from iamdavidcook.com:
Dream
I believe that you should never give up on a dream. A lot of times people give up on their dreams because they’ve let someone else tell them that they can’t achieve them, that their dream is impossible, enough negativity can kill a dream. That said, I think that we grow up in a society that tells us from a very young age that we’re all special, that we’re all gifted and unique, that if we want to go to the moon and be a movie star, we can. Unfortunately, that’s not true, not everyone is special and not everyone is unique. I look around myself all of the time and feel completely inadequate; I think we all do, and there’s a reason for that. There are over six billion people in the world right now, if everyone was equally as talented or gifted or had an amazingly unique idea, people like Bill Gates, Audrey Hepburn, and Lady Gaga wouldn’t get their chance to shine, and that’s just the way it is. Everyone has a dream, and they should never let go of it, but you have to know that just because you have a dream doesn’t mean it will come true, and that’s okay, because at the end of the day the most important thing is that you understand that you have a purpose and you’re on this earth for a reason. The most beautiful and poetic part about it is that you may never know what that purpose is and you may never be truly appreciated until your dead and gone. I believe that we’re put on this earth to impact people’s lives through our interactions with one another. No matter how insignificant a moment in your life might seem just know that it’s all a part of one giant picture that’s being painted and sometimes you can only see it one stroke at a time.
Check out The Interlude’s review of David’s EP “All Is Fair In Love And War” and get a chance to win signed CDs and posters:
David Cook, (no not thewinner of runner up or whatever the famous dude from TVs American Idol), has put out an amazing EP. If this David Cook had been a contestant on American Idol, he would hands down win, no questions asked, but honestly I am glad he has chosen the route he is currently on, because he is creating some of the best music on the market.
Cook, also known as the front man for My Favorite Highway, and his friend Paul Barber holed up in the studio to put together an 5 track EP that could be a soundtrack to a movie, TV series, or even some of the songs the sound track to a perfect relationship with that special someone.
David Cook’s debut EP All Is Fair In Love & War, can truly be described as awe-inspiring. It quite literally oozes with talent and magnificently constructed songs. Vocally, Cook mesmerizes, with his ability to take a melody, and make it sound like true heart felt confession, which is rare now a days. Most artists string phony hooks and melodies, full of cheesy lyrics, Cook does the exact opposite. He has the ability to wear his heart on his sleeve and has the rare ability to draw you in and never let you go throughout the entire EP.
The opener “Echo” begins with a gradual fade-in of a mystical-sounding background effect before an acoustic guitar begins. Then, Cook’s voice smoothly rolls into your ears and you are instantly swept into a dream world, which never ends, until the last note of the record. You can’t help but intently listen with lyrics like “You are the answer that the question has to chase / You are my echo / You are the song they’re singing up in outer space / You are my echo.”
The next two songs, “Perfect Or Something” and “Touch ‘N Go” take you on a whirlwind adventure of hair-raising melodies, jaw-dropping harmonies, and will undoubtedly induce a sudden use of the rewind button, just to make sure you’re ears are in fact still working properly, because of the absolute perfection.
Now for my absolute favorite song, “She Can,” is the second to last track on the record This is about a very special girl that apparently blows Cook away. His careful choice of words helps to show the amount of heart and passion that goes into literally every song he composes. “She’s so complicated / She keeps me on my toes / I tell her she’s beautiful but she already knows / Everything she does / She’s killin’ me because she can.” Gives me goose bumps! The effects of the bells on top of the acoustic guitar, just shows how well Cook and Barber work together. This song has to be written about a special girl and she should feel blown away, because of the raw emotion of the lyrics and just how perfect this song is. Cook could write an entire record of love songs, and I know that each one many of us who are in love can relate to.
The final song, “Love & War” begins with a foot-tapping acoustic riff before you are yet again swept off of your feet. This track features some of the most heartfelt and honest lyrics I have ever had the privilege of hearing an artist pen. Cook’s clever ability to create a truly phenomenal work of art is illustrated in this little beauty, he is able to paint mental pictures with each and everyone of his songs.
All Is Fair In Love & War is not a record we recommend; it’s a MUST HAVE addition to your music collection. The production quality of this release is top notch. Each pluck of the guitar is crisp and pronounced. The vocals are clear and really stand out from verse to verse.
I dare you to find a more hardworking and fully involved artist like David Cook. Not only is he an amazing solo artist, he is an amazing person as well.
Personally knowing him, makes this record even more amazing, because Cook will talk to anyone of his fans for hours on end and writes music for them, not the Industry. He has earned every good thing that has come his way, and I only see the sky as the limit for Cook, as well as his band My Favorite Highway when they release their next record.
It seems like now a days, bands write music for all the wrong reasons, whether it is to be famous, make tons of money or write with co-writers that are there to help pen a “radio smash,” void of all emotion. However Cook is a diamond in the rough, writing music, for what music was originally created for, which is to evoke emotions, make the listener connect with the artist and most of all entertain without being phony. Cook seems to still know where his roots are and knows what it means to be a genuine, earnest musician.
If you are reading this right now, please head over to http://iamdavidcook.storenvy.com/ and support this very deserving artist!
