Newly signed to Virgin Records, up-and-coming pop quartet My Favorite
Highway are riding high as they gear up to release their melody-minded debut
album, How To Call A Bluff, on the label in May. But the future didn’t always look
so rosy for the Fairfax, VA-based band. Frontman and keyboardist David Cook
recalls a key moment when they almost threw in the towel:
“When we were on tour last year, we played at a bar in this deserted town near
Lake Erie, which the bartender told us was pretty much famous for meth labs,”
David says. “Twelve kids showed up. There wasn’t even enough money for the
venue to pay us. The promoter sent his brother to give us $100 out of his own
pocket. We didn't even want to play. We were sitting there feeling so down and
depressed, like, ‘Are we ever going to get a break?’ We’d been at it for years and
were still eating peanut butter out of a cooler in the back of the van in the parking
lot. We were ready to give up.”
But sometimes adversity can be just the thing that fuels the fire. In September
2007, the guys decided to channel their frustration into a new batch of songs, all
of which appear on How To Call A Bluff. David, the band’s chief songwriter,
began writing furiously, crafting a series of hook-filled power-pop anthems
anchored by keenly felt lyrics about what they were going through, including
“Getaway Car” (about searching for your purpose in life and the frustration that
goes along with the process), “Simple Life,” (about not being satisfied with your
daily routine and wanting more for yourself), and “What Are You Waiting For”
(about doing everything to overcome obstacles and not waiting to get what you
want out of life). They were the kind of songs that can only come from digging
deep and tapping into a very honest place.
In March 2008, the members of My Favorite Highway, which also includes
David’s cousin Will Cook on bass, Pat Jenkins on guitar, and Bobby Morgentaler
on drums, took the money they’d earned from selling more than 18,000 digital
and physical copies of their 2006 EP Anywhere But Here (more than 75,000 of its
tracks have been downloaded from iTunes) and used it to record How to Call A
Bluff with their friend and producer Paul Barber and mixing engineer Jeff Juliano
(John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz). The result is a compelling showcase
for David’s uplifting melodies and expressive vocals, Pat and David’s dynamic
guitar and piano textures, and Will and Bobby’s rock-solid rhythm section.
“We decided to stop writing songs that we thought the labels would like and write
a record with songs that we loved,” David recalls. “We all love pop songs, we all
love listening to the radio, so we wanted to make something radio-ready and
filled with great songs that could stand up next to albums by artists we love, like
Coldplay, John Mayer, and Maroon 5.” Not surprisingly, How To Call A Bluff is
about “chasing who you are and what you want out of life, not giving up, and
letting the pursuit shape you to your very core,” David says.
The band’s master plan worked. How to Call A Bluff was released independently
in July 2008 and has sold nearly 135,000 individual tracks. Two of its tracks,
“Bittersweet Life” and “Bigger Than Love,” were featured on popular MTV show
The Hills, while “What Are You Waiting For” popped up on The City. In February
2008, Alternative Press declared My Favorite Highway one of its “4 More to
Watch,” praising them for “the type of polished sound you’d expect to hear after
the opening bands.” In March, the magazine included them in its “100 Bands to
Watch in ’09” list. But none of the exposure or accolades could compare to the
thrill of signing with Virgin Records in November of last year after more than four
years together. Virgin will re-release a new re-mixed and re-mastered edition of
How to Call a Bluff with two new songs, "Go" and "Dreamer" in May 2009.
It’s the realization of a dream for the members of this band, who all grew up
playing worship music in church, an experience David credits with influencing
their uplifting, positive sensibility and giving them the ability to improvise and
think fast on their feet onstage. The son of a church worship minister, David
remembers his father playing guitar and singing to him each night. David got his
first guitar at age three and took piano lessons from ages seven to ten, but “my
piano teachers hated me because I played by ear,” he says. “I wouldn’t pay
attention to what was written on the sheet music, I’d just copy everything they
did. When I got to a certain level, they were like, ‘We just can’t teach you
anymore.’” At age 10, David taught himself to play guitar. At age 12, he received
a subscription to the Columbia House Record Club and became obsessed with
albums by Third Eye Blind, Semisonic, Matchbox 20, Wallflowers, Oasis,
Everclear, and Natalie Imbruglia — “all these great pop albums from the late ‘90s
that really influenced me and made me want to play music,” he says.
After playing in bands throughout middle and high school, David followed a girl to
a college in Western Pennsylvania where he studied marketing management and
advertising, but boredom and depression set in due to being at a small school in
a freezing place and he decided to leave after three semesters. Back home in
Vienna, his cousin Will suggested starting their own band in November 2004.
After a few members came and went, David and Will finalized My Favorite
Highway’s line-up with the addition of Pat and Bobby. “Pat has a great ear and
brings so much to a song,” David says. “He can play so many different styles on
the guitar, plus he can play any instrument so he’s a real asset to the band.
Bobby is an excellent drummer, he’s super-focused, extremely consistent, and
has a great pocket. Both these guys take what we do to a whole new level.”
Overall, David stresses the spirit of friendship and camaraderie in My Favorite
Highway, something that is strongly reflected on How To Call A Bluff. “The album
really captures all of our personalities,” he says. “It’s a fun record because we
have a great time when we’re together. We’re like a band of brothers. It definitely
sums up our beliefs and what we want out of life. The record is positive and
uplifting and that's who we are as people.”
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I seen you guys on the Cheap date tour in Grand rapids/Pontiac Michigan and in Cincinnati Ohio and i still never got the chance to meet any of you after the shows. So next tour I'll be at the Michigan date and hopefully i will get the chance to meet you guys.
hey could u add myspace.com/music_is_my_life_18 please?? its my personal or well the myspace im on most now so yeah. but please could u? cuz i love say so!! its amazing! thank u if u do.
i finallyyy got my tickets for the Pittsburgh show! i'm sooo excited to see you guys again! it's been almost 2 years since i last saw you guys.... wayyy too long! can't wait =].
david, dont forget last time i saw you on the vagas tour you said next time i saw, you i'd get your shirt after playing! and ill be there sunday at diesel!
I have really most definitely fallen in love with y'alls music. In My Heart and Bigger Than Love are my Favorites right nowww:))) All the others are of course just as greattt!
I know you guys are on tour! saw you guys 10/30 when you came to milwaukee :D best day of my life. & bought your cd there. david you were right, my favorite cd ever :)
I've already downloaded your stuff off of itunes!!! I was at the show on tues, in grand rapids! you guys were simply amazing cant wait until you come back!