Hip Hooray!
The Show is just beginning.
Look out on a sea of faces,
Each a little planet spinning…

That’s part of the lyric from a song called “I Am” that I co-wrote with Linda Marks and Lisa Aschmann.

Last year, I opened a great show at the beautifully restored Paramount Theater in Austin, MN with ‘I Am’ as part of the “Off 90″ Americana Music Series. The show was recorded for broadcast earlier this year on public television station KSMQ.

I am very pleased with result. I helps that the audio was mixed by my good friend Thomm Jutz, who produced “The Conjurer” with me in 2010.  So these recordings sound as good as they look.

There are a couple of tracks from the Paramount show on “Road Show,” and several more that are not on the new CD.  So I am going to release the video and  a download of some of those tracks in the weeks ahead as “updates” to this PledgeMusic campaign.

And the first offering is this video/MP3 download of “I Am.”

While I was at it, I included a download of the original studio recording of “I Am” from “Harry Truman Built A Road.”  That CD was released in 2002 but is now out of print, so some of you new fans who have never heard it might appreciate having this copy of the original track.

(Incidentally, one of the few remaining copies of “Harry Truman…” will be  included in the ‘Show Box Collection’ listed in the offers with this campaign.)

You can get all the goodies – the video and the downloads, just by following this link to my PledgeMusic campaign page.

There’s plenty more to come.  I am off today for a month-long tour of Ireland and Denmark and will be sending in plenty of updates from that ‘across the pond’ version of my continuing Road Show.

As always, I hope to see you somewhere down the road, and thanks ever so much for your support.

–Dana

Patronage is a concept as old as the arts themselves.

In the Renaissance, families of great means like the Medici’s became famous in part for their support of the great painters, sculptors, and musicians of the day.

In the digital era, when so much has been disrupted by the advance of new media and models, it seems the arts are returning to a tried and true means of support. And systems have been devised in the past few years that put the concept of “patronage” within easy reach of almost anybody with an Internet connection and a passion for the movies, books, and music that moves them.

So I am pleased to announce that today I’ve launched my own little ‘patronage’ program through PledgeMusic.com. Watch this little video to learn more about it:

My sincere thanks to my friends Montie and Jayna Powell for all the brilliant and hard work that they put into the video.

Now, to see what all we’ve cooked up in the way of special offers, please stop by our campaign page at Pledge Music.

Live in Studio C

This past week I performed a short set for the radio program “Live In Studio C” on WPLN in Nashville.  Thomm Jutz, who co-produced The Conjurer with me, joined me on guitar and vocals.

The program aired live on one of WPLN’s HD Radio channels, and will be rebroadcast on the regular FM station (90.3 FM in Nashville) on Sunday, January 9, at 3:00 PM, and again Tuesday evening, January 11, at 8:00 PM.  If you’re not fortunate enough to be living in the Nashville area to hear one of these broadcasts, the links are now up on the WPLN Website so that you can listen to the archived stream of the show at your leisure.

Wow! Been trying to recall where I was last week and it took a few seconds. Beautiful Michigan! I know I am in danger of exclamation point overuse but I can’t help it sometimes. It was a joy to see all the fall color, the sea of stars strewn across the indigo night, to feel the crisp, cool air, to see the  white capped green and turquoise lakes and, most of all, to see some of my good friends again. Big thanks go out to Bob Brown and everyone at WNMC in Traverse City and to Joe Troyer, Kevin Murphy and all the crew at WYCE in Grand Rapids. These are two of the most supportive FM radio stations out there and I appreciate every one of them. Thanks to all the airplay being given to my new CD, The Conjurer, it  entered on to the folk radio charts at number 24 this week.

On another note, congratulations to Claire Lynch for her IBMA award as best female vocalist for 2010. She is an amazing artist. Her new CD, “Whatcha Gonna Do”, is taking blue grass radio by storm. Claire’s version of my song, “Great Day in the Mornin’”, made it to number two on the blue grass charts. I will open the show for Claire Lynch and her band at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia on December 3.

Congratulations too to John McVey who has  released a wonderful new self produced CD entitled “Unpredictable.” I have missed hearing John’s voice and he raises it here with lots of soul and inspiration. Check out his new songs along with his versions of my “Leave a Little Mark” and “Rodeo Around the World” which I cowrote with Pierce Pettis.

Last August I had the great pleasure to open two concerts for Lyle Lovett and His Large Band. In Kansas City, Missouri we played at the beautiful old palatial Midland Theater where my father once took me to movies when I was a little guy. In Saint Louis the concert was held at Sheldon Performing Arts Center on a stage that had once been graced by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King JR. and Albert Einstein. What an incredible experience to hear Lyle and all those incredible musicians. Even got to sing one of my songs, “Needless to Say”, with Lyle and to lend my voice with the whole group on the closing number “Ain’t No More Cane.” As if that wasn’t enough, the rhythm section was bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel who I had not played with since we worked together on my Electra album in 1973. What a blast!

One more exciting thing on the near horizon is my opening for legendary Jimmy Webb at Dosey Doe in Woodlands, Texas on November 12. Webb is a hero to most songwriters and he certainly inspired and influenced me along the way. I am honored to share the stage with him and look forward to hearing him perform some of his classics like “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Galveston”, “Wichita Lineman” and countless more.

There is so much more to share but I must do this in installments or I will never prepare for my drive to Texas in two days. I must send thank you’s to everyone who comes to the shows, plays my music on radio and internet, feeds and houses me and helps however they can to support what I do. Thank goodness for good people everywhere.