Writen by: Ben S. and Aaron
+ CONTEST: Click here to get a chance to win a signed EP and poster!
David is making a new contest, check it out:
My new EP will be released on iTunes this Tuesday, July 20! I’m so excited about it that I’ve decided to give away my Baby Taylor acoustic guitar and a couple of other exclusive prizes! If you want to win here’s what you have to do!
1. Go to iTunes and buy my new EP, All Is Fair In Love & War. (You have to buy the whole album).
2. Once you buy the album go to your purchase history in iTunes and find your order number for my EP. (To access your purchase history go to your account information page, click on “purchase history” and your latest purchase will come up with your ten digit order number in the top right corner of the page).
3. Go to my Facebook artist page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/iamdavidcook/1341492932665224. Leave a comment containing your ten digit iTunes order number.
The contest will start on July 20 and end on July 27.
I will be announcing the winners live on Stickam (http://www.stickam.com/iamdavidcook) on July 27 at 6PM PST.
GOOD LUCK!
(This is the same guitar I played on the EP and on the Storytellers Acoustic Tour).
There is only one rule, NO CHEATING. I will be checking the order numbers of the winners. If your order number is invalid you will be disqualified.
Click here to watch the video!
From iamdavidcook.com:
Frustration: Piracy 101
I googled my EP tonight and found about 10 different torrents already leaking my record. I’m not angry, if anything I’m just annoyed. I expected that my record would leak, they always do, but I held the people who received their exclusive, early, digital copy to a higher standard… the only way this record could have leaked is if someone who received a digital copy of the record intentionally leaked it.
My frustration has nothing to do with money, but everything to do with a problem and it’s rapidly disappearing solution. My least favorite thing to hear from fans is, “Why isn’t your band bigger?” Or the ever so common remark, “That band should be huge!” The reason that the bands and artists you love don’t achieve the success and popularity you’d like to see them achieve is because people don’t buy their records. For example, I won’t say who, but an artist that I know personally and who a lot of you might really love and respect released a record on a major label a few years ago. Their first week’s sales were alright, something like 30,000-40,000 units, but the label conducted a survey by gathering information and analyzing web traffic, what they discovered was that this artist’s record had been downloaded illegally 250,000 times. You might think, “Who cares if no one pays for the record, at least the artist is gaining fans who will come out to concerts.” Well, that doesn’t really matter as far as record labels are concerned, especially when the artist is signed to a major label. You see, record labels are like giant banks, they put tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars into their artist’s record cycles. A lot of times an artist’s success is determined by how much money and effort a record label will invest in their record. How much money, time and effort that a label invests in an artist is measured by how many records the artist sells. So, when an artist is lacking in sales the label will stop pushing the record, which means they stop investing their resources in marketing the artist and their record. In other words, if the giant banks we call record labels don’t receive a return on their investment they bail. When the record label bails the artist loses a large portion of their marketing force, and thus will lose a lot of potential new fans. A band is only as good as their fan base. You might say a band is only as good as their music, but if you’re a band with good music then those two ideas go hand-in-hand. If an artist’s fan base doesn’t grow accordingly they won’t be able to stick around for long, because in order to make amazing music full-time it has to become your main source of income, which requires the financial support of fans through record sales and touring revenue. The bottom line is that if you’re a full-time musician and you can’t make a living doing so then you will not be able survive. Simply put, if you really love and respect an artist, buy their records, don’t download them illegally. If you want your favorite band to be around for years to come support them by purchasing their music. When you download a record illegally you’re committing a federal offense, it’s stealing creative, copyrighted material, and it’s also morally wrong. I think you understand what I’m trying to say.
I’m personally disappointed that my record leaked, not for financial reasons, not because I was hoping to sell a lot of records my first week, but because as an artist I have a vision for how I want my creation to be presented.
I don’t mean to rant, I just want people to understand the underlying issue at hand.
If you have pre-ordered my EP, thank you. If you are waiting until July 20 for my record to be available on iTunes, thank you. If you support me and my music in any way, shape or form, thank you.
From myfavoritehighway.com:
Bring MFH to your College or University this fall
Dear Diploma seekers around North America (Canada that includes you), My Favorite Highway will be available this fall to perform at your college or university.
Now this doesn’t just mean sending us an e-mail that says “I go to ASU, come here”, you see at every school there is a student activities board or concert/events group that puts these kind of things together. You can normally get a hold of them by searching on your school’s website or asking around. Once you are able to reach them and convince them that My Favorite Highway is the band to have play at your school please give them our email and we’ll work on working out the details!
Please e-mail Mike at booking@myfavoritehighway.com with any ideas to bring the band to your school.
Check out this video of “Pleasure Of Your Company” live at Youth Fest in Loudon County, VA (06/26):
Credits: evilpvigirlie
Idobi Radio posted two videos of the Storytellers Tour, check them out:
Free MFH show announced in NoVA this Saturday:
We’ll be headlining YouthFest 2010, in Ashburn at Brambleton Town Center. We’ll be performing for the first time as a full band in Northern Virginia since January.
For further information click the link above and visit http://www.loudounteens.org/
There are some new products on My Favorite Highway’s online store, check it out:
