…I’m lucky to have a couple recurring shows that will happen in the coming months….

Thursday Happy Hours at the Bayou are a go for now; we’ll be getting together around 6:00 in downtown Albany for some drinks, some music, and some good people.  Musical guests will be along each week, starting with Thom LaFond, a great guitarist with  Sunny Side of the Street Band.  A great way to get a jump on the weekend for you state and downtown workers , we’re looking forward to seeing you at some of the shows!

http://bayoucafe.com/

Blue Mondays are also returning to the main branch of the Albany Public Library!  Prior to each week’s instructional session hosted by Ben and Tor, I’ll be playing a set between the two auditoriums starting at 6:00pm.  The shows are free and all-ages/skill level attendance is encouraged for both the shows and the classes, which focus on a different aspect of song and songwriting each week.  Had a great time doing the last stretch of these shows and looking forward to getting back to them.

In addition, look out for the Palatypus set happening March 9th.  We’ll be opening up for Zan Strumfeld at her EP release party at the very cool More Bread & Jam Cafe in Cohoes.  Good people and about as great an acoustic space as you can hope for, this will be a great show, don’t miss it!

http://www.facebook.com/zanstrumfeldmusic

http://www.facebook.com/MoreBreadAndJamCafe

And speaking of Palatypus, Mike Poulopoulos gears up to release his second record March 30th at Caffe Lena in Saratoga, lots of great players were on the record, keep your ears peeled, it’s bound to be good…

http://www.mrpoulopoulos.com/

Hey all, apologies on the infrequent updates on this page, the server seems to suffer issues that make uploading even the simplest data impossible.  buuuut, you get what you pay for, and I currently pay little for hosting!

I’m pleased to announce several things; all of which will see more coverage here in the next few weeks;

I’m having a guitar custom-built for me!  It’s a fine piece, and I’ll be posting picks from the entire build process as soon as I can reconcile the net issues.  Hand-made by a great guy in North Adams, MA; Nick Lenski has been building guitars for a few years and is striking out on his own with a brand called Brier Road.  We have  a sweet, Adirondack-spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides, plus all the trimmings to make a good guitar great!  Should be ready and mixing into the sets very soon!

Secondly, I’m pleased to announce that the Albany Public Library will be hosting me again for a residency throughout the month of March and half of April of the coming year.  Details to follow, but it will most likely follow my November and December residency and run from 6-7:00pm on Mondays…this will be followed by Rock School, an interactive program that has local musicians lecturing/teaching different elements of music to people of all ages and abilities.  It’s  great program and I’m glad to be part of it!

We are attempting to wrap up recording this month!  The majority of “Little World” is recorded, but we have a few loose end to wrap up.  I’ve been really lucky to have great people playing on the record, so keep your ears to the ground for when it hits!

Happy New Year!

Starting TONIGHT!, I’ll be doing a two-month stint at the Albany Public Library as a preamble to their Rock School series.   Rock school will feature local musicians giving lecture & learning talks on different aspects of song and songcraft.  Prior to each edition, I’ll be playing a solo set from 6:00-7:00pm.  The whole series (and my shows) are free and open to all age levels.  Great way to spend a monday evening, great way to support your public library!

Dates are as follow;

Nov- 11/5, 11/12, 11/19

Dec- 12/3, 12/10, 12/17

…late March and early April have kept me busy in such a rewarding way. 

We continue to make slow, but definite progress on the “Little World” record, engineer Ryan Slowey has had an incredible amount of patience with my very particular ear, and continues to open his home to me to as we attempt to capture the feeling of some of my songs.  We’ve begun laying down drum tracks, and I’m lucky beyond measure to have the steady hand and creative mind of Tommy Krebs (of Alta Mira) behind the kit.  We have another session today, and hope to finish up most of his kit and percussion work, and hopefully some of his vocals harmonies.  Ryan and Tommy have both been great, working mostly for beer and pizza, though they both deserve much, much more for their continual help.

