Keeping Up With David Cook
Claygirl:
From Falmouth Wicked Local:
Falmouth girl recovering from cancer helps others
by Sarah Murphy
4/30/09
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FALMOUTH - Although 12-year-old Tyla Lalicata was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last June, she doesn’t dwell on the negative. Now that she is recovering, she wants to focus on the positive, and will participate with her mother, Natalia in a charity fundraiser to benefit the Jimmy Fund by raising money for the Pan-Mass Challenge.
"I can’t go backwards and change what’s happened, so instead I want to help other people," Tyla said.
Last June, Tyla passed out in school after suffering a dizzy spell. She was brought to Falmouth Hospital by ambulance where they conducted a CAT scan to rule out head trauma. The doctor told Natalia they needed to send Tyla to Children’s Hospital in Boston, as it was most likely cancer.
"She had been getting dizzy and was having trouble with coordination, but I just thought it was an awkward growth spurt," Natalia said. "Cancer was the last thing I ever expected to hear. The floor just fell out from under me."
Tyla was diagnosed with medulloblomasta, a primary central nervous system tumor, and was operated on two days later.
"They took out the tumor and, thankfully, it hadn’t spread to her bones or spinal chord," Natalia said. "We’re very lucky they caught it when they did."
Natalia and her husband, who passed away in 2002, adopted Tyla when she was four-years-old. Natalia has four grown sons and a daughter from a previous marriage, who have offered their love and support to their younger sister, and also their mother.
Natalia credits her spirituality with giving her the strength and courage to help Tyla fight her battle. She is a self-described pagan, a high priestess of the Wicca religion, which is a nature-based religion that worships both a god and goddess. She is also a psychic astrologer, reiki master and certified flower essence therapy consultant.
"I believe every illness starts energetically," she said. "There is a connection between emotional and environmental factors, and the toxins in our food definitely play a part in our health."
Natalia and Tyla also believe in the healing nature of animals. After her surgery when Tyla was recuperating at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital (also in Boston), Natalia brought Michelangelo, one of their five cats, to visit Tyla where he was able to spend time with her on the grounds outside the hospital.
"It made me feel better to see him and be able to pet him," Tyla said.
While at Spaulding, Tyla met Senator Ted Kennedy, who was a patient himself, and is a fellow animal lover. Kennedy gave Tyla a CD and an autographed copy of his book "My Senator and Me," which is written from the perspective of his Portuguese water dog, Splash.
Natalia said she is amazed by the strength Kennedy showed by going back to the Senate after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
"That man has such courage," she said. "I told him he is a source of inspiration for others."
Tyla is currently being home-schooled and has added another cat to her animal family. Natalia went to People For Cats in Falmouth and told the volunteers she wanted the most gentle cat they had, for his job was going to be helping a little girl get better. She came home with "Joey," who has since been renamed "Ziggy Stardust."
If she feels up to it, Tyla, who is an artist, will paint faces at the fundraiser, and Natalia will offer her psychic astrology skills. The holistic arts event will feature internationally known psychics, mediums, numerologists, and animal communication astrologers, so attendees are encouraged to bring a photo of their favorite pet. Readings are $20 for 15 minutes. There will also be crystal ball and tarot card readers. Vendors will sell their wares ranging from art, music, crystals and gems and holistic and wellness products. Members of the local holistic community will offer their expertise in Reiki, reflexology, and massage by donation.
Natalia has playfully named the event "Tyla Gives Back" as a nod to her and her daughter’s favorite television show, "American Idol," which produces a fundraising show called "America Gives Back."
"We want to show our appreciation for all of the kindness that others have shown us," Natalia said. "And we also want the community to know that pagans want to make a positive difference in the world."
For those who would like to help but can’t attend the event, checks can be made out to PMC and sent to South Cape Veterinary Clinic, 435 Waquoit Highway, Waquoit, Mass., 02536. Dr. Beth Mosely of the clinic is part of The Grateful Living Team, which will be riding from Sturbridge to Provincetown to raise money for breast cancer research and treatment. The team also consists of Paula Baxter of East Falmouth and Karen Smith-Rohrberg of West Falmouth.
Tyla has another big event to look forward to. Her wish is being granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and on May 22, she and her mother will meet David Cook, last season’s American Idol winner, for whom one of their cats is named. The cat is affectionately known as "Cookie."
"We’re going to the sound check and the concert and we get to meet him after," Tyla said. "And I can bring some things for him to autograph."
"We thought he’d be able to relate to our situation because he’s had his own family experience with brain cancer. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s totally gorgeous," Natalia said and they both laughed.
On a serious note, Natalia said the experience has taught Tyla two things.
"She’s learned to be even more compassionate than she already was and that she’s a lot stronger than she thought."
"It’s also made me appreciate my Mom even more," Tyla added.
Tyla goes for MRI’s every three months and they have all been clean. On a day-to-day basis, she is focused on regaining her balance and getting her strength back, for there is something simple she wishes for.
