matthewcook.com
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST, 2005
FEATURED ALBUM FOR AUGUST

SUMMERTIME

With triple digit heat everywhere, what better way to celebrate Summer than with this collection of some of my favorite songs. From Pachelbel's 'Canon In D' to Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight', this CD is filled with the romance of hot summer nights.

Read more about this CD here.

SONG SPOTLIGHT

NO FRONTIERS

mp3

I first heard this song from Mary Black. Such a beautiful melody and beautiful sentiment. I fell in love with the song and play it regularly in my live shows.

AUGUST HEADLINES:

  • SUNSET RESTAURANT THURS-SUNDAY
  • NEW KEYBOARD
  • GUITAR RECORDINGS
  • BUSY TIMES

I'm currently buried in work for the upcoming Reggae On The River at French's Camp the first weekend of August. I'll be On-Site there from July 31st to August 9th. For my own sanity, I'll have to squeeze in some work on new projects--but it'll be tough! It's even difficult to find the time to properly update this newsletter! This is a busy time for both Reggae and the North Country Fair.   

Add to that---I did some Internet research  on a new keyboard and drove to Ukiah to pick up a  new one.  My old one was starting to become unacceptable for piano performance and I'm really happy with the upgrade.  I was looking for something that would just be a good piano substitute  without a lot of extra bells and whistles, smaller and lighter than the monster I've been hauling around.  I ended up with a very nice Yamaha product.  I've played it several nights now and the key response is wonderful.  I've been able to add some things back into my repertoire that just didn't work with the old one.  I  have real dynamics again!!  Although you can still tell that it is digital sound, in some ways it sounds better than the Benbow piano.

Before I went to  the Casino July 7th, I  spent some time in a studio near Trinidad  doing  some  guitar/vocal recording for a CD project I need to finish up soon.  I got good recordings of about 15 songs--4 originals, two  from pete Frothingham,  and 9  covers.   I need to become more mobile so I can  reach out to new audiences in places where the solo piano thing doesn't  work as well.   The intent is to create a  product that I can sell with my guitar.  I also have a wealth of material with vocals that  I haven't managed to develop much.  I'm still not sure what form this Cd  will take.  It may well be  a better recorded  version of Dances With Pigs.  I will need to take it to L.A.  for mastering and I don't see how I'll have time and $ to do  that until  mid-August  so I have a little while to shape  it up.

For those of you who have looked forward to seeing me at the Benbow Inn--it looks as if I will be taking the year off from there in order to work on some other projects and perform in some other markets. I will certainly miss spending time in that beautiful place and hope that I see some of you in Trinidad or San Diego.

I always like to hear from all of you so feel free to drop me a line. My phones and E-mail:

707-444-6267

707-826-2919

arcook@matthewcook.com

ON TO THE MUSIC!

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