I’m also booking a 9 day tour in June, which I’m thrilled about.  The deli I work at in downtown Albany is closing for a WHOLE WEEK for the first time since I started there four years ago!  So I’m heading to some places I haven’t been to in a while, where I’ll be catching up with people, camping, sleeping on couches or floors, and generally doing what I’d like to be doing EVERY day of my working life.  I have 5 nights booked so far, with stops in Vermont, Mass, and NY.  I’m working on booking a few more, and the process is at once exciting and daunting.  I’m thankful for the people who have booked me so far, but I think I owe a greater debt to the places that haven’t even bothered to respond;  they remind me that giving up on your ideas/dreams is not an option if you plan to appease the wants of the heart…

A full listing of the tour will be posted soon, when things are booked solid.

In the meantime, support the folks that support folk, by checking out these links; part of the reason our progress on “Little World” has been so slow is that Ryan’s band Maggot Brain is getting ready to release a record, and while I’m not much of a metal guy, it sounds pretty great.  Incredibly tight songs, and the angst is palpable.

 http://reverbnation.com/maggotbrainny

Also, as mentioned, Tommy plays with a superb band called Alta Mira (their bassist August Sagehorn will also be contributing to the record).  I was fortunate enough to celebrate the release of their new CD “I Am The Salt” with them last week at a show at Valentine’s here in Albany.  It’s their third, and best release so far, check them out for sure!

http://altamiralive.com/

My friend and live music connoisseur   Billy LeRoux found this old set from the wonderful Round Lake Auditorium from nearly 6 years ago. It features early versions of some songs I still play and one of the first ever Palatypus public appearances.   You can download or stream the whole thing here;

http://www.archive.org/details/MattDurfeeAtTheRoundLakeAuditorium

Thanks Billy!

The endlessly talented guys in Alta Mira are preparing to release their second full-length CD entitled “I Am The Salt” at the end of March;

I’m thrilled to be able to help these guys celebrate, their songwriting and delivery get better all the time, and I hope this record helps to propel them into a more mainstream audience of which they are more than deserving.   If you’re unfamiliar, check them out here;

http://altamiralive.com/

We’ll be joined at the show by Ben Karis-Nix, musician, small-business owner and all around good dude.

http://benkn.com/

http://designittogether.com/

This will be a great show, don’t miss it!

I’ll be headed out to Stamford, NY this coming Friday (3/16) to perform at the Kaaterskill House with my friend Chris Scharling, who’s just released a batch of sweet new tunes under the Scharling moniker.  You can check them out here;

http://scharling.bandcamp.com/album/travelers-and-thieves

….and then see them LIVE on Friday.

I’m excited to play at “The Kaat”, and have heard that’s a supportive environment for acoustic musicians.  It’s my first time out there, and conveniently near all you Schoharie County folks that I know.  It’s also slated to be a beautiful, almost 70 degree day if the weather holds out, so I hope that will be added incentive to come out and hear some tunes… you can visit their blog spot to find out about directions and more; http://kaaterskillhouse.blogspot.com/

The show starts at 7:00, see you there….

Hey gang, a couple of cool shows this weekend;

Friday 2/24 I’ll be at Design It Together in Troy with the great songwriter Jed Davis.  We’ll be celebrating Troy Night Out by playing some music and making merriment.  Jed is a great talent,  the man can turn a phrase like few others, and I’m excited to hear his tunes again.  Free show at a great, independent space, what more could you ask for?

More, you say?  Okay, Saturday evening, I’ll be donating my time to the Upstate Artists Guild first annual “Back in the Black Fundraising Gala” at the Normanside Country Club.  I’ll be playing after the Classical Guitar Society, during the champagne preview section of the auction.  So get fancy, throw on your social graces, and come on out not only to hear some great music from a bevvy of talented musicians and DJs, but to support a great organization….

http://events.timesunion.com/delmar-ny/events/show/236772385-uag-1st-annual-gala-back-in-the-black

More to come, let it sing!

I have the distinct honor of opening for Mr. Diego Garcia this coming Friday night at The Linda Norris Auditorium in Albany.  The Linda is WAMC’s live performance space, and is an old bank building.   A very cool venue indeed…

Garcia has had a couple of songs bouncing around the radio waves these days, he’s well worth checking out  http://diegogarcia.posterous.com/

This concert is brought to our region by the good folks at WEXT, 97.7 FM.  There’s a great bunch of people over there who have an obvious love for music, and I’m grateful to them not only for the chance to open this show, but to the relentless support they show the local music scene in general.  Check them out online at http://www.exit977.org

Show starts at 8:00, see you there!

http://www.mattdurfee.bandcamp.com

Is where to go to find some demos…