Last Sunday I had the pleasure of being on the Cubanarama Show over on BlogTalkRadio.

The host of the show, Marta Sosa, was extremely fun to talk to and I really think you will enjoy listening to her. She has a great spirit and can easily brighten up the room and put a smile on your face.

Aside from me spilling my guts on everything from past relationships to where the songs come from and growing up in Minnesota, you’ll learn why everyone outside of the midwest just doesn’t understand the concept of “hot dish” (go figure!).

Go listen to Corey Koehler on Cubanarama now.

For the past few days everyone has been slamming Taylor Swift for her lack of singing skills. In case you were out of the loop, here’s a great compilation; Bob Lefsetz – More Taylor Swift

Yeah, I found myself shaking my head in agreement with most of it. Hell, I participated in a little chatter the last few days as well as over the course of the past past year (i.e. the “Pour Some Sugar On Me” she did with Def Leppard on an award show last year was arguably worse than this one).

But something happened tonight that makes me feel that maybe I – along with a few others – are getting a little out of hand with the slamming. Especailly with something so trivial.

The Big Melt

My 6 year old son asked me “who won the Grammy’s daddy” (since he had to go to bed before it was over).  I explained to him there are many different awards but most people would consider the album of the year the biggest of them and that Taylor Swift won that. Then he asked to see the video and I played it for him.

My 3 year old daughter joined in on the viewing and immediately started to smile and sing along. Then during the “You Belong To Me” portion of the medley she said something that changed my whole perspective on the ordeal. With the biggest, starry-eyed smile she said, “daddy, this is my favorite song.”

Whoa!

She didn’t care about the singing she just knew that this is a song that makes her feel good and that she can sing along with. Who in their right mind is gonna argue with that?

Another Man’s Trash

This reminded me of how bad Axl Rose sucked when I saw him in Alpine Valley on the Use Your Illusion tour. His voice was completely shot after about 3 songs and I didn’t get the version of “Mr. Brownstone” that I came to hear. I was kind of annoyed but one of my buddies – who happens to worship the guy – didn’t hear it.

So, no matter how much you, I or anyone thinks a song or performance sucks, there will always be someone else who loved it. Why should I be pissing on their parade?

Hell, I can think of a bunch of shows that I went to where multi-platinum artists didn’t perform the best. But, it doesn’t mean I don’t like their music any less. It just means I might not spend the cash to go see them live next time.

Bottom Line

Taylor is not my thing and she didn’t perform the greatest on one of the biggest stages. But when I think about it, why should you or I care. As long as her fans are happy – and I’m sure they are – it doesn’t matter what any of the rest of us think.

I’m gonna shut up now and start thinking about things that really matter like how to nurture and encourage that feeling my daughter gets when she listens to Taylor Swift. Then maybe someday she’ll get the chance to make other people smile with music of her own.

What do you think?

This Sunday afternoon Doc and I will have the honor of donating our time and abilities to a good cause by performing on the KTTC Eagles Cancer Telethon. I can’t wait.

To be honest, I didn’t put much thought into the whole thing other than the fact that it is a great opportunity to put myself out there while at the same time, giving back.

But as the telethon gets closer, the weight of the event is really starting to sink in. I keep thinking about how cancer not only effected my life but the lives of my family and friends as well.

Both my grandma and grandpa Koehler both passed as a result of the disease. I was much younger with my grandpa but I remember the trips to the old VA hospital. I remember watching him – a strong proud man – whither away over the course of a year while at the same time watching my grandma slowly lose the love of her life, and my dad, aunts and uncles deal with the loss of their father.

Years later my grandma had a very aggresive style of cancer – pancreatic I think. She selflessly refused the chemo because she didn’t want to put the family through the same year long meatgrinder that everyone endured with my grandpa.

My wife has had four very close relatives who have been effected deeply by cancer. I am glad to say three of the four have either beaten it or are in the process of beating it.

One of my longest and closest friends just lost his father – another strong and proud man – to it last summer. I have co-workers that have been battled the disease. And unfortunately, if I really thought about it, I could go on.

Bottom line, this disease has effected a lot of lives and taken some damn good people. It will continue to do so until somebody much smarter than I can figure something out. All I can do, other than make a donation myself, is show up, play a tune and hope that someone like yourself watches long enough to consider picking up the phone and making a donation too.

So if you are around the TV or internet at all this weekend, flip on channel 10 or KTTC.com and check out some of the acts and seriously consider making a donation.

Chances are you will be helping out a close friend or relative.

Join Doc and I at around 1:16 pm on Sunday afternoon to here us performing a song called “Minnesota Got Colder” (you can hear the demo below).

