Time of Our Lives

Try to remember the kind of Davember ...

Well I have been a very bad little Word Nerd.  I have not blogged for the entire month of Davember. Davember, in case anyone is reading this that doesn't know, is the name for the month of November, 2008 to those in the David Cook world.  So named because of the plethora (one of Dave's fave words) of DC appearances and doings, including the release of his long-awaited self-titled album at last.  My excuse for not blogging in so long is that this cornucopia of goodies IS so overflowing, to paraphrase the original Word Nerd himself. In order to just keep up with all the doings, I've had to be virtually glued to my computer at nearly every waking moment for the entire month.  Except for the few days that I was actually in New York in order to take part in some of the festivities of the month of course.  My own 9-year-old took note of this phenomenon when she had to finish the phrase "Family is ...." as an excercise assigned by school.  She reported to me that she wrote "Family is obsessed Mom watching DC on the computer in the living room."  Hmph. 

The New York trip ... was amazing in some ways, dissapointing in others.  It seems like ages ago already, and yet I realize it was not even a month ago.  I flew to NY on November 11, with my fellow BAWN (Bay Area Word Nerd) T, and we checked into a nice hotel on which we'd gotten an amazingly good deal.  We'd gotten an amazingly good deal on our air fare too - $150 round trip, wow, you can't beat that.  I was feeling rather emotional being in NY at all, since I grew up there and had not been there in 5 years, almost to the day. The last time I was there was for my father's funeral 5 years earlier.  My Mom then moved to California a few months after his death, my sister and her husband moved to Santa Fe, and while I had friends there, I did not have any close family in the City and did not visit in all that time.  I wasn't sure how it would feel to be there, but I imagined some nostalgia and perhaps some sadness at the memories that would come up for me.  I ended up taking T and our other friend, D, who lives in the tri-state area, to Serendipity. This was my favorite fun place to go for dessert in NY. They specialize in "frozen hot chocolate", a kind of precursor to Starbucks mocha frappucino (but without coffee. And you eat it in a bowl. With a spoon. and a straw. you just have to try it!)  It was as good as I remembered, which was a pleasant surprise since so often things are not as good as you thought they were.

Light On

It's been way too long since I've added to this blog.  David's new single, Light On, was released on AOL about 9 days ago, and released for sale on itunes 2 days ago.  So much has been written and said about it already, but I needed some time to absorb the song and let it sink in before I weighed in. 

When I first heard that it had come out on AOL, all my fellow Word Nerds were posting about it as they listened. They were saying Oh My God, it's amazing, it's incredible, and I could not get the thing to play for me.  I literally started crying because I could not even hear it yet, and I had to hear it.  I was desperate.  Finally, I got it to work, after a 17-year-old Word Nerd gave me a technical tip (once again, this is all new to me, ok? So be gentle on me, dear reader).  The fact is, when I finally heard it, I got teary all over again.  I was so anxious, wanted to like it, wanted it to be really GOOD, and it did sound so powerful and intense, and I was just so relieved and thrilled.

Why is it so important to me that this song be good? I guess I really am incredibly invested in this man and his success, just like David is always saying I am (well, me and all the other Word Nerds).  It is so odd how I didn't even know who he was a year ago, and now it is critically important to me that he succeed in as big a way as possible.

So many have dissected and scrutinized the song already. I don't want to do that. Yes, it's less complex than most of his pre-Idol work. He also didn't write it, so it's automatically not going to be "a David Cook song." And yes, the best part is when he sings alone with the piano.  His voice is perfect without all the production. Though I don't get what they did to make it sound like he's taking a little breath after each phrase in that part. That is not the David I know - he who can hold a note forever, and who you never hear breathe at all. And they don't even sound like his breaths, or any human breaths - they sound like a robot.  And yes, there's a tiny click heard at the end of the song, and no one knows why.  Ok, Ok. 

