We gotta get out of this place!!

Ok, so when I said I would be updating this baby more often I meant preferably more than once a month!! But hey, even once a month is more often than I was updating it, so I guess technically I'm still living up to my promise! February was a pretty intense month both at home and on the road. In between playing a whole bunch of shows around the state my wife and I have been working on some long overdue home improvement projects. And when we start into a project, no matter how big or small it is originally intended to be, it's gonna be a PROJECT!! Meaning that the simple repainting of one little bedroom has thrown the rest of the house into complete disarray for weeks! I can't tell you how many "weekend projects" have turned into major life events in the Moore house, but let's face it....that's not really why you take the time to read this blog. So let's talk about some music stuff!

Since February was just packed full of cool gigs, eleven in the past ten days alone, I'll forgo lengthy details of each and every show and instead give you some juicy highlights. One of those super sweet shows took place at the YMCA in Traverse City, MI. Josh and I traveled North after performing an awesome afternoon gig at MMCC here in Clare. Several Northern Michigan youth groups had gathered at the "Y" for an evening of games, food and live music. We got a chance to lead worship for the group which was an incredible experience, then the teens absolutely tore the roof off the place while Josh and I rocked out. To give you an idea of who great these guys were, there was actually a "worm contest" in the middle of the set! That's right, there was a showdown to find who could dance the worm best!! This was easily one of the best crowds I have ever played for! I can promise that we are coming back to the Traverse City area again soon! Definitely a special night!

A couple days, and a couple gigs later, I got the opportunity to visit my buddy Chris Freeman down at his new church in Northville, MI. By the way, you have got to check Freeman's music out!! Not only is he a sick guitar player (GS Megaphone, Poor Man's Riches, etc...), but he is an incredible sitar player as well! Anyway, Josh and I got to lead worship there at The Ward Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and what an amazing group of people they have there!! We also had the chance to perform a couple of my original songs for the congregation, and everyone was super supportive. In fact, we set up our merch table just outside the sanctuary where we played and sold every last CD that we had brought, which was literally all of them!! I completely did not expect that kind of response, but it was such a blessing getting a chance to connect with people and share my music. We're already making plans to return this spring to put on a full blown rock concert, including the one and only Mr. Freeman on electric guitar. Ya'll might wanna make the drive for that one!! I promise I'll have more CDs by then too!!

There were so many other cool shows this month that it would take a mighty long blog to share all the stories with you. But I want to make sure to direct you to some of the amazing artists that I had the pleasure to jam with this month. Visit their websites, become fans, buy their stuff, etc... These are some mighty rad artists, and well worth supporting!!

Chris Freeman - www.myspace.com/christopherleefreeman
The Confidence - www.myspace.com/theconfidence
I Am the Branch - www.myspace.com/iamthebranch
Mighty Medicine - www.myspace.com/mightymedicine
Artificial Heroes - www.myspace.com/artificialheroesbaycity
Jessi Carrick - www.myspace.com/jessicarrickmusic
Finding Clyde - www.myspace.com/findingclyde
Derek Winter - www.myspace.com/derekwinter
Central Harmony - www.myspace.com/chacappella

Lots of good stuff coming up for March and beyond.......stay tuned!!

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!!

Cheerios and gum, together at last!!!

Those of you who know me well probably know that I always working to accomplish new things. I enjoy challenging myself to be a better person, reaching for all new heights. This week I have accomplished two very special things that I believe have made me a more experienced human being. Two things that may very well set the tone for my future maturity as a man.

The first of these events happened on Sunday. The rest of the family was feeling kinda sick, so we spent most of the day resting and taking care of the kids over the weekend. This means that mom and dad have to fend for themselves when it comes to meals and things of this nature. Now, there are only a few types of food that a man can have for all three meals of the day. There is pizza, which is an amazing food if you think about it. There is also cake, which many people besides myself and Jim Gaffigan seem to dismiss as a one dimensional choice. But believe me, it works all day long. However on this day I chose another food option, one that might be considered one of the greatest food groups of all time. I am talking of course about cereal! Cereal is one of the few foods that can be consumed for all three means and still completely satisfy a man’s hunger. It can also be consumed as a snack between meals. So I started the day with some Frosted Mini-Wheats, moved to some Honey Bunches of Oats for lunch, snacked on some Cheerios with the kiddies, and ended the day with a nice bowl of Frosted Flakes. I’m very proud that I was able to stick to my guns all day long, and I would like to think that I’m a better man for it.

Speaking of sticking to my guns, the next big accomplishment happened yesterday. I made a quick stop by the gas station early in the morning to purchase some coffee, and also some minty gum to destroy the inevitable coffee breath that was sure to follow. Now, when I chew gum (Trident in this case) I usually pop a couple of pieces in my mouth at one time. I guess I just prefer a more substantial chunk of rubbery goodness at one time. Normally I chew it until it loses its flavor, then I spit it out and start over fresh. Well yesterday I decided not to spit out the gum when it lost flavor, but simply add a new piece to what I was already chewing. Knowing how quickly Trident loses its flavor you can probably see where this is going. It became a personal challenge to myself to chew an entire pack’s worth of gum all at the same time. By the end of the day I was laboring over a monstrous mass of gum, one that has left my jaw quite fatigued today. Although I’m sure it looked quite disgusting to anyone observing, I again feel as though it was a special personal moment that I won’t soon forget. And you should have seen the size of the bubbles!!!

So other than all that nonsense, some of you may have noticed that I’m now posting bulletins everyday with a random question. This is mostly just to add some interaction to the page and for me to get to know you guys a little better. It’s been a lot of fun hearing some of you talk about everything from pizza toppings to super powers. I plan to keep asking these questions every weekday, just to stir some conversation. If you have any suggestions for questions you would like to see asked be sure to drop me a line.

...And Free Downloads For All

Well my friends, last night I hit a bit of a milestone in my musical ventures. While playing to a bunch of rowdy youth at a lock-in in Bay City I sold my 1,000th demo CD!! That means there are at least a thousand physical Matt Moore discs floating around somewhere in addition to the hundreds of downloaded copies. So to celebrate this achievement I thought I would do something a little special for all of you. From now until the time I have some tracks from the new album to share with you guys I am making all of the songs on my MySpace profile available as free downloads. Just my way of saying thanks so much for showing me some love.

So cruise on over to www.MattMooreMusic.com and get your free downloads today before they are no longer available. And tell your friends to swing on by and grab em too. You don't even need to have a MySpace account to download these songs so go to town!

Let the revolution begin!!

In the beginning, the blogging world was just a mess of jumbled thoughts typed into a barely readable format and served up to the masses with all the coldness and sterility of a treeless, corporate office park. Hope was crushed beneath an avalanche of endless commentary and thoughtless personal opinion about anything and everything. It was indeed a dark period in the history of the internet. Then one day there emerged a voice that rose above the clatter. A voice that spoke for the people and to the people. A voice that put the world into perspective and spoke comfort to the souls of all that heard it. This very blog is that voice transcribed for a new generation of readers who have grown loathe of the mindless ramblings that have permeated the internet for so long.

My friends, I implore you now to rise up as one and together we shall overcome the blogging constraints that have held our hearts and minds captive all these years. I’m speaking of a revolution in the “blogosphere”, one that shall forever change the way we perceive the written word. It is together that we shall persevere. Together that we shall overcome. I say unto you now, this blog that you are reading right now shall be the catalyst that changes the world!!

Or maybe I’ll just use it to tell ridiculous stories about my musical adventures, I haven’t decided just yet.