Winter Update!!!

Winter is upon us my friends!! Here in Michigan that means another season of sliding around the roads, scraping off car windows, and trying to find new and creative ways to plow my own driveway using just the vehicle I'm in (shovels are for suckers!!). It also means that at some point here I should start thinking about the idea of Christmas shopping. It has almost become a holiday tradition now to procrastinate on this as long as possible, only to scramble around like a maniac during the last few days leading up to the 25th. In fact, it is not uncommon to find me in the mall on Christmas Eve day picking up some last minute items for friends and family. It's not even that I don't have any ideas about what I want to get people………………ok, sometimes it is. So how about an update from the Wild and Crazy World of Matt Moore huh?

As many of you know I have been locked away in the studio for the past few weeks working on the new album. I'm happy to say that things are going really well so far. We have a couple of tracks pretty much done and they sound absolutely HUGE!! At this point it's definitely going to be a full on rock album, a little different form the gentle acoustic style of the last demo (you're gonna freak when you hear Tear Me Down!!). I've been very blessed to have some incredible musicians play on the album including Mr. Scott Gentry on the drums, and my producer Jake Rye on bass and some extra electric guitar. You can expect a few more guest musicians on the album before everything is done and ready to roll. Again, I'm expecting to be able to release the new goods sometime in early 2009. Stay tuned for more info on that!!

I did get paroled from the studio once or twice to go and rock out with some friends around the state, and one show in particular really stands out. On Friday, Nov 14^th I got to rock over at the State Theater in Bay City with my new friends Newworldson. These guys are an amazing band and they put on a killer show. Look them up and check them out, they are definitely worth your time! The crowd in BC was showing a lot of love on this night and I sold out of all my remaining demo cds! That now brings my total to over 1200 with another few hundred downloads. Thanks so much to any of you who were there! You make a local boy feel awfully good! Let's do it again real soon!!!!

And finally. I wanted to let you guys know about another development that I'm pretty excited about. For the past little while my wife and I have been sponsoring a child through the organization World Vision and it has been a really neat experience for us. Recently I have been feeling called to dig a little deeper into this area of ministry and see if there was more that I could be doing to help provide for children and families struggling with poverty all over the world. After an extensive application process I am pleased to announce that I am now officially representing World Vision as one of their "Artist Associates." What does this mean? Basically I will still be doing the same thing I always have, touring all over the state playing shows, but now I will also be talking a bit more about WV and what they do, giving others the opportunity to get involved with sponsoring a child. I'll have information about the kids as well as WV as a whole back on my merch table for people to check out. I'm very excited to see what God has planned for this new aspect of my music ministry. I will of course keep you all posted on that too!!

What in the World is a Skittle Sandwich?!?!

Originally posted on November 11th, 2008.

So what in the world is a Skittle Sandwich you ask?!? Well, it's definitely not the latest sub from Subway, it's waaay better. It's actually a brand new podcast featuring myself and a couple of pals, and it's sweeping the internet!! Recently I teamed up with my radio DJ friends Aaron "Dice" Dicer and Sara "The Intern" Williams from Fuse FM to produce a bi-weekly podcast the contains the finest mindless ramblings you will hear anywhere on the world wide web. During each episode we talk about our personal lives, pop culture, music and who knows what else might come up. If you ever wanted a way to get to know me a bit better, or maybe just looking for some good clean entertainment on your PC you should check it out!! You can either go to www.SkittleSandwich.com to listen to an episode and check out our show notes, or you can simply search for Skittle Sandwich on iTunes and you'll find us. What are you waiting for?!? Subscribe to it now!! It's FREE for crying out loud!! And if you would be so kind as to leave a review for it too I will personally come to your house and share a bag of Skittles with you! You have my word.

So what else is going on with me you ask? That's a fair question and I will try to give you a fair answer. Actually I'm heading into the studio tomorrow to begin work on my new album. I will be working with producer extraordinaire Jake Rye at Sonus Clarus Productions. I'm really excited to head into a legit studio and lay some tracks down. In case you weren't aware before, the original demo that I've had for the past year now was all recorded and produced by myself in my bedroom. Sorry to blow the rockstar illusion for you. You can be sure that when I have some new music to share it will be posted right here first! I'm also planning a huge CD release party for early 2009, so be sure to keep an eye open for that! In fact, it's probably best to not plan anything at all for the first half of 2009 until I set a release date. That way you will be sure to not miss it!!