But it's also been emphasized over and over, by none other than his dear brother Andrew among others, that this is a perfect bridge song, a transition song for those who were not familiar with David's pre-Idol work, the complex, hard-rocking Axium and Analog Heart material.  And that makes a lot of sense. And if it sounds like I'm saying I don't like this song, that's not true.  I love it.  This song, while more simple than some were hoping for or expecting, is unbelievably catchy and surprisingly addictive. I actually get cravings to hear it, physical cravings.  Do I hope that the album will have stuff on it that reminds me more of the "real" David Cook from before Idol? Sure. But I am entirely satisfied and content with Light On.

Meanwhile, since it's been released on itunes, despite virtually no radio play yet (it's official "add" date or something that I don't understand isn't for a couple more weeks, so a lot of stations apparently don't even have it yet), it has risen to # 1 on Amazon downloads and #3 on itunes downloads in just 2 days. Not too shabby. 

Despite how seriously I take this single and its success, however, I did enjoy the question posed by my 6-year-old.  After several listens, prompted by the line "Try to leave a Light On when I'm gone, something I rely on to get home ..." she queried "yes, but isn't that wasting energy?"  Well yes, honey, it could be but in this case, it wouldn't be a waste.  He's worth it.

David Cook Cured My Fear of Flying

So I went to Fort Wayne and Evansville to see David Cook in concert on two planes, and they were bumpy, turbulent, I've written about that.  I have said I don't do well on bumpy planes. Like I freak out and start hyperventilating and think the plane's gonna crash and I'm gonna die.  Well, on the way home, I had to take not two but THREE, count 'em, THREE planes.  And they were, again, somewhat bumpy. But I didn't care. I didn't freak out. I didn't breathe heavily.  I just kept sitting there like the other people on the planes not worrying about it.  And I have to think it was the magic of David Cook that did it.

Those two days in the land called Indiana WERE pure magic, as cliche as that sounds.  I have to say that as much anticipation as I had built up, I'd have thought they'd almost HAVE to have been a let-down.  Everyone said after the great experience I had in Salt Lake City, getting the coveted "after show" pass to go backstage to the aftershow gathering, getting to talk to David there and get a big hug and picture together, nothing could meet or certainly not exceed that.  But everyone was wrong. 

So Fort Wayne, that had its disappointment in that we stood outside the venue all afternoon, from 11 to almost 5, and did not get to meet David in person.  He had press, he had family in town.  We saw him for a couple of seconds waving to us as he walked inside from the buses.  But that day had its own allure, getting to meet some of the Word Nerds I hadn't previously met, including one I'd corresponded with months ago and never thought I'd get to meet. I never thought I'd be traveling to Indiana to see this man in concert, or for any reason. I mean I grew up in NY and moved to California. I've only lived on the coasts and didn't know people who lived in that part of the country.  But the whole David Cook phenomenon has really opened my eyes to a lot of things that could be absolutely wonderfully and which I'd never noticed.  I never knew I would become completely intoxicated by the Midwest twang on the way a man says the word "tour" so it rhymes with "fewer" either.  And that thereafter I'd take unending delight in writing that word the way he says it - "tewer".

But the show in Ft. Wayne was phenomenal.  We had the best seats ever, second row, right up next to the stage as close as we could be.  I got to hang on the barrier all night (after the overzealous venue security guards were squashed by the wonderful Ray, who is the main security person that travels with the AI tewer).  I was as close to David while he was performing as a fan could be.  I stared at every freckle, every hair on his skin.  Trying to memorize it.  I tried really hard not to black out like I have before - not really black out but be so excited and overwhelmed that I forget everything that happened. So I tried to concentrate on remembering every note and every word he said, trying to imprint the whole scene in my memory.  I didn't completely succeed in this endeavor, but I sort of retained the feel of being that close to him while he was performing. Watching him screw his face up as he stretches for the high notes. Seeing his muscles flex and the veins pop when he plays the guitar really HARD.  The energy and passion he puts into every move.  Oh ... and the moment he threw me a guitar pick -- he looked right into my eyes and tossed it to ME! It fell right at the feet of my friend M who was standing next to me, but she picked it up and handed it to me.  I was delirious with joy. Sadly, the 8-year-old (who looked much older and bigger - if I knew she was only 8 I MIGHT have taken pity on her and given it to her ... nah, probably not) who had moved up next to us along with her mother during intermission (but whose seats were somewhere else) took this as her cue to break out into hysterical sobbing, which continued until, about a song and a half later, David kindly noticed her and threw HER a pick. Whew.  I felt really bad, I thought maybe I should give her the pick, but then I said, no, you know what, he threw it to ME, and it is mine. 

