The time has come, and it's been too long!  Cousin Dave is back in the saddle and ready to rock again... and I want YOU all to be there!

Come and join me for a return to the spotlight at Taylor's... the closest to home I can get you without inviting you all over to my house :) (I've tried that before...)  I want to see you all there to help me ROCK THE HOUSE!!!

THE TIME IS HERE... THE TIME IS NOW... LET'S GO!!!

Your old buddy,
Cousin Dave

Announcing... The Cousin Dave Photo Contest!

Alrighty friends and fans... Here's your chance to win some prizes the EASY way!  We want photos of the band in action... rocking out on stage, chatting with friends, and hanging out with you!  Your job is to capture the best of the best.  There will be 5 winners, so grab your camera and make sure you are one of them!

Best full band shot:
Prizes include: Cousin Dave t-shirt of your choice, Limited press acoustic demo "Naked", Hand written lyrics to the song of your choice, signed set-list from the latest show, AND You will be our number 1 friend for a month!

Oops... we had a bit of a disconnect today and didn't acomplish as much in the studio as we had planned, but we still figured out some pretty cool stuff and opened the door to some unique possibilities in recording that we could acually pull off live without a hitch if we are good like that.  If you didn't know... that's a part of my recording philosophy... if you can't do it live, it probably shouldn't be done in the studio that way.  There are some exceptions, but be prepared for some raw sounds on the new recordings.  If you hear us here first, and then come and see one of our shows, and you don't like us at least the same if not better, then we haven't put on a good show!  I personally hate to see a band that I like on CD only to find out that they SUCK live... I will not suffer that fate myself... I refuse!  I'd rather practice for hours, days and months and pull off a tight sounding show than to just fake you out with some cool studio tricks and disappoint you live.  YOU are the reason that we perform, and YOU deserve the best we can give!  No smoke and mirrors here folks... that's why I put all live tracks on MySpace to begin with... so you can get a taste of what I'm really like live as a solo acoustic artist.  This will be much bigger and more powerful sounding, so fasten your safety belts and strap on your rockstar boots!  If the rest of this turns out like the track we worked on today, you are in for a face-melting rock experience.

Rock on...
-CD

Well yesterday was a good day at the studio... We recorded preliminary voice and guitar tracks and final drum tracks to "Strawberry Champagne" and "Nose To Nose" without any hitches.

If you aren't familiar with how things usually go in the recording studio for new tracks it goes like this... (more or less)

1. Rehearse til your fingers are falling off and your voice nearly quits for weeks.

2. Enter studio as "tight as possible" and record guide vocals and guitar tracks to a click track or metronome (to help keep timing tight).

3. Record drums with guide and click tracks in the drummer's headphones.

4. Add bass guitar, regular guitar (higher quality) and any other instruments.

5. Re-record vocals with large diaphram condenser mic(s).

6. Mix and master audio tracks together.

7. Make a CD or an mp3 to distribute to the masses.

So we are embarking upon Step 4... on these two songs.  We'll add Nate on bass and re-record my guitar and vocals next week and hopefully start mixing.  We're going to try some innovative techniques in recording, so look for a kinda unique sound (if it works the way we hope)  It may seem like a simple process, but I assure you it is not as easy as it sounds!  I'll keep things updated as they go along!

Rock on...
-CD

Tom Portanova Films and Jester Films present:

Cousin Dave: Live in Atlanta, GA

"Life Upside-Down"

"Love Affair"

"Strawberry Champagne"

"Maestro"

What's new?  Well plenty is new for good ol' Cousin Dave... I am working with some fine musicians to fill out the sound and rock up the tunes.  I hope you are looking forward to this as much as I am... it's been 2 years since I have had a band to back me up, so it's been a long time coming!  I'm not ready to announce all of the players yet, but I can tell you that the band is keeping my name and we will go by the name "Cousin Dave" as a band... so if you already have logoed shirts, CDs, ankle bracelets, or tattoos you can hang on to them... I'm not getting rid of that stuff. 

As a result of working with a new band, I will be making less solo appearances for a while, but that doesn't mean I will never play solo acoustic shows again!  I do enjoy doing that, and I appreciate all of the love and support that so many of you have given me during this phase of my musical career.  I've been doing the solo acoustic thing for over a year now... can you believe it?  Some of you have even been there since the very beginning when I was nervous as hell and had never done anything in public without a backing band before in my life!  I have nothing to say but THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!  You made this possible by simply believing in me and showing me support!  Get ready for the rock... it's coming soon!

