Matt Cox's latest makes listeners pine for country drives and campfires.

You just can’t find a studio housed in a 100-year-old barn in Omaha. Although they had to wait for space heaters before recording, Matt Cox and a cast of other notable Omaha musicians made multiple trips to Prairie Wind Studios in Griswold, Iowa this winter to cut an album. The secluded, peaceful atmosphere was exactly what Cox wanted. The resulting 12 songs on My Last Dollar, are a sprawling sonic landscape that embraces tradition and a simpler life.

Matt Cox grew up in Shenandoah, Iowa, a small town near the Nishnabotna River. The family farm was lined by 30 acres of woods and a river. The young Cox, his brother and father would camp, fish and hunt in that wilderness.

Cox began playing piano at age six. Ever since he first played in an original band to live audiences in Arizona, he has been dedicated to writing and playing, and over the last six years he has settled into his own as an artist.

Influences such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt permeate Cox’s rambling country and blues. He said that Greg Brown of Iowa is one of his biggest influences. Though not widely known, he regularly plays to packed crowds.

“The way he writes, I can picture the farm,” Cox said. “His songs, they feel like me.”

Cox, with his finger-picking and slide guitar work, to breezy harmonica and smoky, soulful vocals, writes the kind of music that prompts thoughts of open spaces, and not the chaotic hum of the modern world.

“I stopped feeling short-changed by growing up in a small town, and I embraced it,” he said.

When he can, Cox makes the 45-minute drive to his family’s land to get away from the traffic and noise of the city he’s called home since 2001.

“I like to trade TV for a campfire,” he said.

Getting his start as a musician in Omaha was tough for Cox, and he said he was lucky to have fallen into the Benson singer-songwriter community. Befriending artists such as Sarah Benck, Brad Hoshaw, Kyle Harvey and Justin Lamoureux gave Cox that small-town feel he was accustomed to, being active in helping each other improve as musicians. In playing his music from Oakland, Calif., to Nashville Tenn., Cox has seen that sense of community amongst musicians all over the country.

“There are so many good-hearted people out there helping one another,” he said.

Although Cox knows that traveling musicians have a tough road ahead of them, there is nothing else he feels he should be doing. It is his goal to write songs that worth playing and hearing.

“It [the songwriting process] is a mystery,” he said. “It unfolds from nowhere, from the subconscious.”

It keeps him coming back for more. Every time he picks up the guitar to write, he is unsure of what will happen, he said.

“Nine out of ten times it may be trash, but I keep trying,” he said.

On My Last Dollar, there isn’t one track that fits into the trash category. There are whiskey-drenched country ballads, rambling country foot-stompers with great finger-picking, spacious and beautiful love songs, a murder ballad and a great solo instrumental that is simultaneously dark and hopeful. The songs breathe flawlessly from one track to the next unveiling the cool demeanor of Cox himself: Flannel-shirt, old hat, a cigarette and an open road kind of cool.

Cox played many of the instruments on the album, but he says he is proud of himself for realizing what could be improved by enlisting some of Omaha’s finest musicians. Benn Zinn, Matt Arbeiter, Seth Ondracek, Nick Semrad, Josh Krohn, Kat Smith and Kirk Webb all played on the album.

Although Cox said the album is about facing reality and letting go, there is an optimism that shines through. He hopes this album and others that follow will embrace the timeless values of Woody Guthrie and other folk musicians. It’s simple, but there’s a lot going on underneath.

“There’s a lot more to this music than banjos and fiddles and hootin’ and hollerin’,” he said.

When listening to Omaha singer-songwriter Matt Cox’s latest disc, “My Last Dollar,” one could envision a delta blues musician, a road-worn folk singer, a Tom Waits eclectic, a Dylan or the Dead Disciple, or an old soul junkie bringing those influences to new life. Cox is a unique songwriter in town with a voice and soul to his music that is well beyond his 28 years. “My Last Dollar” is a record as good as anything that current national artists of a similar style Ray Lamontagne or Amos Lee have done. This is one of those albums that roots songwriter fans scour music blogs and MySpace sites looking for on a Sunday morning with a cup coffee. Cox has recently added an arsenal of musicians to his stage show including such well-known and respected players as Benn Zinn, Seth Ondracek, Matt Arbeiter and Nick Semrad. These additions make him and his band one of the potential breakouts on the live stages this year. Matt Cox and his band will be celebrating the release of “My Last Dollar” on Friday, March 27 at the Waiting Room Lounge with the Filter Kings and the Black Squirrels. I caught up with Cox this past week to talk about the album, his roots and his influences.

