Q&A session with David Cook, WGBX

Entertainment Director Adam Biemeret of UW-Green Bay's radio station, WGBX. had a chance to speak with David Cook via phone interview.

Why did you decide to do a college tour?

It is something that I really wanted to do. When I went to school I used to go to shows all the time and there's just a vibe there you don't find anywhere else.

Do you have any advice for anyone that might try out for "American Idol?"

Everyone gets something different out of it, but just try to enjoy the experience because you don't know how long you're going to be there. There's a lot of cool things to experience on the way if you can avoid getting bogged down with being in competition.

When people get voted off of "American Idol" do you feel bad for them?

Absolutely. You're all out there gunning for the same thing and you know these people want it as much as you do. Over time you really build up a rapport with some of the people around you. You really do have time to build friendships with the other contestants. The auditions start in August '07 and the showed started February '08 so there's all that time where you get to know everyone.

How do you pay your rent while you're on the show? Because you're on a TV show you did get paid actor benefits. By being on TV you get a paycheck from a union. It's enough to pay rent.

How drastically has your life changed since "American Idol?"

How hasn't it changed? More people know my name and it's a little harder to go out and grab a burger or something. Besides that I've got great friends and great family that will knock me down as many rungs as I need to be.

Did you get to bring any of your former band mates along with you on tour?

Absolutely. My guitar player Neal and my keyboard player Andy are in my band with me now. It's great to have some friends from home I've know these guys for six years. So they how to push my buttons and keep me in line and make sure I'm having fun.

What are you doing after the college tour?

We are hoping to extend the tour. We're talking about staying on the road and just really solidifying it.

Any plans for the next album?

We're casually writing songs on the road and coming up with some new things. That one of the great things about this band, we're all songwriters too. So we've had a couple of pow-wows and coming up with new material. Maybe we'll throw in another one later on in the tour.