It’s summer, time has slowed down, morning alarms turned off, everything is more relaxed - myself included. I spent a week with my family at a beach resort near Niagara Falls. My kids had a blast riding the waterslides, soaking in the pool and collecting rocks at the beach. It was a nice break from the pace I’ve been running at for the last few months.
We’re starting to get back to the lazy summertime routine at home, which has given me some time to line up a few projects.
New Gig: Stray Dog Aug. 7th with James Leclaire
It’s time to announce a show: James Leclaire and I will be playing a show together at Stray Dog Brewery on Friday Aug. 7th. We’ve both released new albums in June (The Deal and Vacated Shapes - go check ‘em out!) and it’s been a little difficult to coordinate our schedules to fit a show together, so I’m glad we were able to get this gig up and running. Plus, I’ve never played a show at Stray Dog, so I’m looking forward to experiencing a new venue that has been super supportive to the local music scene. Tickets are available for purchase now!
New Digs: MattGower.net
I have a new website! I already feel more official - not sure why I’ve been dragging my feet on getting one up and running, but it feels good to have a more professional looking hub for folks to find my music, podcasts, and even this newsletter!
Steinbeck Summer
While I was on vacation I decided to make Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck my beach read. I’ve never really delved too deeply into his work and my mind was more than a bit blown with his prose. Steinbeck leads a masterclass in descriptive storytelling, painting a vivid picture in my mind’s eye. I’d recommend reading his work to any songwriter. Every word is as close to perfect as humanly possible - he lets the surrounding environment shape his writing. After I’m finished with Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden might my next summer read…