Matt Cox has been playing music all of his life, but it wasn’t until his 20s that he took it to the stage and started performing for others. He says, “I took piano as a young kid at 6. Was a drummer all through high school. Did my first gig at the age of 22 in Arizona and then came back to Omaha in 2002 to focus on being a songwriter. I loved it when I got back and it took me a year of playing with buddies before they nudged me to do it on my own. Michael Campbell then let me do my thing at Mick’s and Amy Ryan at the P.S. Collective has been really supportive as well.”

Other young singer-songwriters with a voice like Cox’s many times sound forced or like they are trying too much to sound like their heroes. Cox sounds natural on record and on stage and his voice and songs draw in the listener quickly. I asked him if he has always sounded the way he does. “Not in front of people,” he stated, “It took a long time for me to really get up in front of people and really sing and project. I was always drawn to those soulful voices like Otis Redding and Chris Robinson. I can even hear that stuff in old Hank Williams songs. It helped a lot when I stopped trying to sing like other people and I started to record my own songs and I found my own voice.”

There is an authentic roots quality to “My Last Dollar,” which may be a result of not recording in one of the big Omaha studios, but instead making frequent treks to the area he grew up in and recording in a 100-year-old barn-turned-studio outside of Griswold, Iowa. Prairie Winds Studio is run by his friend Kirk Webb, who also serves as co-producer on the album. I asked Cox why he put in that much time to travel back and forth to Griswold to record: “Kirk did my last album and I have been recording with him for a few years. I do it for the atmosphere and the environment. It’s the whole drive there and yeah, when I get to the mixing part of the album, the drive gets a little old. It feels like home, because it is near where I grew up and also Kirk does a great job.”

Upon first listening to Cox his music has a storytelling quality to it, but when getting deeper into the songs one will find a lot more introspection and personal touches. I asked Cox if he considers himself a storyteller or someone that writes about his own experiences. “I would say both,” he said. “I would say that I lean more towards the storytelling but I don’t know how good the story is. There is stuff on this album that I thought up while I was driving to the studio and putting a lot of miles on the car. I had a notebook handy and when you are dead armed on a long stretch of highway I could write lines here and there. I write about the monotony of it all and doing the same thing day to day and wanting to do more.” I also asked him if there was a theme running through “My Last Dollar.” “There is a lot of realization,“ he said. “As a whole there is a lot of coping there and realizing that the way things are, are not always going to be the way you want them to be. I think it is a pretty universal album and I think a lot of people could relate the simplicity of the album. That is how I think about a lot of the traditional music that I listen to.”