The song is a result of all of the seemingly endless amount of funerals I was attending over the course of last year. I walked through a lot of lines and all I could say to these friends and relatives was “sorry for your loss.” I felt I need to offer something more, something that could possibly provide some piece of mind. So I wrote the song. I hope that it is good enough to provide comfort to anyone else dealing with loss.

Press play to listen now.

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For more information about the telethon please visit KTTC.com.

Well I’ve tossed it around for months and I have finally decided that I am going to name my first CD. For a long time I thought about just having it self-titled because everything I was coming up with was either cheesy or risky. But in a flash of inspiration the other day, I decided on “Never Too Late” (for the record, that is “not” the cover up above).

Not only does it have a certain ring to it but it explains circumstance behind the recording of the CD ( that is, my musical pursuits at age 37). Also, and more importantly, I feel that it is a great message to rally behind and one that I passionately support, want to encourage and shout from the rooftops.

What do you think about the title? Let me know in the comments below.

The CD

Oh! And about the CD itself, I have all my parts laid down and most of the lead stuff – that Doc and Tom Moncrieff are helping with.

Now it is just a matter of going through everything and doing some what I call “redlining” to make sure everything is the way we want it. Stuff like fixing errors, determining order of the songs, tweaking audio levels, some other techy stuff I don’t understand and adding some purcusssion in certain areas to dress it all up a bit.

That said, I hoping to have something in your hands by early to mid February.

Thank You

I have had the good fortune of having some very good crowds at my last few shows. I want to thank all of you for coming, showing your support and singing along. It is fun partying with all of you and it is way cool hearing the whole bar sing stuff back at us.

I also want to thank EB’s, Ed’s no Name, Twin Bluffs, and the Hei n Low for putting us on over the past month. And Puff out at the L-Cove for letting me Hi-jack the PA to play a few impromptu tunes a few weeks back for Levi’s Birthday party.

Overall, it has been unbelievable meeting so many new people, all from different walks of life. That is one aspect that I didn’t expect – and really enjoy – when I started this whole trip. Good stuff.

Be on the look out for some more shows coming. I’ve been chit chatting with a bunch of local venues and may have an opportunity down the road in LaCrosse for some of you in that area.

Have a good one!

Today I rolled into work and there was a quote in our daily in/out email. It really got me thinking and I wanted to see if it would do the same for you. Here it is.

“The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.” – Brian Tracy (Personal And Professional Development Author and Speaker)

It really made me think about how I’ve been playing it pretty safe for most of my life with “security” as an excuse. The few exception being joining the National Guard and quitting a foundry job to go back to school while working another job for a lot less pay – both of which, by the way, turned out to be some of the most fulfilling, cherished and “alive” feeling periods in my life.

Stagefright

My most recent flirtation, with things not associated with security, would have to be the exploration of my musical side. For years I dodged it because I was scared. Scared of what people would think. Scared of getting up in front of people. Scared of letting people know what is going on in my head via the songs I write. Scared if my thinning hair line was gleaming in the limelight and on and on. I was just scared.

Other than this inner knowing that I needed to do something greater than just waste away in a cubicle during the day and in front of the TV at night, I also thought about my kids.  I looked at them and thought about the future. I feel that being scared is no way for a father to act. I mean how am I supposed to tell them to follow their heart and block out all of the noise if I can’t do it myself? That is not the example I want to set for them (and for the record I am deathly afraid of being a hypocrite and – to keep my honest – you are welcome to call me on it any time).

Out Of Thin Air

Now since I’ve been implementing this type of thinking, I notice a  funny thing happening. When I started looking at music as being an opportunity, things started to fall in place and continue to do so. For instance, places that I’d like to play at became available, old friends come back into my life and offer their support, I meet other artists and industry people who answer questions and provide guidance, I find all the resources necessary to help me record my CD, and I could go on and on!

The other thing I noticed was that the work I do (write and perform music) is about as fulfilling as anything I’ve ever experienced. It is so freakin cool to have people come up to me and tell me about how a tune of mine made them feel better about something, made them think a little more about a subject or just helped make their day better.

It is double freakin awesome to see the community that is slowly starting to arise around the music. When I play live it is  surreal to be able to look out into the crowd and see old fiends, new friends and family all gathered in the same place, interacting with each other and having a good time. What more could I person want?