"I just want to ride my bike again," she said.
Wicked Local
:wave ~Kelly~
Claygirl:
From The Toledo Blade:
'American Idol' winner in Toledo Wednesday
by Kirk Baird
4/30/09
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David Cook is focused on building his career
Like millions worldwide, David Cook, last season’s American Idol winner, has been caught up in the phenomenon of Susan Boyle, a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent.
“I think she’s an amazing example of if you’ve got talent, you’ve got talent. She’s got an amazing voice — we’ll see what she’s able to accomplish with it. My hat’s off to her,” he said in a recent phone interview. “It’s no small feat, as far as nerves are concerned, to walk on stage in front of a bunch of people in a room, not to mention everybody watching at home, and to pull something like that off.”
And, like most, Cook — who will perform in the Toledo area Wednesday — was surprised what came out of the dowdy singer’s mouth when she started to sing.
“I think like everybody, it was a little bit of a curve ball,” he said. “I try really hard not to put people into boxes.”
But Cook’s interest in Boyle is more than curiosity. The 26-year-old singer also sees parallels in his own career and when Boyle first took the stage and was mocked by a disbelieving crowd and a panel of judges, before she floored everyone with her soul-stirring rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream.”
“I’ve had people look at me and say I don’t look like that voice should come out of me, so I kind of love to prove people wrong and to put people’s expectation on their head,” he said. “I think that’s why I loved my time on the show, ’cause I made it a point to try to do what people didn’t expect me to do.”
Like Boyle, once Cook established himself, he quickly became a frontrunner on American Idol, with powerful performances of Free’s “All Right Now,” The Beatles’ “Day Tripper,” The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” Dolly Parton’s “Little Sparrow,” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”
Cook beat his Idol competitor David Archuleta by more than 10 million votes, and proved his win was no fluke a week later with a record-breaking 14 debuts on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs survey. His single, “The Time of My Life,” was the highest-debuting song of 2008, entering the Hot 100 at No. 3. And his self-titled album, released in November, went platinum.
With all that chart success, Cook was itching to perform his pop-meets alt-rock catalog for audiences, so he put together a band that included musicians from a previous outfit he fronted, and hit the road in a nationwide tour of college campuses. Cook and company are in town for a sold-out Wednesday night concert at 7:30 at the Owens Community College Student Health and Activities Center on Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township. Additional tickets may be released the day of the show.
“The crowds have been really cool and extremely diverse,” he said. “I think doing this college tour has really worked out for us in a sense that we’ve gotten to really get the record to some ears that otherwise I don’t know would have given it a chance. The crowds have been really receptive. That’s always fun.
“Some of these crowds, I think most of them, maybe didn’t watch the show, but maybe heard the record and [said] I’ll see what this is about. And it’s fun to watch us win a few of them, some of them, or all of them, hopefully, over every night. It’s part of the challenge, part of the fun.”
With all the attention that’s come his way, Cook is still grappling with the sudden fame aspect, especially when it comes to his personal life. A short-lived romance last year with former Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell, for example, proved to be fodder for gossip magazines.
Cook, perhaps naively, never thought such personal areas of his life would be of interest to few other than himself.
“I never thought anybody would care who I hung out with,” he said. “But you take the good with the bad. And right now, the good pretty heavily outweighs the bad.”
At the moment, Cook said he has put his personal life on hiatus, as he focuses on his career.
“That makes it tough to kind of incorporate a third party who’s not around every day,” he said. “Obviously, I can’t bring a girlfriend out on the road. ... Right now, I’m just really focused on making this work. So whatever I’ve got to do to make it work is whatever I’ve got to do to make it work.”
Toledo Blade
:wave ~Kelly~
Claygirl:
From Gainesville.com:
'Idol's' David Cook performs sold out show
by Travis Atria
4/30/09
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David Cook is living the dream. To call it anything but a dream would be misleading. Imagine competing against more than 100,000 people in a singing contest. Then imagine being judged by three celebrities, not to mention millions of Americans - armchair critics, every one. Then, imagine winning.
Clearly, it is a preposterous proposition. But for Cook, it is his life.
"There's no school for it," he says of his experience on the hit TV show "American Idol." "By going through that, I've been able to do some amazing things since."
Cook, who will perform Friday at Common Grounds, won the seventh season of the show. Since then, he has experienced the dizzying highs of sudden fame.
"It's the equivalent of putting your foot on the gas without a seatbelt on and just going for it," he says. "Mentally, I'm still probably playing catch-up a little bit, but I'm having a blast, so it's all good."
Cook actually never planned on auditioning for the show.
He initially came to support his brother, Andrew, who tried out but didn't make it to Hollywood. Only at his brother's urging did Cook get involved.
"I wasn't expecting to be 'The One,' " Cook says. "I didn't go in with any expectations. I just tried to have fun, and I kept making the cut."
Twelve million votes later, Cook is a platinum-selling and nationally famous musician. It is, he admits, a far cry from where he was two years ago.
