"My Last Dollar" Live Album Release on Record Store Day!

Ten years ago yesterday! Seth Ondracek, Ben Zinn, Matt Arbeiter, yours truly, Kat Ludwick, and Nick Semrad. Photo by Tom DeBuse taken at MoJoPo’s (3/27/09)

On March 27, 2009, there was a little celebration at The Waiting Room here in Omaha, NE for the CD release of My Last Dollar and everyone we told on MySpace about it came. Opening the show was The Black Squirrels and Filter Kings and I had only been on that stage once before then. After our soundcheck we went over to our practice spot at MoJo’s (across from Jake’s Cigars on Military Ave, except the big bar wasn't there yet) to knock down a couple of beers, and meet up with my buddy Tom DeBuse who was coming by to take some band photos for us that night, and snapped this one just before the gig.

There are many things I could say about all of these people individually and the influence that each one has had on me - Tom and MoJo included - but the musicians pictured above spent hours teaching ME how to teach THEM the songs. I had never played in a band before, never had to “count it out”, or explain what notes/chords I was playing. “It just goes like this,” was my usual approach and they always followed along effortlessly. Although, Seth, Ben, Matt, and Nick have alI now relocated to pursue their own music careers on the East and West coasts, respectively, I strongly believe everything I’ve written since then has benefited greatly from the time I spent playing with this original group, and I’ve been fortunate to continue to play with some of the areas best.

So much has changed for all of us in the last ten years... we lost our good friend Tom DeBuse way too soon in a tragic accident in ‘11, and we all said goodbye to MoJoPo (Michael Joseph Pryor) sadly in ‘13. Momma’s gone, as are Grandma & Grandpa, and the dog too, but I’m sure somewhere in the live recordings you can still hear Gary Flanagan along with Tom, MoJo, and my Mom, heckling and cheering us all on in the crowd that night. One of my favorite quotes that has stuck with me throughout the years is by the late-great Carl Perkins who said “If it weren’t for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song.” Now, let that marinate in your brain for a few minutes. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we are forced to adapt, and carry on the best we can with their guiding spirits, but I like the way Carl said it better.

And so to that point, and to mark this very special occasion (along with this sentimental short novel of a TBT post) I’m pleased to announce that, with the help of mastermind Jeremy Garrett who’s forward thinking somehow knew I’d be doing this ten years later and decided to record that night; I’m going to be releasing some of those live recordings on a full-length album comprised partially of the MLD party and one other show recorded at The Waiting Room right around that same time. The cleverly entitled Matt Cox Band/Live in ‘09, will be available to download on all of your favorite streaming services and devices on May 24th, 2019!

But, wait… there’s more!

For those of you living in, or around the Omaha area THERE WILL BE 100 COPIES ONLY released on CD (sorry, no vinyl) exclusively at Homer’s Music & Gifts on RECORD STORE DAY this APRIL 13th! I’ve been hanging onto these dusty old recordings (mp3’s) for all these years now and I’m excited to finally share them with you. I hope you’ll enjoy going back in time listening as much as I have, and if you’ve never heard any of these cats play together before, or never got to hear Kat sing with us, I definitely encourage you to check it out!

That’s all for now folks. Until next time!
Peace and bacon grease,
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