Billie Jean from that vantage point, being right beside him, was a religious experience.  It was a combination of being so close to him that one felt almost alone with him, and the energy of the crowd all around and behind me, but most of all, the energy that he puts out, the intensity that just screams rock star from every pore.  The actor in him that gets into the role of each song he sings, so not only do the tones of the notes soar, but the passion is palpable. 

_________________________

 

The next morning, we got up and drove 5 and 1/2 hours to get to Evansville in time to meet the buses.  We drove through a sudden, blinding rainstorm (in fact, I'd even call it a blistering rain, as David once said).  We arrived to a hot and humid overcast day in a place with a nice, small town feel about it.  They had a long line of barricades with some police tape connecting them set up along the grass in front of the venue. There were people stretched out along them but not TOO many.  It only drizzled once. I chose to use my umbrella to protect the gifts I had for David, not myself.

We only had to wait a little over an hour, when the man himself came out.  He was relaxed, seemed to be in a great mood. He was joking and smiling, posing for photos. We were more than halfway down the line from the end where he started and I didn't want to miss anything, so I went down to the end where he was and kind of stalked him down the line, just listening to his conversations with people and taking photos of him with people I didn't know.  I am becoming surprisingly comfortable and adept with this!  I heard him tell people he didn't think he'd be at his pal Andy's show in Tulsa the night before his own - he wanted to be but he didn't want to be a distraction.  He also said he'd be auditioning people for his band in Tulsa the next day and hoped to have the band all picked out by the end of the tewer.  That would mean he'd be auditioning and selecting band members in one or two days! I figured he probably already had hand-picked who was trying out and there were only a few candidates for each role. Very exciting. 

Finally he got to our part of the line.  M gave him the envelope that explained the gift we'd given to him and all the Idols for a thank you at the end of the tewer, a donation to Save the Children. And that we'd also donated to ACS and his pal Luke Menard, who has cancer.  He seemed very grateful and gracious. I took a picture of M and David.  They were very close to me and I said "Your heads look really big"  David began pretending to be offended that I was saying his head was too big cause he's been told before he has a big head. "Are you saying my head is too big?" M protested no, never!  Then they backed up a little or I did and got the shot, as I was saying "there, now you look more normal".  He totally laughed at that. I love to make him laugh.  And I made some comment about his head housing his huge brain.

After another woman who'd been in Ft. Wayne the day before and then got lost on the way to Evansville asked if I could take a picture of them, which I did, it was my turn.  I am so proud that I somehow dug up the courage to say to him "I need a few moments to tell you some things and show you some thing"  He said, I think, Ok or something like that and kind of planted his feet, ready to listen.  He just stared into my eyes for a long time while I told him how meaningful his music has been to me (VERY), how many concerts I've been to (FIVE, and named the cities) and then for some reason I felt compelled to tell him I was happy beause on the cover of the Signals & Sentiments book that had been given to him by the Word Nerds, there were little pictures of many Word Nerds, and mine was among them but I hoped he might remember mine because it was the only one of him and a fan together.  He said he did.

Then I gave him the gifts I brought him. The FDNY t-shirt M and I had gotten him to commemorate Sept. 11, which he seemed to like.  The little pirate toy, with mini-bling I'd made for it to resemble his own, including a mini-key like the key necklace I was about to give him.  He smiled big and said "I love it!" He loved it!!! 

