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Posted on Tue, May. 20, 2008 10:15 PM
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Does David Cook’s axium suit him to a ‘T’?
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That was the, uh, message on David Cook’s T-shirt on the publicity photo for his band Axium when I wrote about them in 2003 and 2004.
The group had just won a $1,000 cash prize from Mix 93.3 FM’s Ponch in a “School of Rock” movie promotion battle of the bands at Olathe nightclub Orlando’s — courtesy of judges Shawn Edwards and me.
Here’s what I wrote at the time: “Axium won it all behind the ghoulish vocals and Joe Randa-meets-Friday the 13th smile of lead singer David Cook, the frenetic, shirtless drumming of Bobby Kerr, Jeff Shrout’s searing guitar and Ryan Butler’s thundering bass. Can you spell h-e-a-v-y d-u-t-y?”
“I think they’re great,” raved Edwards, the Fox 4 movie guy-turned-judge, jury and vibemeister. “Their lyrics and musicianship are awesome for such a young band.”
We’ll learn more tonight about Cook’s scrawny-guy appeal when “American Idol” reveals whether the Blue Springs native winds up winner or runner-up.
Promoter Jim Kilroy remembers Cook and Axium well.
“I booked him five or six times,” Kilroy says. “His band, Axium, played in Club Wars at least three times, then I booked them for a couple gigs like my Rock & Metal Fest. The thing is, they never really pulled a huge crowd, but everybody who was in the little scene liked them.
“I think he’s definitely going to be the most famous rocker out of Kansas City, at least during my era. But I mean, who else is there? The Rainmakers, Shooting Star, Puddle of Mudd?
“The band played in Club Wars several times but never advanced past the first round. But they always had some babes showing up — they were kind of pretty boys.”
It’s hard to quantify Cook’s artistry, Kilroy says. “He may not be this cutting-edge guy, but he’s a rocker. I don’t think he’s like a Bono or a Bruce Springsteen — he’s more like an entertainer — kind of like in the Bon Jovi league of rockers. He could be the new standard of somebody who became famous this way — he didn’t necessarily go out and pay his dues.”
Any David Cook/Axium war stories?
“Well, one of the times they played at a Club Wars was at Warrensburg,” Kilroy says. “They had all these groupie babes down in front of the stage — you know, a bunch of drunken chicks.
“I remember it well, because there was this song, ‘Stupid Girl,’ and I heard it on the radio on the way to the show, and we were at the show, and there were a bunch of stupid girls there. Then I heard the song again in the car on the way home, and that kind of made it seem like that was the theme of the night.”
Kansas City idol?
For the most part, the “American Idol” phenomenon has flown right by Martini Corner main man Chris Seferyn.
“You know, I’d never seen it until a couple weeks ago when my mom and dad were in town,” Seferyn says. “They love ‘American Idol,’ and I told ’em one of the guys is from Kansas City.”
Seferyn’s assessment of the talent and the show?
“The thing for me is, as a guy who has 7,500 songs on my iPod and as a longtime music aficionado-slash-guru, it’s a little hard to watch 17-year-old kids interpreting Bob Marley and other famous people,” Seferyn says. “They don’t have any frame of reference, but ‘American Idol’ is a really crazy, genius marketing thing.”
Tip me at 816-234-4441 or hearne@kcstar.com.
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