

By: Stephi Rae

Auditioning on a whim for American Idol in August 2007 got David Cook further than he had ever imagined.
Originally there to support his younger brother Andrew, David was then encouraged to try out as well. Thanks to his rich, raw vocals and devotedly powerful performances, millions of fans watched as rocker David Cook took the title as “American Idol” for season seven, winning with 56% of the votes.
The week following his win, Cook made history on Billboard’s Hot 100 list, placing 11 songs on the charts. This gave him the highest number of new singles in a week, the most since the Beatles placed 14 songs in 1964. Continuing on with his success, he debuted his album in November 2008, which was certified Platinum, and by January 2009 exceeded over one million copies in sales.
When I first heard that David was coming to the San Diego County Fair I knew I had to get tickets. However, I knew I had to find out more about this down to earth, humble, gorgeous man. Is he really who he seems to be when we see him on television? I set out on a mission and was ecstatic when word came to me that I landed a phone interview with the “Idol” winner.
It’s 3:30 p.m. eastern time, and David Cook is eating Frosted Mini Wheats — the first thing he has eaten all day, actually. We are chatting via phone while he is in Columbus, Ohio on his way to perform in Newark, Ohio. His voice is just as deep and melodic over the phone as is it on TV.
Talking with him makes me all giddy inside, but I don’t want to come across as a crazed fan either. However, the minute I start talking to him, it’s like we’re old friends. He is one of the most laid back, genuine guys I have ever met. I know right away that he is the real deal: truly an American Idol.

Stephanie Rae: Are you excited to be coming out to San Diego?
David Cook: Absolutely. I got a chance to get out to San Diego when we came through on the Idol tour and it seemed like a beautiful city. I think we walked around and you guys had like an Urban Outfitters somewhere and we walked around there. Carly (Smithson) tried to give me the big ole’ dime tour as best as she could.

SR: What has life been like since American Idol?
DC: Best word I can use is non-stop. We’ve literally been go go go for about a year and a half now. I’m very excited. Actually after this week I get a two week break before we come to San Diego, so very excited. I should be well rested for San Diego.

SR: How do you think your life will change now since passing on the American Idol torch?
DC: Hopefully it doesn’t. I’ve enjoyed being as busy as I have been. We’ve been able to play a lot of great shows and hopefully we keep putting out good music and playing good shows and everything else will continue to fall into place the way it has.

SR: What is it that surprised you most of the fame from winning, either negatively or positively?
DC: Really just that so many people seem to care, I guess, about everything. What songs were playing at a particular show, what color our hair is, what shirt were wearing… it’s neither good or bad, but it’s just kind of like - really??!

SR: What is your favorite or the most gratifying aspect of what you do?
DC: I think that’s two-fold… That we get to create something. I love creating things. And secondly, that we perform a special service, you know what I mean. I think our job is to go on stage every night and try and entertain people and when we get to pull it off that’s one of the most gratifying aspects.

SR: Coming from the simple life as a bartender, to now being thrown into this fame… Has it had any changes on you as a person?
DC: Well I’ve forgotten how to make a lot of drinks which is a problem, but I guess past that… It’s opened my eyes up. I’ve become a lot more observant just to everything, I think… learned to appreciate everything around me.

SR: What motivates or drives you as a person and as a performer?
DC: I think like for all of us… is making my family proud.

SR: Now for the fun questions…
SR: Who has been the coolest/most fun celebrity you’ve met?
DC: David Archuleta.
SR: Oh please no…
DC: What?? That dude’s famous, man. You wanted a fun question, I gave you a fun answer.
SR: Are you guys still friends?
DC: Yeah, absolutely. We actually just finished up a show in the Phillipines a couple weeks back, and we got a chance to catch up. He’s a good guy.

SR: Favorite Food?
DC: Right now, Frosted Mini Wheats…
SR: I knew you were going to say that!
DC: Hey it’s the first thing I’ve had to eat all day… I will say Chicken Taquitos from a place called Quick Trip… I don’t think they have them in San Diego.

SR: Favorite movie?
DC: The Jerk…I love The Jerk.

SR: Do you still do crossword puzzles to unwind?
DC: Crossword Puzzles, Soduko… Yeah pretty much all those nice USA Today Games.

SR: Have you had any crazy experiences with over-excited fans?
DC: (laughs) We actually had our first bra thrown on our stage not too long ago. It landed on our bass player Joey’s bass. I feel like we hit a milestone.
SR: Have you had the panties yet?
DC: We’ve had the panties…We’ve had the panties in mass. But that was our first bra.
SR: Making it big now!
DC: Yeah, it was a special moment for the band, I felt like we bonded.

SR: Where would you like to be with your music in five or ten years?
DC: Hopefully employed, that would be nice. I think the whole goal for me and for this band is that we want to make good music and play good shows, and hopefully, hopefully, you know, everything will continue.

SR: Who has influenced you musically?
DC: Everybody. I think that’s part of what I’ve really learned from this whole process is just to kind of be observant of everything… Family, friends, strangers, everything in between.

SR: What is it that you would want people to know about you that they don’t see superficially?
DC: Nothing, man. I kind of pride this whole thing on being a little bit transparent... I’m hoping people see me accurately.

SR: If you could give one message to performers trying to “make it big,” what would you tell them?
DC: That sometimes it’s a good thing to hear “No” ninety-nine times before you hear “Yes” once.

SR: Be honest, do these interviews get old… I know you are doing them like 24/7?
DC: Um, they can… This one is actually kind of refreshing. I don’t get these questions asked a whole lot.

SR: And last question…
SR: All the girls in San Diego will want to know…Is David Cook single?
DC: I’ll never tell… I will never tell.

There you have it; what you see is what you get! A legitimately nice guy - and funny too - with dominant vocals and bold heartfelt songs, he is here to share his talent with his fans. Don’t miss your opportunity to see him live at the San Diego Fair, Del Mar. June 18, 7:30 p.m. on the Heineken Grandstand Stage.