David Cook's already packed schedule is about to get more demanding. With the American Idol tour kicking off tonight and booked through September 22, the season 7 champ will have to juggle concert dates with studio time in order to make the deadline for an early November album release. But one band is willing, if not eager, to help: hard rockers Hinder, best known for their 2006 hit power ballad "Lips of an Angel." "I dig David Cook," says singer Austin Winkler, a native of Oklahoma, where Cook has lived for the past few years. "He shows that the world is starving for a little bit of rock-n-roll. Hopefully we can write some tunes for him."

According to Hinder, who were in the audience for this year's Idol finale and met the winner briefly that night, the admiration is mutual. "I heard he's a fan," Winkler tells EW.com. "I'm sure we'll cross paths." Meanwhile another Hinder member is holding out for a chance at some face time with a female Idol champ: Carrie Underwood. "I love her," says drummer Cody Hanson (no relation to Tulsa's Hanson brothers). "She’s my favorite of everything, and probably the hottest chick on the planet."