Ozone - Omaha, NE
Murphy’s Lounge - Omaha, NE
Magoon’s Saloon - St. Joseph, MO
Paddy Malone’s - Jefferson City, MO
The Blue Fugue - Columbia, MO
The Old Rock House - St. Louis, MO
P & H Cafe - Memphis, TN
Hall of Fame Lounge - Nashville, TN
Douglas Corner Cafe - Nashville, TN
Water Tank - Austin, TX
Threadgills - Austin, TX
Detour - Austin, TX
Poodie’s Hilltop Roudhouse - Austin, TX
Buster’s BBQ - Austin, TX
Spin It Indie Artist Showcase **SXSW** ’08 - Austin TX
Trinidad Brewing Co. - Trinidad, CO
The Walnut Room - Denver, CO
The Foundry - Boulder, CO
The Anchor - Wichita, KS
The Bridge Cafe - Rulo, NE
Breezy Hills Winery & Vineyards - Minden, IA
The Clubhouse - Trainer, IA
The Depot - Shenandoah, IA
The Firehouse - Red Oak, IA
Hope’s - Red Oak, IA
Jan’s Bullpen - Sidney, IA
Mount Ayr Country Club - Mount Ayr, IA
Gardenview Care Center - Shenandoah, IA
Sugar Clay Winery - Thurman, IA
Farm Fresh Acoustic Folk Fest - Manning, IA
? - Swisher, IA
The Mill - Iowa City, IA
The First Ward House - St. Joseph, MO
Rockin’ Daddy’s - Wichita, KS
McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe - Omaha, NE
The Pizza Shoppe & Pub / PS Collective - Omaha, NE
Mick’s Music & Bar - Omaha, NE
The Icehouse - Omaha, NE
The Brazenhead - Omaha, NE
Travatos - Omaha, NE
The Common Grounds - Omaha, NE
The Grillhouse - Omaha, NE
Avagadro’s - Fort Collins, CO
The Giggling Grizzly - Denver, CO
Tin-Star Saloon - Santa Fe, NM
The Paisley Violin - Phoenix, AZ
The Coffee Grounds - Tempe, AZ
The Sail Inn - Tempe, AZ
Inza Coffee - Scottsdale, AZ
"The Mix" @ Desperados - Prescott,AZ
Walden’s Coffeehouse - Reno, NV
The Harp Inn - Costa Mesa, CA
The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge - Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica Bar & Grille - Santa Monica, CA
"A Drew Pearce House Concert" - Mill Valley, CA
Sweetwater - Mill Valley, CA
"Warehouse Party" o/f The Trainwreck Riders - San Francisco, CA
Bloomingdales - San Francisco, CA (yes, the department store...funny story)
Smiley’s Schooner Saloon - Bolinas, CA
Mr. Toots - Santa Cruz (Capitola), CA
The Boiler Room - Eureka, CA
Old Town Coffee & Chocolate - Eureka, CA
Humbolt Brews - Arcata, CA
Barleycorn’s - Wichita, KS
Spin It Indie III **SXSW** @ One 2 One - Austin, TX
Goofy Foot Lodge - Omaha, NE
Saddle Creek Bar - Omaha, NE
Barley St. Tavern - Omaha, NE
MoJava Cafe & Roasting Co. - Lincoln, NE
The Blue Lounge - Wichita, KS
Soaring Wings Winery & Vineyards - Springfield, NE
32nd Annual ’National’ Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival - Missourri Valley, IA
Quality Living "Sounds On The Grounds" - Omaha, NE
Barley’s "Heart Gallery" Benefit- Council Bluffs, IA

Been a while since I posted a blog so I thought I'd take a minute to fill y'all in on the latest. Last month I released my first studio album FOLKER'S TRAVELS! I first headed west to Colorado to play a set for A Moveable Feast III, which was amazing! (Go to onlyamoveablefeast.com) There's is a lot of talent in the Denver area. I was lucky enough to catch several impressive sets, my favorite probably being PAPER BIRD. What an incredbly clever and fresh sound! Guitar, Trombone, Banjo, and three angels. Check them out. Also, Jack Redell's set was great, accompanied by Tom Zingaro on lap steel, who later let me sleep on his floor two nights, and cooks a good breakfast. The music, hospitlity, and environment were just what I needed. John Common, another Denver metro-area songwriter, also invited me to join him in Boulder, where I played a set at the Foundry, then jetted back to the Walnut Room in Denver for a midnite set. It was a hell of a night. I then headed to Trinidad, CO and then across SE Colorado to Wichita, KS. If I continue with all the details, I'll be on here all day. Thank you to everyone who let me stay in your homes, and/or bought the new album. I can't wait to come see you all again! Once I was home I did my Cd Release Party at Mick's in Omaha, with the lovely and talented Sarah Benck, and two of the boys from Southpaw Bluegrass! It was a blast, and thank you everyone that came. The next night it was released in my hometown Shenandoah, IA, where things always get crazy, and drunk. Thanks again! Always fun back home.

STICK YOUR NECK OUT is completly out of print. You CAN still download the album from iTunes and several other digital distributors. If you already have a copy, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BURN/COPY LIBERALLY AND HELP CONTINUE TO SPREAD IT AROUND!!! Just keep your original, it could be worth $3 on a used Homer's shelf someday, ha!