Rock on...
Cousin Dave

Hiya everybody!  I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks to the many people that have helped me out this past year in kicking off my music career as a singer/songwriter... there are so many people that are out there pulling for me and helping me in so many ways that there is no way to name you all and not miss someone!  There are a few people out there that have gone WAY above and beyond and I would like to mention them...

Bellian, it all started with you... you encouraged me to get out there (even if I wasn't all that good at playing guitar on stage at first!)  You pushed me to play anytime that I got the opportunity, and I did... you inspired me!  Thanks for the push... I needed it!

Stacey and Sara you were my number one fans first... you came when no one else showed up and on the weeknights and all of the other times that were so dead, but I had to do it to get better at live performance.  Your honesty is always appreciated, and your presense is always most treasured!  I love you both!

Lisa and Brian, you introduced me to Lynam beyond just meeting them as a "fan" and it totally changed the course I was on... I'd probably be in a coffee shop right now playing for no one if it wasn't for you two!  I feel like we were friends pretty instantly and I am so glad that we met for so many reasons.  You are the core of my "Bama friends"!

Jacob, David, Mark and Peanut, you guys are great!  I appreciate everything you have done sharing your shows with me... it's helped me more than you know, and I will do anything I can to help you in return!  You rock and there is nothing anyone can do to stop you!  Thank you for letting an "unknown" join you on stage so many times!

My family came out and supported me so much and even came to places that weren't "comfortable" to show me the love and support that only they could provide.  I know my style isn't always what you prefer musically, but I appreciate you coming anyway!  Dad, I think you are getting earplugs for Christmas next year lol

Lori J, Lisa, Della, Koji, Court, and so many others... Your photos and film have helped pave the way to success... You captured those moments while I did my thing both on stage and off, and I can honestly say that when you are around, I never worry about a thing... I know that it will always be a moment that I can remember and share for a lifetime!  You make that possible and I thank you!

Caroline, Brandy and Ryan, you three have brought more people to my shows than all of the rest combined... you are awesome friends and definitely my top local supporters!  Thank you for everything you have done... you are responsible for so much of my success as a local musician!

Amy, Erin, Rebekah, Kristin, and all of the others who have given me a place to crash when I headed out to your town to perform and hang out, I definitely couldn't have done it without you!  You gave me a place to rest so I didn't have to drive back to ATL in the wee hours of the morning, and I am still alive to say thanks because you are so unselfish and giving!

Frak, Lance, Tony, Bellian, and Max Booty, you have all been my musical cohorts both on and off stage, and I appreciate your talents and welcome you in joining me any time!  You really are "special guests" in so many ways.  We are all going to make it... just you wait!

Crystal, Ang, and rockbox... You are such an important part of local music and you aren't even "local" to ATL all the time... thank you for doing what you do and making it fun to rock and roll... Always!

Tracy-Leigh, Amy, Sonya, Rhianna, Reanna, Erin, Lynsey, Brandi B, Brandy L, Michelle, Rebekah, Lisa, and the rest of the front-row girls You are my front-line defense.  I always know that when I sing "Take my hand and we'll make it I swear." your hands will reach out to me every time!  You make performing more fun always... and you are definitely the prettiest girls around... It's a pleasure to see you first!

There are so many other people that have shown me love and support and it would take all day to say something about you all individually.  If you weren't mentioned specifically, please know you are all appreciated as fans and my friends!  I don't feel like "fan" is appropriate for most of you... it's more of a family than a fan base.  I'll keep rockin' and y'all keep listening... spread the word!  You all have a Cousin Dave now if you didn't before (and if you did before, then now you have two!)  2007 holds untold amounts of fun... be ready to rock!  Thanks for being there and giving me so much support!

Rock on my friends!
Cousin Dave

You might have noticed that I've been in a bit of a funk here for a few months.  I think it's all just come at me so fast that I wasn't sure how to get out of the holes I was already digging and in came the dirt behind me to fill them all in.  I've learned that life keeps moving at the same pace whether you can keep up or not, and playing catch-up is a real challenge!  I'm definitely not caught up yet, but I'm well on my way.  It helps to have a better attitude about it all, and that is something I can certainly change.  I gave up on a lot of things that I love by letting myself get bogged down with all the junk that got in the way. 

