Fresno Famous

Most often, you read David Cook’s name and it’s preceeded by “American Idol season seven winner.”

Which is like, duh.

Say what you will about the state of the show these days, it has a huge draw and winning the thing is a springboard and a half.

That’s one that stays on the resume.

Especially if you’re a guy who never really knew where he stood on the talent scale, who grew up playing in a rock band in Kansas City, Missouri, and was happy, nay, ecstatic, to make $300 for a three hour gig.

“I was like, oh yeah!, I can pay rent,” says Cook, who’s latest EP “This Quiet Night,” was released in March. You can see him tonight performing at the Clovis Rodeo.

So, when the idol win put him in front a major audience, he took full advantage. His first major-lable release debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, sold more than a million copies and spawed two Top 20 singles. He’s had 14 debuts on Billboard’s Digital Songs chart, which is some kind of record. Literally.

Not that he say any of it coming.

“You never know what’s going to happen on the other side of that. It’s a crap shoot most of the time,” he says. “Just having the right song and the right people and the right time.”And the truth is, this is all just bonus, Cook says. He’s out to play, to grow as an artist and become the most well-rounded musician he can be. “Whether the public perceives that, you never can tell,” he says. “If you can’t control it, all you can do is laugh like hell. So, I try to laugh a lot.” He also tries to pull from every experience — every night, out on that stage shaping him into the musician he is. One with no pretenses.

If you’re looking for dance numbers, One Direction is probably on tour somewhere.

“My favorite shows, as an audience member, were always the ones where you know, right off that it’s not the same as it was the night before,” he says. “Musically, we just tune up the guitars and have fun.”Cook play immediately following the PBR performance. Tickets cost $22 and are good for both the rodeo and concert.