On my way to Iowa City, St. Louis, and Columbia next week! Check my page for details. Working in the studio through the winter, should have something new by spring. Stay tuned, I can't believe you read all the way to the bottom.
Adios,
m

This is the article "copied and pasted" If you want to go to the actual link, go to:

http://denversyntax.com/issue12/music/cox/cox.html


From Omaha, Matt Cox is the first out of town musician that syntax has covered. But rightly so. Because on September 20th Cox will make his Denver debut as part of A Moveable Feast III. For this and more, we are blessed to have this gifted gold mine of a guitar slinger visit the Queen City of the Plains.

Cox is younger than me. But he sounds like he's twice my age. In timbre and content his voice portrays a worn soul, one that is speaking from the sepia days of the past through a tin can and a string.

The way Cox plays his guitar, sings and records is how it's supposed to be done in my book. While he may be young, Matt Cox understands space and volume and when to kick it into fifth gear – with his guitar and with his voice. In this he has a tremendous aptitude – one that is not learned, but rather, known – a priori.

The same can be said for his content and lyrical aptitude. Cox talks about everything Middle America. He talks about county jails, the sheriff, honest pay, and a life of drinking heavy. But he's not some country bumpkin – no, Cox's content - musically, compositionally and lyrically are laced with that rare kind of complex simplicity. Because while everything may feel like Middle America – in the end, his work is about the human spirit and it's ghostly, cosmic condition. An example of this is to be found in a lyric that, if you blink, you may miss:

Deep in the heart of Iowa/Deep in the heart

So obvious is his talent and humanity that, after hearing his work, the Late Jack Redell drove all the way to Omaha just to meet Cox. "Matt Cox's songs swagger with visions of an America that I haven't convincingly heard since the Band took their collective last breath…" Redell said, "I find him impossible."

Cox plays with an earnest pace, with songs that feel so far away from city lights that I am lead to question my own urban existence. It's people like Matt Cox that make me feel ridiculous for living a city life. It's people like Cox that lure me into disappearing for a more virtuous life in the cornfields. In the hills. In a small town. Forevermore I want to sit on a dusty front porch on a creaky swinging chair and watch the sun set to the west. That's the kind of life I want to lead: simple and with the dirt of the land on my trousers; driving home from work in a beat-up old pick-up truck, with a bottle of whiskey. It's as Cox says:

Just a fishing pole and an apple/No more material things

While life can beautiful, there is always a sense of torture – one that resonates in Cox's words and mostly, his voice. Redell said, "Cox sings from the hardest place I know… it's hell there."

His work is conversational. Even within his sparse and haunting arrangements it is conversational - where banjos and violins creep around him like ethereal ghosts in an empty farm house – there is always an element of connection. Whether that be in his rich storytelling aptitude or within the fact that he lacks pretension. For your whole ride through his musical landscape, Cox drops the wall between himself and the listener. He says things like:

There's more beneath the surface/More than what you think you hear

Living in Omaha, Cox is in the middle of a cultivated scene created by singers and songwriters and folks like Saddle Creek Records. But that's not to say that this monster of an undiscovered talent is not being recognized. Jess Stanek wrote that Cox's work is composed of "...timeless songs, hymns full of lonely highways, distillery lunch breaks, longing and realization." Still, at this point, Cox is flying under the radar – even more reason why it is a tremendous treat to have somebody of his caliber playing Denver in September.

Even when Cox leaves the Queen City, stay in touch with his sure fire rise: www.myspace.com/crookedroadblues and www.mattcoxmusic.net.

That's Hemingway for you who are wondering, huh?

This September I'll be taking the new cd on the road for a short trip through CO, KS, and MO. Starting with A Moveable Feast III in Denver. The "Feast" is a 3-day festiavl of songwriters mostly based in Colorado, and this year I'm lucky enough to be invited by my friend Jack Redell, who is also doing the graphic design on my new album...GO JACK!
JR's been a great help in the last few months and the only thing I can do for him is encourage you to check out his music online and go see him perform if he's listed in your town! There will be a compilation cd of all the artists performing (which I'll soon have more info about), and KCUV in Denver will be featuring us the whole month of September, so if you happen to be in CO...

