| Matt Wessel Music.com |
| Matt's Journal Jul 13 2005 I finally posted pictures from the June 4 show I did in Barrington, IL. Many of you may remember the journal after the event. It was supposed to be my first outdoor show, but it turned into my first barn show. It was one of the most enjoyable concerts I've ever played, and to top it off, a very talented photographer (whose name is escaping me) took some really awesome photos of me and my group. I posted a bunch of them, although there are many more. I think these are the best, though. I met with my good friend Mike Przygoda last night to go through some of my music and brainstorm ideas on how to arrange them. I can't tell you how excited I am about this new album. I've decided to record the one with words first (to be released this fall) and the instrumental second (to be released in the spring). And after talking with Mike, I'm even more excited. It's going to be a nice mix of hope-filled songs, love songs and songs about my life. I think you'll be able to hear how much Ben Folds has influenced some of my music. You'll also hear some more rock-based liturgical music. There will still be some hope-filled and inspirational music, including a neat one that I'm putting the finishing touches on about my family. I think the entire process will make for a stressful July/August, especially with a Media Guide deadline to meet and vacation plans to see through (I'll enjoy myself while on vacation, but the entire time leading up to it will be saying, "I really shouldn't be going on vacation!"). But the stress will be good stress. Like I said, I'm really, really looking forward to recording this album. I'm going to be going into a studio for a bunch of the numbers. Larry (who now has his own page on this site, though it's not quite done yet - check it out!) will be helping me out still, but I owe it to myself to produce some of the more mainstream songs as perfect as possible. So I'll do most of the piano and drums through Steve (the studio guy) and have Larry help me with vocals and solo instruments. And Larry will also be a huge part of the instrumental album I'm going to tackle after this one is out. As things pick up, I'll maintain a recording log for people to read. I'm also going to be posting the lyrics to these new songs as I complete them. So be sure to check out the lyrics page every know and again. Now onto more important matters ... JULY 8 SHOW A SUCCESS We helped raise over $2,500 for the American Cancer Society last Friday (July 8) at a show in Gurnee, IL. The concert was held at Bethel Lutheran Church and consisted of many of my liturgical songs, some new songs and a few instrumentals. The neatest thing was that they brought in a Steinway grand piano for me to play on. Here we were in a gym and there's a Steinway on the stage. All of us musicians filled the stage nicely and the crowd really got into the show. They even had some kids sitting right up front on blankets and pillows. One of the neatest things was when I asked how many people had never been to one of my shows before. Almost 75% of the crowd raised their hand. I didn't expect to be playing for that many new people! And it's always nice to bring my music to a new crowd. And I think the rest of my musicians signed as many autographs afterwards as me. They're not used to doing that, so that's a testament to how good they sounded! They're awesome. ON THE RUN I ran 9.5 miles last Saturday and 8.1 the Saturday before that as I continue to train for the Chicago Marathon (Sunday, October 9). I think I realized that my body is conditioned enough not to have to run so far this early in the training stages. I'm going to keep myself around the 7 mile mark for the next few weeks and pick up on the longer 12- and 13-mile runs as August winds to a close. But so far it's going well. I'm finishing the runs rather easily and with very little tiredness in my cardiovascular system. The only thing that aches afterwards are my legs (and understandably so). GOTTA HAVE FAITH I still think the Cubs will win the Wild Card in the National League. They're entering the post-All Star Break season on a three-game climb and will only get stronger. I truly believe that. Everybody else is saying they won't, but I disagree. Look for Jim Hendry (Cubs GM) to try to add a bat or two (and a reliever or two) to the roster in the next week or so. Go Cubs! NICE SURPRISE I received an e-mail from a friend who told me she heard one of my songs being played in a church somewhere in Wisconsin. I had never heard of the town, and was amazed to hear that one of my songs ("Be With Me") was being used in a parish that I had never heard of! How awesome is that? READING SESSION I spend 90 minutes this evening playing through some of my liturgical songs with the Three Holy Women choir (the church I belong to). Mary Robertson, the choir director, wanted to hear some of my songs to see if there were some the choir could do at Mass. I was so excited to hear that she was interested in some of my songs. The session went well and I think there are two or three pieces that they could end up using. PUBLISHING UPDATE I send "Song of Gathering", "Take, Lord" and "Those Who Dwell" to GIA Publications for review. I expect to hear back from them within a month or so. While I'm not as optimistic as I once was, it's still exciting to send stuff out and know that there's always a possibility they could want to use it. GO BUCKS! Well, yes, the basketball team, but the softball team as well. With the regular season down to its final game, we're still undefeated. We beat "ClearChannel" tonight to improve to 11-0 on the season. I made a sliding catch in the outfield. I lost the ball in the lights at the very end and was happy to feel it hit the mitt. Had I missed it, I think the guy would have had an inside-the-park home run. I also got a single, flew out and struck out. The strikeout was rather embarrassing. Time for bed! |