Then I gave him the skeleton key necklace, meant to replace the one h e used to wear at the beginning of the show and gave away during a skit with actors from MadTV.  He seemed genuinely touched by it, saying "Aw, thanks" in this very tender voice.  Then I told him I needed to ask for a hug for about five of my friends, so I wanted to ask could it be an extra big hug, like 5x a normal one? He said sure or something like that, and gave me just the longest, tightest hug I've ever had in my life. I'm so glad I had the wonderful Word Nerd next to me who had an amazing camera and took fantastic pictures of everything. 

Then I asked if we could have a picture of us together

And then he was kind enough to make a really funny outgoing message for me on my new iphone. I could not have been more content. 

He moved on to my friend E. who was there and wanted to videotape him and was just very playful and kind of lewd in an adorable way when he misinterpreted the meaning of the name of a forum I mentioned.  I followed him down the line the other way, videoed as he participated in Carly's and Chikezie's birthday celebrations, putting on a Superman cape, singing Happy Birthday to Chikezie, and just generally goofing around.

I suddenly realized I had not gotten a few things signed for my buddy back home and M and I wanted our hats signed, and my shirt! I decided to go to the end of the line and hope he had time for those few little things when he got there. He did.  I also heard him say that his new single would be out mid-October or so, and then he'd be in full-on media blitz mode starting in November in prep for his album coming out Nov. 18. 

The show itself was another fantastic one. It was the second to last show of the tewer. He loved the Evansville crowd, which was extremely loud and excited for him. When he sang his first song, Hello, he paused, as he always does, before the last line, and said "this seems like a sing-a-long crowd" and asked if we'd sing the last line with him. When we did, he looked totally happy.  He did a backbend in Billie Jean, for the Word Nerds behind us who had a sign asking for one for Evansville. They'd asked him about it at the buses and he'd said he didn't think it'd make an appearance that night as he was pretty sure, that it'd have to be a game day decision or something to that effect.  When he saw the sign though, he smiled and shook his head and finger at them for being naughty to ask for it, but he did it!  And winked at the sign-holder after!  You just have to love this man.  The whole show had an aura of excitement and poignancy about it.  It was their second to last show, and my last.

That night, we thought it was absolutely hilarious when we drove by Denny's and noticed their sign advertising "New Late Night Rock Star Menu Items".  We had to go in and check out the menu and find out what that was all about.  Turns out they are really sponsoring some small-ish bands and have menu items built around their names! 

The other funny thing -- during the show, David had made a joke that he saw some empty seats in the back, and that must be because the Chippendales were in town at the local casino.  We thought it was a joke until we drove past a giant billboard advertising Chippendales - they really WERE in town that night!  I still don't know what it is about him, but this man has some kind of crazy power.  I swear, when I got on that plane the next day, all was right with the world, and there was no way that plane was gonna crash. 

 

'Twas the Night Before Ft. Wayne ....

Long day flying here, two planes, lots of turbulence. I don't do well with turbulence. I have to repeat mantras in my head and breathe as though I am in labor to get through it.  But now we are here and it's all worth it!

We got here around 5 pm and after getting lost on the way to the hotel, finally found the hotel.  We went and checked out the venue, trying to figure out where the buses will be tomorrow, but it was kind of hard to tell.  Guess we'll have to just see tomorrow when we get there.

The people at the hotel were really funny or maybe it's just that we are tired and punchy.  We started telling the woman behind the front desk that we wanted directions and she said "To the Colliseum?" and were were like "How did you know?" so I said "Do you have a lot of people staying here for the AI show?" and she said "Oh, we have a LOT of stuff going on" we were like really? What? Are the Idols staying HERE or something? And she said "no, but it's also the busiest two days of the week for business meetings!"  OH, OK then!

