David Cook (cont.)

So we all know about David Cook post-Idol, but what about before American Idol? Yes, he was a bartender, but he was also in a little band called Midwest Kings(MWK) with current "The Anthemic" band-members Andy Skib and Neal Tiemann. The band was started in Tulsa, OK in 2001. The slight difference from then to now is instead of David being the lead singer, Andy was. Andy's vocals are quite different from David's but just as good. MWK released four albums and two EPs total, five were with David. You can buy their EPs/albums from CD Baby. I am partial to "Luna Despierta" and "Incoherent with a Desire to Move". My favortie MWK song(for the moment anyway) is "Song to Me" off of IWADTM. MWK was an amazing band, and buying any of their music is totally worth the money; you get what you pay for. There even rumors that they may make a comeback. Tune in tomorrow for more music!

image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_Kings

David Cook

Yeah, that David Cook, the one who won American Idol in 2008-- you may have heard of him. His self-titled album, released last year, went platinum. (You should go pick it up if you don't already have it.) David Cook and his band (The Anthemic- made up of Andy Skib, Neal Tiemann, Kyle Peek, and Joey Clement/Monty Anderson) toured for most of 2009, just recently ending the tour on December 2. He is now working on his next album which should be out in 2010.

The tour was extremely successful; the original 50 tour dates turned into about 150. The same set-lists were rarely repeated so that the songs would be fresh for everyone. Not only did they revamp songs from his album, but they did some surprising covers. In my opinion, their covers rival and/or surpass the originals. (Also, David Cook's beautiful voice sounds even better when he's live!) The best covers include "Little Lies" originally by Fleetwood Mac, "[I Just] Died in Your Arms Tonight" by Cutting Crew, and "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz. Have a listen, and let me know what you think!
(Picture L-R: Neal Tiemann, Joey Clement, Kyle Peek, David Cook, Andy Skib)

image credit: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/10/21/david-cook-vide/

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Christmas was extremely fun today, and the song I have been listening to throughout the day is Ryan Star's "Last Train Home." My favorite lines are, "We were only kids, we ran like water. You're dad said stay away from my daughter." (I've pretty much been singing that part since I woke up.) Ryan Star, as always, delivers these lines with a lot power in his voice. I think it is very appropriate for this song to end on a positive note since it is the holiday season.



Ryan's song "This Could Be the Year" is being used as the new 2010 HBO add. (How did I find this? He posted the link on his twitter. Follow him!)


image credit: http://i4.bebo.com/040a/9/mediuml/2008/07/21/14/7513317009a8391239604ml.jpg

First one!

Hey guys!
On this blog I want to introduce you to great music(and other things like movies/books/etc... but mostly music!). I cannot get through a day without listening to amazing music. Music inspires me; it's there for me in the good and the bad times. If I'm having a hard day unique voices with unique ideas will fill my head and bring me to a place of serenity and bliss.

This morning I found an great video of Andy Skib and Mike Kelly singing "Taking the Blame" from the link Andy posted on his twitter. It's acoustic, and the combination of their voices is just amazing, trust me; it's worth a listen.

Thanks for reading, more tomorrow! Happy Holidays!