On another note, some of you may have noticed that I have been asking a random question each weekday. This has been my little way of sparking some interaction and getting to know some of you a bit better. I have been blown away by the response I have gotten from this! Each day I get dozens of comments on my page, as well as a load of new messages. I always try to respond to each comment and message, but sometimes I get behind with playing shows and such and miss a few of you. If you didn't get a response from me on a recent question I'm very sorry, and I will certainly try to keep in touch with each and every one of you who are kind enough to play along with my little game. That being said, I'm not sure how much free time I will have over the next couple of weeks to post new questions. It will all depend on what kind of schedule I have when I'm in the studio. So if you don't hear much from me in the next couple of weeks just know that I'm locked away working on brand spanking new material to share with all ya'll!!

And finally, if you live in the Tri-cities area of Michigan (Midland, Saginaw, Bay City) this next weekend is gonna be rad!!!! On Friday I will be playing the State Theater in Bay City, opening for an amazing band called Newworldson (Inpop/EMI Records). On Saturday I will be rocking the fabulous city of Sebawaing with my pals at the Live Wired Coffeehouse. And on Sunday I will be performing at the Salvation Army on Waldo in Midland (not the store but the headquarters). So be sure to get yourself out to a show this weekend and I'll ask you random questions personally!! See ya!

Death of a Cynic.

Originally posted on October 30th, 2008.

This last Tuesday I was driving through downtown Grand Rapids when I noticed a grungy old dude standing by the side of the road. I was stopped at a traffic light so I had a few moments to look this guy over and observe his situation. He looked cold and dirty, his eyes staring at the ground in front of him. He had a grocery bag sitting to his side with what looked like a few pieces of dirty laundry in it. He was holding a small cardboard sign that said "homeless hungry vet". People seemed to be walking by him as though he wasn't even there, barely swerving enough to keep from running him over. It was definitely an uncomfortable scene! Then the light turned green and everything was back to normal again. Well almost.

As I headed a bit further down Fulton Street I began to reflect on what I just witnessed when a pattern of familiar thoughts crossed my mind. "It's probably some sort of scam. Dude is probably just hanging out with his sign so people will give him money to buy booze with. I mean, even if he is really homeless it's probably his own fault. Seriously, I know the economy is tough and all but get a job!" He was just like all the other supposed homeless guys that I have driven by in the past.

I was ready to brush off the entire event when something hit me. I can't quite explain what happened, I personally believe it was the Holy Spirit smacking me in the face, but all of the sudden I was incredibly ashamed of my behavior. Have I really become this cynical? What if this guy was legit? What if he was really homeless? What if he was really hungry? And maybe most importantly, why do I feel like it's my job to determine if someone is really in need or not? I don't think God is asking me to choose who needs my help and who doesn't. God's calling me to love on people no matter what and take care of those who are less fortunate than me. I immediately turned the car around.

Of course I didn't have a single dollar on me, but that's pretty typical. What I did have was half of a 12" tuna sub from Subway, I was planning to eat it later. I circled the block and found an open parking spot just a block away from this guy. Now, in downtown GR you either need to park at a meter or in a pay parking structure. And for some reason the folks who police those meters are tenacious about it. I was just sure that if I left my car at an expired meter, even for a few minutes, I would get nailed with a ticket. So I scrounged around the car, looking for any kind of change I could use to buy myself some time. I finally found a single nickel in the cushions of the driver's seat, just enough to purchase 3 minutes of time. I jumped out of the car with my sandwich in hand, threw my precious nickel in the meter and headed down the street.

Sure enough, dude was standing right where I left him, holding the same sign, staring at the same spot on the pavement. I walked up to him and explained that I had passed by a few minutes ago, I honestly didn't have any cash on me, but that he was welcome to have my sandwich if he wanted it. He looked up and with tears in his eyes said "that would be great." I shook his hand, thanked him for his service to our country, and told him I would pray for him. Then I returned to my vehicle just as the time on my meter ran out. As I took back off down the street I noticed the same guy, now sitting on the curb with his sign on the ground, eating the sandwich I had given him.

I hope you all know that I'm certainly not telling this story to show how great of a guy I am or anything like that. If anything I am still quite embarrassed about my terrible attitude, and how calloused I have become. How could I have developed a complete apathy for the people around me? Sure there are scam artists out there that are just looking to make a quick buck, but there are also real needy people out there too. Was this particular guy legit? I guess I don't know, and it doesn't even matter. If I was scammed then I'm out a sandwich and a nickel. Who cares?! This is how I am called to live my life. To look after the orphans and widows of the world. To take care of those who are less fortunate than myself. To love on people, no matter what the circumstances and no matter what other people might think of me. It's my calling as a Christian, and as a fellow human being. I hope and pray that next time I notice another person in need I can put aside all my crap and show some compassion. I'm heading back to GR tomorrow and I plan to keep an eye open for this guy, and I'm packing an extra sandwich.