Also, an employee at the "manager's reception" (which was actually just us and some ancient port cheese and crackers from Christmas and even more ancient celery, and one employee) told us a restaurant to try that was upscale or high end or something and it was called the Cork and something? We drove in that direction and all we found was an establishment called the Cap - N - Cork. But it was a liquor store!  This made us hysterical laughing and we couldn't stop, even as I'm typing this I can't stop laughing.  Then we thought it was called the Cap'n Cook but we realized that wasn't right and I said Oh, that's the cereal but my friend M said, no that's Cap'n CRUNCH, Cap'n Cook is Peter Pan's nemesis.  I guess we just had Cook on the brain.   

Gotta get some sleep.  Tomorrow, to the buses and then to the show!!!

Gifts

I am about to leave on my trip to Indiana to see my last two American Idol tour shows.  I feel so sad that this experience is almost over.  I know that the next phase will be fantastic as David Cook begins his real solo career, but the experience of sharing the summer tour with all the Word Nerds and other AI fans has been such a community-building one, and I don't know if there will be anything quite like it again in my lifetime.  So much love and intensity of emotions. So many people have put so much time and effort into watching the videos, reading each others' recaps, encouraging each other and hoping the others will get to meet their Idol.

And so many gifts, so much creativity and thought and effort has gone into those.  I have been at least a small part of many of them, as have so many other Word Nerds.  At every tour stop, David's fans presented him with a gift of some kind.  About 14 of us in the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area got together and planned a gift for that tour stop, one of the earliest on the tour. It included items native to our area such as a great bottle of wine and some special chocolates, an SF Giants cap for the sports fan that is David Cook, and the largest part, a donation to Save the Music, which helps keep music in public schools.  We know David really values giving back to the community.  Since then, this group of friends has become very close. We still contact each other every day, multiple times a day in fact!

There have been other gifts including even more people, such as the Signals and Sentiments book which made David gasp at its size and heft; I was so lucky to get my photo on the cover of it, and it was a photo of he and I together, no less!.  The yearbooks my friend K put together for all the Idols, along with her friend who lived across the country from her.  The dolls that capture in minute detail David, Michael Johns and some of David's buddies.  There are more gifts big and small still planned, even as only three shows remain. 

My friend M and I, with whom I am travelling tomorrow, will be presenting to David and all the Idols the gifts for the tour stops in Ft. Wayne and Evansville, Indiana even though we are not from there.  It is another donation in honor this time of all the Idols, to Save the Children, a charity supported by Idol Gives back.  I also have been entrusted with bringing some of the smaller gifts from several of my BAWN (Bay Area Word Nerd) friends to David, and I have a couple of my own.  Even though they may be smaller in some ways, each gift is symbolic of the gifts David has given all of us, through his talent and spirit, and the gift of the community that has sprung up because of him.  These last few shows are a gift I intend to treasure. 

First Times ... at My Age?

So .... here I am, apparently now a blogger.  At my age? Well, why not, everything else about this whole experience that I want to write about has happened "at my age" when it's not supposed to.  There have been a lot of firsts for me in the past five months, in fact. Has it been five months? Something like that.  You know the old cliche, it seems like it's been forever and yet it has all gone so quickly.

It's hard to remember a time when this obsession was not in my life.  And by 'this obsession', I mean David Cook.  THE American Idol.  But when it started, he was just another contestant on a silly reality tv show. At least, that's how I saw it. I had never even watched it before this season.  I only tuned in because my favorite radio talk show host, Adam Carolla, had suggested it.  Well, I mean he was talking about it with his staff and whether it was more fun to watch at the beginning when there were all these really bad auditions, or at the end when there were just a few really good people left.  I thought well let me just see what the heck they are talking about.  And I kept watching.  And then, one night, I got completely and totally Hooked on David Cook.