"I've slept in cars in Wal-Mart parking lots so I could play a gig," he says. "Just to be able to wake up in a different city every day with different stimuli, and to juxtapose that on top of, you know, I get to go onstage for an hour and make noise every night - it's not a bad existence."
Of course, with anything as popular as "American Idol," there can be a downside.
"I was always really hesitant about people putting me in a box based on what they saw on 'Idol,' because I feel like everybody on the show is more than what you see for the two hours you watch it every week," he says.
But, with all the fame, Cook says he doesn't feel changed.
"I'm still the same person," he says. "I still have the same morals and values and the same things are still important to me. The surroundings have changed quite a bit."
Though he acknowledges that long-term success isn't guaranteed, Cook plans on giving audiences a reason to keep coming back.
"Hopefully we walk offstage and the audience feels like they got way too much for their money," he says.
Gainesville.com
:wave ~Kelly~
Claygirl:
From the PR Newswire:
American Idol David Cook Headlines National Race for Hope
5/1/09
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Best selling recording artist joins thousands this Sunday, May 3, 2009 for one of the country's largest brain tumor research fundraising events
Millions were moved by his voice, now thousands more will lend theirs to his as American Idol(R) winner David Cook takes to a different kind of stage, leading walkers and runners; volunteers and survivors at the 2009 Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers National Race for Hope, this Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 9:00 am in Washington, D.C.
Last season on American Idol(R), Cook spoke frequently of his brother Adam, and his ongoing, valiant battle with brain cancer. The Cook family now unites as one, to walk Pennsylvania Avenue -- America's Main Street -- and send a message of hope and resilience to the millions of families currently facing the same experience.
David Cook will be leading survivors to the start line at 8:30 am and following the race will be available for media interviews at approximately 9:45 am. Cook will address the walkers and runners at a special ceremony beginning at 10:30 am.
The National Race for Hope is one of the nation's most inspirational and successful volunteer charity fundraising events. Serving as honorary chair, Cook adds even more excitement to the annual event, which features a kids' Fun Run, the Wall of Hope, and tributes to brain tumor survivors.
Founded and organized by a volunteer committee, The Race for Hope benefits The Brain Tumor Society (tbts.org) and AOL Founder Steve Case's Washington, D.C. based Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (abc2.org). Both of these organizations share the volunteer committee's hope for a day when there is a cure, and when all patients with brain tumors are told they have a manageable disease.
Within the next 12 months, more than 200,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor. A leading cause of cancer deaths in children and young adults, brain tumors cannot be prevented because their causes are unknown. As there is a notable shortfall in research funding to support discovery of new treatment therapies, we need to increase investments of all kinds in the fight against brain tumors and bring hope to an often overlooked area of medical research.
The Race begins at 9:00 am at Freedom Plaza at 13th and Pennsylvania Avenue.
PR Newswire
:wave ~Kelly~
Claygirl:
From the National Brain Tumor Society:
NBTS offers sympathy and gratitude to "American Idol" David Cook
5/3/09
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National Brain Tumor Society was deeply saddened by the passing of David Cook's brother Adam, who had battled his brain tumor for the last decade. "We were so sorry to hear this sad news from David Cook," said NBTS Executive Director N. Paul TonThat. "We extend our condolences to David and his entire family during this difficult time."
"American Idol" winner David Cook spent the day greeting fans at the Race for Hope – DC presented by Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. David Cook took a late-night flight from a Florida concert to arrive early Sunday morning at the Race for Hope – DC.
Cook greeted participants and posed for photos at the Survivor Tent before running the 5k course on only a few hours of sleep. More fans had a chance to meet Cook before the closing ceremonies, where David Cook's Team was recognized as the event team with the most participants (351) and the highest fundraising (more than $100,000).
When Cook took the stage at the end of the ceremony, he charmed the crowd with a self-deprecating recount of his training for the Race and his 28-minute finish time. It was only then that Cook shared the devastating news that his older brother Adam had passed away the previous day, at age 36. "I lost my brother yesterday to a brain tumor," Cook said, and lost his composure for just a moment before continuing. "And I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else right now. […] I lost one today, but I’ve gained 9,000." Video of David Cook's speech recorded by a Race participant
"He spent his entire day hugging survivors, signing autographs, and taking pictures. He did this for hundreds of people," said Race for Hope – DC co-chair Jeff Kolodin, a board member for the National Brain Tumor Society. "He shared his very private moment with thousands. He was willing to put his personal, raw emotion out there."
Fans can contribute to David Cook's Team in memory of Adam Cook at www.curebraintumors.org. Funds from the Race for Hope – DC support both the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure and benefit brain tumor research and support services for families.
National Brain Tumor Society funds research by academic and industry scientists and provides support services to brain tumor patients and their families at all stages of the treatment journey. Learn more about NBTS programs and upcoming events at www.braintumor.org.
National Brain Tumor Society
:wave ~Kelly~
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