I put these in my “Mental Massage” playlist and each one of these is great for kicking back and relaxing with.

Check them out!

Brent Dennon – “Only Rain”

Great message for those who just got dumped or are going through a break up of some sort. Might help take the edge off for a little bit anyway. And is it just me or can you hear a tinge of Tom Petty in there.

Brent’s website

Justin Townes Earle – “Christ Church Women”

Steve Earle said that Justin is one of the best songwriters in the business.  Steve, being his father, is a little biased BUT its hard to argue with him. Press play and decide for yourself. Great tune!

Justin’s Official Website

Gillian Welsh – “Look at Miss Ohio”

The amount of soul in she puts into every breath is awesome. Grab an adult beverage, lay back in the chair or couch, press play and experience a wave of calm.

Gillian’s official website

I’ve also taken the liberty of starting a “Corey Recommends” playlist over on YouTube. If these songs are doing it for you, I guarantee you’ll dig that playlist as well. I’m always adding to it.

Who’s your favorite? Do you have any other suggestions?

Pssst…ARE YOU NEW HERE? Go grab 2 of my free song downloads here.

Image by jronaldlee via Flickr

Back in 2002 Bonnie Cooper experienced the unthinkable, she lost her mother and brother within 7 months of each other (can you imagine? either can I).

While making arrangements for the funeral she looked everywhere for music that would provide a fitting memorial to lay her loved ones to rest. Unfortunately, she didn’t find anything.

Knowing first hand that there was a need for this type of resource she decided to build her own memorial music site.

300 Per Day

Her site is called MemorialMusicLibrary.com . It is currently helping 300 people a day who visit her site looking for music for funerals and memorial site.

Help Me Return The Favor

I found out about Bonnie after she reached out to me to ask if she could feature my song “Minnesota Got Colder” on the front page. To return the favor, I want to help spread the word about her story and her site.

Join me in helping Bonnie spread the word. Forward here site to anyone you know of who may be looking for this type of music: Funeral homes, churches, anyone needing some comfort, making arrangements for memorial, etc.

Do You Know of Any Songs?

Also, Bonnie is always looking for more music for the site. If you have any ideas for songs that would be perfect for the library, either stop by the site and recommend them yourself or just put them in the comments below and I will be sure to pass them on.

Pssst…ARE YOU NEW HERE? Go grab 2 of my free song downloads here.

Today, aside from authoring a headline longer than 3 freight trains, I wanted to profile a few of the world class singer-songwriters that I have the honor of supporting next Wednesday night (Sept. 21st) at the Mayo Civic in Rochester, MN: Sally Barris, Jon Vezner and Brandon Sampson.

Here are a few facts and some video from each of these artists. Enjoy!

Sally Barris

Website: http://www.sallybarris.com

She has had her songs recorded by Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack and American Idolist finalist Kellie Pickler.

Here is a video Sally singing here tune “Let The Wind Chase You.”

Jon Vezner

Website: http://www.jonvezner.com

Check out the list of accomplishments this Minnesota born songwriters has compiled:

• Grammy Award for “Best Country Song” (“Where’ve You Been” Kathy Mattea – 1989)
• Country Music Association (CMA)  ”Song of the Year” (“Where’ve You Been” Kathy Mattea – 1989)
• Academy of Country Music (ACM) “Song of the Year” (“Where’ve You Been” Kathy Mattea – 1989)
• Nashville Songwriter Association “Best Country Song” (“Where’ve You Been” Kathy Mattea – 1989)
• NSAI “Songwriter of the Year”

Brandon Sampson

Website: http://sixmilegrove.com

Brandon is singer-songwriter from Minnesota. You can usually find him playing with his band Six Mile Grove (from Lyle, MN) and touring the Midwest with (Johnny Cash) music legend Bob Wootton.

As a cool side note, Brandon and Six Mile Grove were featured in an episode of “ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” which re-built a house in Albert Lea, MN.

And, he is also one of the people responsible for putting together the Americana Showcase (and for hiring me… thanks Brandon!).

Check out this warm-fuzzy inducing Six Mile Grove song featuring his 87 grandpa:

Good Stuff Aye?

Remember you can see all of them live, along with myself, on Wednesday September 21st in Rochester, MN at the Mayo Civic Theatre. You can get find out more information by clicking here now.

Let me know if you can make it and I’ll look out for you. We can have a few drinks and watch the show together.