On Friday, December 3, Dana Cooper and IBMA 2010 Female Vocalist of the Year Claire Lynch will share the stage for the first time ever at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, GA.

The event is prompted in part by Claire’s cover of Great Day in the Morning – a Dana Cooper composition that is the opening track of Claire’s chart-topping new CD, Watcha Gonna Do.

“I’ve had Great Day in the Morning waiting in the wings for several years,” Claire says, “and this band just seemed like the right ensemble to record it with.  It’s a great opener for my sets, for radio shows, and I’m told that some of my fans even start their mornings with it!”

“Claire Lynch is one of the strongest, tenderest singers in this world and an illustrious songwriter to boot,” Dana said. “What a gift to hear her sing my song and make it her own”

For Dana’s fans who are not familiar with Claire (and vice-versa), here’s a 6-song sampler of some of the songs you can expect them to play at Eddie’s Attic:

I honestly think there is a better than even chance this show is going to sell out. If you live in the Atlanta area (or even if you don’t!) and want to treat yourself to an outstanding even of live acoustic music, think about buying your tickets in advance.

These wonderful, talented people are Dorthe Gerlach and Michael Hartmann and they have a band in Denmark called Hush. The three of us met a couple of years ago, struck up a strong friendship and have been writing songs together every chance we get. Just spent two days with them at Engelsholm school for art and music. This is an amazing place for aspiring writers and artists with classes on songwriting, electronic music, painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, glass blowing, and jewelry. Situated in a castle built beside a lake in 1593 surrounded by a moat and miles of woods and farmland, inspiration is everywhere.

I hope to visit and record with Michael and Dorthe next week when I return to Copenhagen. Check them out on MySpace under the Sound of Hush. Terrific people making great music.

I have been invited as a guest of the renowned Tonder Festival this coming weekend. Quite a lineup of international talent will be present including many US artists. Friday I sit in with MC Hansen and his band to kick things off there. After that I make a two day visit back to Copenhagen then on to  Germany for a concert with my co-producer, co-writer, guitar wizard Thomm Jutz in his hometown of Karlsruhe. Joining us will be songwriter Liam Merriman from Waterford Ireland. Then Thomm and I perform in Berlin for my expatriate friend Leonard Lott at his unique, cozy Berlin Guitars.

I feel privileged to have so many friends in my life, to be welcomed almost everywhere I go in the world and to experience and share the power of music. I will post more highlights of the people and adventures on this trip soon. Now for a good book and some sleep while the cool Danish rain taps on my window.

In addition to opening the two shows for Lyle Lovett in Kansas City and St. Louis, Lyle also asked me to join him on stage to a duet of Needless to Say, which he remembers fondly from those days back in the 1980s when we played clubs together around Houston.  I recorded Needless to Say on my own 1992 CD “Stone by Stone,” and include it here for your listening and downloading pleasure:

(you might have to reload your browser if the widget doesn’t show up)

In addition to Needless to Say, I’ve also included in this mini collection a song called Too Deep A Sorrow from my 1997 CD “Miracle Mile”  Lyle joined me on vocals on this track.  You’re welcome to listen to these songs from your browser, download ‘em to your iPod, and share them with friends – try clicking on the “share” link in the widget, that will give you all kinds of options to send links to Facebook, Twitter, via e-mail, etc.

Finally, if you’d like to see some more photos from the weekend with Lyle while listening to Needless to Say, click here to view a slide show of photos shot by my manager Paul Schatzkin.  When the window opens, click the little “play” arrow in the lower right hand corner to control the play back.

Not only was it a great thrill to open two shows for Lyle Lovett in Kansas City and St. Louis earlier this month, but imagine my surprise when I went on stage during the first sound check and discovered the personnel of The Large Band included bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel.  These guys played on my very first record when I recorded for Elektra Records in Los Angeles in 1973, and have since gone onto stellar careers as the first-call, A-Team Rhythm Section in all of rock and pop, playing for everybody from Jackson Browne and James Taylor to Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt.  If you don’t believe me click their names, you’ll see the list of credits goes on forever.  I had not seen either of these guys since we recorded that first record together; needless to say it was a real kick to see them again:

And I had a nice moment with Lyle after his “meet and greet” at the beautiful Midland Theater in Kansas City.  He was very gracious, taking as long as it took to say hello to everybody who wanted a moment of of his time:

Lyle Lovett was most generous in inviting me to open two shows for him and his Large Band. First we played the majestic Midland Theater in Kansas City where my father took me to see movies when I was just a kid. The second night we played at Sheldon Performing Arts Center in St. Louis. Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and Martin Luther King Jr. are just a few of the amazing people who have lectured there in the past. Photos here show me rehearsing with Lyle to join him during his show for a duet on my song “Needless to Say,”at the Midland Theater and then a look out from back-stage at the house during my opening set. Lyle and his entire band and crew were all an inspiration to work with.

Rehearsing "Needless to Say" during soundcheck

Performing for a full house at the Midland Theater in Kansas City

Music City Roots

There were a lot of photographers at the Music City Roots show I performed two nights ago at the Loveless Barn on the outskirts of Nashville. Guitarist and The Conjurer co-producer Thomm Jutz and percussionist Kirby Ferris joined me on the stage for a set that rocked the house.

There was quite a team of photographers there, here are some of their photos.  Soon as the video from that show goes up on their website, I’ll post it here, too.