Sean C. Morgan
Deb Cooley of Sweet Home is putting the finishing touches on her fourth album, and Friday she will preview some of the new music as she performs at the Club Vortex in Albany.
She has finished eight songs and is working on the final two cuts for the new album.
“We’d like to be finished before the end of the year, but it probably won’t be out till the first of the year,” Cooley said. “This is probably the most defining of all of them.”
Her work is all original, tapping into rock and folk for guidance while taking a few cues from Sheryl Crow, a hint of Evanescence and perhaps a dash of Enya.
The lead-off song title is “I’m Not That Nice,” Cooley said. It started as a poem by Mary Betts of Sweet Home. A video for the song may be seen on youtube.com.
Cooley is continuing a 10-year professional relationship working with David Samuel, owner of New Destiny Studios in Albany. Samuel handles the instrumentation.
“It’s evolved,” Cooley said. “The evolution is finding a place that you get across your ideas from within.”
She works closely with Samuel to develop the sound of each song, she said, and what they come up with is an eclectic collection of tunes.
“It’s what I like,” Cooley said. “I’m not basing it on anybody I know. I would be bored stiff with one common sound. You watch “American Idol,” and they insist people have one sound.”
Cooley grew up on a wide variety of musical styles, she said, but she brings a strong folkish streak.
“That’s where I started from, but that just evolves when you start putting other stuff with it,” she said.
Music has always been part of Cooley’s life, she said. She sang with local musicians in high school, including Chuck Stenberg, Eric Duncan and Lester Byler. She has directed the Singing Christmas Tree’s children’s choir.
C.R. Wells, another local singer, heard Cooley sing a solo during the Singing Christmas Tree program a decade ago, and he told her she needed to record some music for herself, Cooley said. Her middle son, Logan, also encouraged her, so she took their advice and now she can’t stop.
“I think music sustains you,” said Cooley, who also enjoys painting and drawing, and is a hair stylist by trade. “I don’t know if anyone knows how it consumes you. I want to be creative. I don’t want to be standing in one place.”
Cooley will showcase her music at Club Vortex, owned and operated by Samuel Friday night. Tickets are $50 through PayPal at the New Destiny Studio Web site, newdestinystudio.com. People interested in attending also may contact Cooley directly at (541) 401-0538.
The club is at the studio, and it hosts a show once per month in a classy, formal setting.
Cooley has performed with Samuel in a variety of locations, including the Venetian in Albany and Mollies Bakery, the Rio Theater and a fund-raising event in Sweet Home.
In addition to album sales and building a fan base, she is hoping to shop her music around for commercials or perhaps a movie, she said.
“I think people are becoming more eclectic with their musical tastes,” she said, and she believes that Internet marketing is helpful in connecting people to a wide variety of music. With the new album, she will begin a strong Internet marketing campaign.
Cooley, 52, has been married to Scott Cooley for 32 years. They have three sons, Adam of Sweet Home, Logan of Sweet Home and Colton of Washington. She has one granddaughter, Kaylie, 2.
Scott Cooley owns and operates Scott’s Lawn and Yard Maintenance. Deb Cooley owns and operates Deb and Beth’s Hair and Nail Boutique.
For more on Cooley, visit http://www.debcooley.com.