It was the week the contestants had to sing a song from the year of their birth.  David Cook's song choice was "Hello". Yes, the cheesy Lionel Richie song.  But when he sang it, it wasn't cheesy. It was a slow, sexy rock ballad that left me with my mouth hanging open.  Damn, this guy was good. His voice is amazing, and he really knew how to look into the camera and make the viewer feel like he was singing just to her. 

That night, I went online to check out the American Idol website, found their forums, read a little there in the David Cook folder, and made my first post. I needed a ringtone for my cell phone of David Cook singing "Hello", yes that song from the '80s (when it would have been more appropriate that I was doing this kind of thing).  I NEEDED it!! That was just the beginning.  As the season went on, I became more and more ensconced. I had to know everything about this person.  Turns out, he was smart and funny and self-deprecating. He had recorded an amazing indie album prior to being on Idol (and had another one all ready to go).  He wasn't even going to audition for Idol, just went to the audition to support his younger brother who wanted to try out, and then got roped into auditioning by a producer.  He was a Word Nerd (his term, when producers asked what would viewers be surprised to learn about him).  He loves crosswords and word searches.  He likes to use SAT words -- like iconic, juxtapose, vindicating, indubitably, plethora.  He loves his family and talks about how important they are to him frequently.  He is so devoted to his two brothers, one of whom has cancer, that he has their initials (they both have the intials "AC") tatooed on his left bicep and put onto his guitars, so they will always be with him.  And, he admits, he's "a cryer", wearing his emotions on his sleeve and not afraid to cry in public, which he's done many times.  But he's a manly man, a rocker, with some swagger too. A somehow humble swagger.  A study in contradictions. 

But besides finding this amazing singer and fascinating person that is David Cook, through this experience I also discovered a whole world out there of people like me. Women of all ages apparently love David Cook, from teens to well past menopause. But for some reason, he has attracted a really big contingent of middle-aged Moms, who had put listening to new music and other somewhat youthful and creative pursuits aside to raise a family and focus on careers that help put food on the table.  Who suddenly found a lot of stuff being reawakened that they'd forgotten was there, all because of this man.  What is it about him that is so special, so unique, that caused thousands of women (and there ARE thousands) to re-examine their lives and priorities, to make time and room to be fangirly and spend hours on the computer talking to each other on multiple different forums, all devoted to David Cook, and reading and watching everything they can about him?  And has caused people to start writing again, playing instruments they hadn't played in years, consider changes of career?

I have made some amazing friends because of David Cook, friends I think will be my friends for life.  I've been to three American Idol concerts so far, and will be going to two more next week, in Ft. Wayne and Evansville, Indiana.  The first two I attended were within a couple hours drive of my home. The third was a plane ride, in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The Indiana shows will require several plane rides to get to, and a 5.5 hour drive between the two.  Clearly, my illness is only getting worse. For this latest trip, the Indiana one, I am going with another Mom who is my age with two young children.  She is traveling from the same distance as me to see this man sing the same five songs we have already seen him sing in person before - in her case, once before, in my case THREE TIMES before.  The American Idol tour will soon be over, and then the fans, the Word Nerds as we call ourselves after him, will be thrown into a deep depression without their daily dose of news about the latest fan meetings of our Idol, the most recent versions of his performances showing up on you tube, without being able to discuss the latest banter he delivered at that night's show.  We'll all be waiting anxiously for the release of David's solo album, set for November 18, 2008.  And then the solo tour that follows.  You can bet I will be there for the solo tour, at as many shows as I can manage. 

I am starting this blog because I want to document this phenomenon of how one man -- as he puts it in his typically modest manner -- "some guy who got lucky on a tv show," has had such an effect on so many people's lives.  And I want to try to understand it.  I hope my blog will also be funny at times, 'cause I like to make people laugh, as David once said, "I'm hard-core like that."  And my friend D, who I met through David, is going to share this blog with me too in some manner, which is going to be awesome.   There have been a lot of firsts because of David Cook -- downloading music from itunes, posting photos in forums, blogging is just the latest place my strangely new life is leading ... so I follow.