Oh and are there any artists you think I or anyone else reading this should know about? Feel free to tell us about them below.

Image via Wikipedia

If you’ve been around me for very long you know that I have always LOVED discovering and sharing music. Way before I was writing and performing music, I was trading tapes and cd’s, I was swapping recommendations with anyone and everyone who brought up music and I was sifting through every rack looking for new and/or rare tapes, albums and CD’s at music stores (Remember those?).

I guess you could say that I am a music geek.

I found a new website that allows me to do some of those things once again and figured I’d share it with you. the site is called Blip.fm

Be A DJ…

Blip.fm lets you find songs and video’s from just about any artist and then immediately share it with anyone you are connected to within Blip.fm and other sites like Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM and others. You are a DJ/VJ.

Anything and Everything…

Another cool thing about Blip.fm is the diversity you can hear by listening other “DJ’s” (everyone is a DJ on Blip.fm) stuff. If you are like me, than you love all types of music. You can hear Johnny Cash one minute, John Mayer the next, then Snoop Dogg, then….I think you get the point. You just never know and that’s half the fun. It is something that you rarely get these days on terrestrial radio.

It is pretty cool sharing tunes with anyone and everyone who might be be passing by one of your profiles.

Let’s Hook Up…

Anyway, I figured I’d pass that along. I haven’t been Blipping a ton but I am more and more everday. Stop by, grab a profile, add me as a freind and start blipping. You can find me on Blip.fm here. I’d love to see what kind of stuff you’re listening to.

It is the second time I’ve seen this, but damn, every time I watch it I get jacked up and wanna play guitar, make music, create something, etc. Now I really can’t sleep, but that’s ok (at least until the kids wake me up in the morning). That’s when the good stuff comes out.

I was thinking about how freakin amazing it is that the contents of a small plastic disc can plant a seed. Plant it, water it, and feed it – as long as you let it. As long as you let grow. Let it take you where it needs to take you.

After watching the show I have a whole new appreciation for Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. They were like kids sharing their inspirations telling their stories, playing tunes and, from what i can tell, truly enjoying the company of the other two. Watching others artists create is infectious.

Hell, if you are a musician and this movie doesn’t will you to pick up an instrument, then you better check your pulse. And if your are not a musician and this movie gets you pumped, there is a musician inside begging to get out. LET HIM (OR HER) OUT DAMMIT!

I guess the the moral of this late night ramble is…ah…um…do yourself a favor and watch “It Might Get Loud.” Then pick up your guitar or go buy one (or not, check out the classic opening scene below). Join the fun.

OH, and before I forget, be on the look out for some future posts on this very subject. You could just sign up to my fanlist (look to your right when you visit PlanetCorey.com now).  I will deliver the article right to your email inbox and I’ll even give 3 free mp3 downloads right now just to say thanks.

• Artist:
  Corey Koehler
• Date:
  Friday, October 23rd 2009
  
• Time:
  9:30pm
• City:
  
  Corey Koehler in
  Winona, MN
• Venue:
  Hei n’ Low Tap
• Address:
  529 E Wabasha St, Winona, MN 55987
• Country:
  US
• Admission:
  Free
• Age restrictions:
  No minors
• Notes:
  Doc Roc and I will be playing From 9:30 to 12:30. The bar has a great atmosphere and it will be a good time. Don’t miss it!
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Last Monday Doc  informed me that we had the opportunity to play the Hei N’ Low Tap in Winona and I jumped at it. It was a no-brainer since I have been wanting to play down there for quite awhile. I’ve always loved the atmosphere and the crowd. It’s pretty easy to have a good time down there. Be sure to stop down.

Also, I was able to get some promotional material made up. Karin Benedict and Shawn Swanson over at Blossom Publishing hooked me up with a sweet looking poster (below) that I can slap up around town to get the word out about upcoming shows. I put together some copy and then Shawn did the design work using some pictures I had taken in a impromptu photo shoot I did with Ken Stark a few months back.

I think they all did a great job and I am lucky to have access to them. I would highly recommend all of the above if you are looking to do anything involving publishing, graphic design or photography.

What do you think of the poster?

(click here to see a larger version – oh and by all means, feel free to print out and post somewhere if you’d like…wink, wink).

Yesterday I posted a podcast filled with some great acoustic music and figured it would be right up your alley. You can go listen to this episode by clicking here now -> Acoustic Americana Triple Double.