The Rewards

Bottom line, if I had stuck with the security of playing my guitar and singing my songs behind closed doors, I would not know any of this.  I may not have met a good guy like Ray “Yeah Baby” Roberts. I never would have known what old friends Stacy and Marcy were up to these days. I might not know how dedicated my brother Troy,  sister Heather and the rest of my family are to going above and beyond helping me out. I might never know what a great excuse playing live is to go out and party with my friends all without my wife getting mad (had to throw that in). And again, I could go on.

What a boring waste of life it would have been to have not known any of these things.

So ask yourself this “Am I playing safe in some part of my life?” And then ask yourself, “what could I be missing out on because of it?”

A few weeks back I was at the Trempeleau Hotel to a attend a meeting for a discussion group I am involved with. A fellow member – and successful business/family man – by the name of Roger Zehren gave me a piece of very simple advise that I figured I would share with you.

When I arrived he asked how my music pursuits were going. I told him about the shows I did and the song I recorded. Then I also mentioned that I brought a CD along – with me that night – because I knew that the Hotel books many acoustic acts similar to mine and that I was going to present it to them “after” the meeting in the hopes that I could get a gig.

He asked me what I was waiting for and suggested that I do it right away. I told Roger that I was a little apprehensive about approaching the bartender and “bugging” him with my pitch right now – it didn’t feel right. To which Roger replies, “You gotta put yourself out there. If you want something, you gotta go get it”

I thought about it for a second and then thought to myself “Screw it, Rogers right!” So I did it.

Not only did it feel liberating – and even a tad exciting – but, it turns out the guy behind the bar just happened to be the person in charge of booking the shows. And if I had waited til after the meeting, he would have been gone.

Even though I haven’t heard from the Hotel yet – and even if I don’t – I learned a valuable lesson that I will not forget. Just like Roger said “You gotta put yourself out there. If you want something you gotta go get it”

How about you? There has to be something you want. Are you putting it off? How about going to go get it?

Pssst…feel free to share any related stories below. We’d all love to hear them.

I just wanted to give you a heads up on how last Saturdays L-Cove show went and then share some reading material that should inspire you, maybe put a few dollars in your pocket and put a smile on your face. Here goes.

You Guys Rock!

Wow! What a great time last Saturday night. I am so glad many of you came out to check out the show. Thank you all!

I did record some of the evenings music and am hoping to get some good material to use on my CD. The night will be etched in stone.

Also, other than the music, there were some great crowd moments that should pop up on the CD in some way. Ray Roberts in particular stands out. He does the coolest “YEAH BABY” and I will be looking for a good place to put it.

I can’t wait to party with you guys again!

The Million Dollar Suitcase

The next thing I wanted to share with you is an ebook I read awhile ago. It was written by a man named Karl Warren. I don’t know how he is and I am not even sure how I ended up with the book but it is an inspiring read – especially if you are looking to accomplish something or make a change in your life.

It is not very long at all and it shouldn’t take more than a half hour or so to read. Check it out and share your thoughts below.

Click here to read the Million Dollar Suitcase (oh, and you can download it if you right click and save as)

I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I’ve been trying for sometime now to come up with one sentence – as short as possible – that describes my music to someone who’s never heard it but I’m not getting anywhere.

I was wondering if you had any ideas. In the comments below, tell me how would you describe my music style to someone else? Something unique that would peak their interest and make them very curious.

Was your Labor Day weekend as good as mine? Not only was the weather perfect, but I played a lot of music, met some good people and had a chance to spend some quality time with friends and family.

In the playing department, I played until my fingers bled last weekend – ok they didn’t bleed but it sounds better than “until they were sore” and it wasn’t a bad way to reference an old eighties tune (do you know the one I’m talking about?). Anyway, Friday night at Money Creek Haven I sat and played around the campfire for some close friends, Saturday night I debuted my new PA system for some company we had over and then Sunday with a 3 hour stint at Twin Bluffs Tavern.

While playing at Twin Bluffs, I had some great experiences. One experience in particular reinforced how lucky I am to finally realize what the hell it was I was put on this earth to do – write and play music to connect with good people. I met a middle aged couple – his name is Jim and and hers is Barbara. After I was done playing I went over to thank them for signing up for my newsletter and discovering that they really connected with my songs (which is an amazing feeling). I discovered that they were two very positive people with a very cool story. Read the rest of this entry

Just wanted you to know that Doc and I will be playing at Twin Bluff’s Tavern tomorrow from 4-7. If it is nice – which I hear it will be – we will be outside on the deck.

After we are done there will be a rock band by the name of Falling Upstairs playing in the bar (never heard of them but the owner says they are good).

Anyway, if you are looking for something to do, come on out and play some horseshoes, sand volleyball or just chill with us. Hope to see you there!