It sounds so silly, but I fixed a lot with one little plug.  I put my acoustic in the case and fired up my little practice amp and a cheap borrowed electric guitar and I came alive!  Saved by rock and roll???  Maybe!  Now that I think back on it, I very well might have been driving to Alabama for a rock and roll fix every other weekend and I just didn't realize it.  Thanks Lynam... it's always a pleasure to join you on stage!  I also got sparked by one of my favorite songwriters, Pete Yorn, when I went to Nashville to see him with BC.  Just standing there up front watching him do exactly what I do at my own gigs and open mics, only he has a band to fill out the sound and complete the masterpieces.  Pete and I have a lot in common from what I understand about the way he writes and records... he does most of it himself and then just has a band to make it happen live.  Thanks for the kick in the pants BC... I needed it even if you didn't know it!  It didn't hurt to have a gorgeous girl by my side ;)

So what does the world need?  My world needs more rock and roll!  It seems there are very few good rock bands that are getting breaks these days... is it because there aren't that many good rock bands out there?  I kinda feel like that is the case.  The old bands are winning the race these days, but just barely.  You know it's weird when they don't have enough new bands to have a full bill so they stick old bands in the headliner slot and make the new bands the openers for them because they can't hack it and draw a big enough crowd.  We need a new movement in music and rock and roll needs a kick in the pants!  I thought we had the beginning of a new rock revolution on the brink when I saw the popularity of Jet, The Vines, The White Stripes, etc. boom when they first hit the market, but they fizzled like alka-seltzer and disappeared only reappearing in the ocassional burps that followed.  I'm not saying they won't be back, but they'd better hurry up!  I saw Jet recently and they rocked... they just didn't have the support that they needed to play an arena like Philips.

What can you do to help?  Support your local rockers!!! ... yeah even me ;)  Spread the word and share the music of your favorites with your friends and drag them to shows.  It's funny, you can hear a new band on mp3 or CD or online or something and might not feel a connection, but if you see the band live and meet them and feel their passion and make that physical connection of just being in the same room you are more likely to pay attention to them and enjoy their performances more.  Remember, online you can only see so much... don't live online!  There's something about meeting someone in person that can't be beat, so show a rocker some love and say hi.  All of the musicians I know really do appreciate it when you just come by and say hi to them.  I personally love it... I am glad to see everyone that I already know and to meet new friends at every show!  Heck I'd invite you all over to my house for a beer and a chat after the show if I could, but that never happens, don't know why (I've tried), but it never happens.

Get ready for some rock... it's coming!!!

Dave

P.S. - I haven't quit the acoustic stuff... promise.

New music is upon us... I just wrote a new one called "The Future" last night :)  Some of the final additions to my live album will hopefully be completed soon as well.  I have to record a new one or two at Eddie's Attic in January or wherever I can set up live recording before then... a coffee shop gig would be perfect!  The recording from Stool Pigeons turned out pretty good... I listened to most of it the next day un-cut and certainly very live sounding... not bad at all.  I am looking for a player online so that I can add them to my current playlist without taking anything offline.  As a thanks for coming out, pretty much everyone that came to Stool Pigeons on the 17th got a free 4 song live demo of the new album as it will appear in the full-length version later on.  If you weren't there, you missed out!  The demos are all gone!  Tom and I will start working on the video from Stool Pigeons very soon.

I know I always talk before each song on the recordings, and though that is done by design in a live recording atmosphere a lot of that will be cut out in the final version... I know you probably love my blabbing, but my mom says I talk too much on the microphone so I'm taking her advice and cutting a lot of it out.  If you'd like an mp3 single of any tracks on MySpace or something that you heard before that is now taken down, just let me know... I don't mind hooking you up with a copy :)  I would love to be playing on all of your mp3 players!

So far no good on the band assembly... I have a guitarist for sure and I am now talking to a bassist, but no gigging drummers have surfaced that will work out yet.  If you know any rock drummers that would be interested please send them my way!  Friends and fans contact options will be coming soon... I'll probably bug you about signing up for one ;)  Hope you had a great Turkey Day... see you all soon!

Cousin Dave