Join us for A Moveable Feast III
Thursday 9.20 - Saturday 9.22, 2007
The Walnut Room
3131 Walnut St.
Denver, CO 80205
303.292.1700
www.thewalnutroom.com
artist line-up and times available via
www.onlyamoveablefeast.com
Admission: $10

I will soon have the master copy of my latest recordings, that I'm, at least, currently calling Folker's Travels. Graphic design is being done by my friend Jack Redell, and it looks like I'll have it all packaged, in my hands, and on sale by September 18th!!

Also, be sure to stop by the new website www.mattcoxmusic.net and check it all out.
I'd love it if you signed my guest book and joined my email list!

You can contact me now at my new email info@mattcoxmusic.net

Playing shows and getting to travel a little is definately what keeps the fire burning for me, and I expect to always remain passionate about music, but to really put yourself out there, and gain any recognition, you have to bust your ass. So, my hat's off to all "do-it-yourself" independent artists (unsigned) who continue to pursue their true hearts desire, and to all the ones who wouldn't have a clue what to do without music, like myself.

Some talents are truly a blessing and a curse. I think that's really what Robert Johnson was trying to say about selling his soul to the devil. It's not like the devil wrote him a check after discussing it over coffee. It's just that all the fame and money in the world won't save you. There's a lot of compramise needed in order to follow one's heart and the hearts of others, to not let down the people you love, and still not leave your true self behind.

"...and I could find another dream, one that keeps me warm and clean, but I ain't dreamin' anymore, I'm just waking up". --jason isbel

...'till next time.

Keep on rockin' in the free world.

Howdy amigos! Just letting ya'll in on the latest. I am officially sold out of CD's; however, CDBABY still has three left. There's a link to those remaining if you click back to my profile page! Thanks again to everyone who got ahold of one. There are only a couple hundred out there, so consider it a collector's item...ha!

You probably noticed there are downlaods available now on myspace through SNOCAP. All my tunes can be purchased individually for $0.99! It's an easy process, so long as you have a valid credit card.

For now, those are the best ways to listen on your computer or stereo, but if you are in or around Omaha, you can always catch me live. This May of 2007, there are some great upcoming shows that I'm really excited for!

Starting it off Wednesday, May 2nd at the Barley St. Tavern. 63rd & Maple St. The first of what seems to be my Benson spring tour. Joining me that night will be Justin and Josh from Southpaw Bluegrass (mandolin/fiddle) and possibly Nate from Vinnie Bronx (percussion)!

Friday, May 4th I'm headed to Lincoln for MoJava's Friday Night Concert Series!
My first time playin in the capitol city! Come on out and show some support and get your caffeine fix.

To follow that up, I'll be sharing the stage with Sarah Benck and Chris Saub at Mick's Saturday, May 5th! 59th & Maple St. This will be interesting. The first of Mick's Cell Mates Series which hosts three local songwriters together with the emphasis being on original material and improvisation. This should be a cool chance for the artists to discuss there music and a rare chance to collaborate!

More fun shows all month, including a long awaited reunion with good friend Ben Green at Barley St. May 30th, going to be awesome - trust me! A much anticipated evening with Jack Redell at the PS Collective! Jack's been blazin a trail between Cincy and Denver the past several years and you can hear the great experience and musicianship in his tunes on May 13th. A Sunday night, but a toleralbe 7-9p show. They replay Sopranos all week!

All that plus another trip to the ICT, Wichita that is for all you cornhuskers. A couple nights with Moreland & Arbuckle is always a good thing. Check them out for real.

More in June check the calender for updates!
Hope to see you soon!
-m

I just want to thank every person who bought a copy of my live EP, STICK YOUR NECK OUT, and to those of you who took the time to listen and/or share it with someone else. I hope you enjoyed it despite some of the obvious flaws that come with recording live (and for free). My next project has been a little more time consuming, and required a lot more planning and working around peoples schedules, but should be worth the efforts once we reach the finish line.

I currently have about twenty or twenty-five copies of the EP left, and could run out within the next couple of weeks. If you would still like one, I believe CD BABY STILL HAS THREE LEFT. As of right now, I don't plan to re-issue this album, but plan to release a Volume ll at some point.

WATCH FOR A NEW STUDIO RELEASE OF ORIGINALS - Fall '07!!!

Thanks again for listening!

-m