It has been less than a year since David Cook emerged from obscurity and was crowned the 2008 American Idol winner.
Now, Cook is going to have to surmount his next challenge, Leach Theatre on the Missouri S&T campus.
“I’ve been through Rolla plenty of times,” Cook said Tuesday.
Cook is bringing his Idol-winning brand of rock to Rolla at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Cook took some time while traveling through Arkansas to speak with the about life after Idol.
"I think everything has changed,” Cook said.
Cook has been on tour since February playing mostly 500-to-700 seat venues in college towns.
It is a sharp contrast from what Cook said were the shows he use to play, “one-off” gigs that were 13 hours away.
Life on the road has not afforded Cook much down time, something he said was surprising.
When Cook talks about the past year, he sounds every bit the Missourian that he is.
He has a house in Los Angeles, but he says that LA is “too fast” for him.
"I’ve just got that Midwestern DNA in me,” Cook said.
Cook said he enjoys playing in smaller towns because they can have great audiences, since many national acts do not perform there.
Hopefully, Cook is prepared for the audience that will greet him in Rolla.
According to Loretta Cornick, the box office supervisor at Leach Theatre, tickets at the 650-seat theater sold out in three hours.
"I heard some people started waiting there at 3 a.m.,” Cornick said.
As for what the audience can expect, Cook offered this synopsis:
"A lot of energy, some bad jokes and some good songs.”
Only some good songs?
"Well, more than some,” Cook added.
