A good friend of mine suggested I upload some of my lyrics for the housewives of Pinterest and well…. how could I resist?

So here by request are some Ryan Cook inspirational quotes, feel free to share :)

The world wide web can be either a scary place, or a great place to waste 95% of your waking life.

Either way, I’ve created some spaces where you can feel safe. They are:

Facebook.com/iryancook

Twitter.com/iryancook

Pinterest.com/iryancook

I’ve got some great news for our friends in Halifax, NS. I will be performing Friday April 13th at the Harbourfront Lounge (Casino Nova Scotia) as part of the MNS New Music Friday’s weekly event. I rarely get a chance to perform in Halifax these days, despite having lived there for nearly a decade. This weekend I’ll be doing it in style with a rare trio performance. Bradley Glen Reid will join on the bass fiddle and Big Daddy Thomas Majcan with his monster jazz hooks on the lead guitar. The show starts at 9pm and is FREE!!! FREE!! FREE!! Not only is it free but my friends Laura Merrimen and Dana Beeler are also playing. I will hit the stage around 11:30pm, hot times.

On Saturday Robin Dellinger and I will travel to Moncton, NB for the annual East Coast Music Awards. I’ve been honoured with two nominations this year and Robin will be accompanying me on guitar at my two showcases on Saturday April 14th. Both of these sets will be approximately 25 mins, in the showcase style.

Saturday April 14, 2012
ECMA Member’s Lounge @ Delta Beausejour, Mezzanine Level
750 Main Street, Moncton, NB
Set: 1:30 PM 
All Ages 
Admission: FREE

Saturday, April 14, 2012
ECMA 2012 Country Stage @ the Manhattan Also Playing: Jimmy Rankin, George Belliveau, The Keats
939 Mountain Road, Moncton, NB
Set: 9:00 PM 
19+ 
Tickets: $22.00
click here for tickets

Here’s a photo of Robin and I taken at the very first East Coast Music Awards back in 1989. The nominees originally had to enter a battle royale to win the coveted ECMA trophy for Entertainer of the Year. My, how times have changed:

Thank you so much, your support keeps me going…

Yo, I’m writing to you this week from Music City, USA. I’ll be here writing/working towards a new album -my third official LP in the Country genre. I’m excited about the thought of something new and about possibly recording another album here in NashVegas.

But before I close the book on my last album I’ll say that I was excited to hear Peaks & Valleys garnered two more nominations last month, this time from the East Coast Music Association. Peaks & Valleys was given nods for 2012 Country Recording of the Year and 2012 Rising Star Recording of the Year award(s) making a total of six nominations in the shelf life of this independently released Country/Western record. That, combined with the honor of being named Album of the Year by Country Music News in 2010, makes for a nice little run in Canada. All this, thanks to so many great fans and supporters :)… awww (smiley face, rainbow).

Here is a list of the other nominees in these categories, check out the competition! :O

Country Recording of the Year
George Canyon – Better Be Home Soon
Gordie Sampson – Almost Beautiful
Jimmy Rankin – Forget About the World
Ryan Cook – Peaks & Valleys
Tara Oram – Revival

Rising Star Recording of the Year
Babette Hayward – You Might Be Somebody
Brooke Miller – Brooke Miller
Carmen Townsend – Waitin’ and Seein’
Keith Mullins – Localmotive Farm
Molly Thomason – Beauty Queen
Ryan Cook – Peaks & Valleys

The good folks at VZ Magazine have uploaded some new footage from our GEMS ON VHS shoot in Nashville, TN last December. Travis Wetzel joins me on this acoustic rendition of Now That I’ve Found You, from Peaks & Valleys. I hope you enjoy, we have lots of exciting things on the go this year and I will fill you in as things progress. ://:

(remember to set your player to at least 720p for best quality)

Here’s to a Merry Christmas or “Happy Holidays” (whichever you prefer) and a great start to 2012. I don’t have any Christmas music to bring to you this holiday season but I have another youtube video for you. Recorded in Nashville a couple weeks ago with my friend Travis “The Mad Fiddler” Wetzel, this song was filmed at Bobby’s Idle Hour for VZ magazine, and it was a lot of fun. Travis hadn’t heard this song before, which is a favourite of mine by Rex Griffin -a long since forgotten singer/songwriter from the Hank Williams era. Much like Hank, Rex suffered from a lot of “personal demons” and died at a fairly young age, in 1959. Unlike Hank though, Rex Griffin never achieved a similar deal of success, notoriety or recognition. While his songs have been covered by artists such as Glen Campbell, The Beatles, and Willie Nelson, the only recording of Rex singing that exists is a 3 CD boxset from Bear Family Records available by mail order from Germany.

I had a couple requests recently for the chords to Gaspereau Valley. I’ve finally got around to typing that out. Thanks for a great year, it was the most fun I’ve had.
Merry Christmas xo
Gaspereau Valley chords & lyrics

We have finally come to the end of our consecutive Analog Song releases. It was a lot of fun bringing a new song to the web each week and it’s always fun to work with my favorite landed immigrants: Stephen Cooper & Katy Hopkins. They came to Canada as a couple of wild kids with a crazy dream, and now they have a blossoming family of roosters, rabbits and chickens, all on a sprawling piece of real estate in Queens County, Nova Scotia. Please check out their new website for videos by other artists from Nova Scotia and beyond.
Here is a picture of Stephen & Katy at the Yarmouth Mariners Centre:

All of the songs you have watched over the past 3 months were filmed in July 2011 in Chebogue, NS and could not have been made possible without the efforts of Analog Songs (Stephen Cooper & Katy Hopkins) Kelly Sloan, Brad Reid, Kevin Roach, Robin Dellinger, Larry Hattie, Jeff Tooker, Ferguson Music Productions, and Bud & Vivan Kennedy. > I have nothing else to say but thank you, you are really great people.

We end this journey with an original song that I wrote on a snowy Sunday morning in 2006 which I debuted later that evening at the Yarmouth Correction Facility… twas the week before Christmas.

(remember to set your player to at least 720p for best quality)

As soon as we stepped off the plane and into the Nashville airport the first person we saw was Mr. Lionel Richie:

He was looking pretty sharp and didn’t mind posing for a picture with my promoter to compliment our latest Analog Song “Easy” by the Commodores.

A holiday reminder that all of our shirts are now available in the online store and we have just reduced the prices to make them more affordable in this struggling economy.
Click on the photo below to check them out out:

Lastly, I’ve been shivering all day as it is suprisingly cold in the south but it also makes me think of all the lobstermen of Southwest Nova who set sails this morning on another real-life season of the deadliest catch. Good luck and a safe season to all!

photo by Corey Ritchie

This weeks Analog Song is a rendition of the John Hartford song “Where Does an Old-Time Riverman Go?” John Hartford was an amazing songwriter whom also penned one of our previous Analog Songs “Gentle on my Mind”. Hartford was none for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore. He died on June 4th 2001 in Nashville, TN. www.johnhartford.com

(remember to set your player to at least 720p for best HD quality)

As the countdown to CHRISTMAS and Happy Holidays begins we’ve decided to list the latest Peaks & Valleys tour shirts in our ONLINE store from now until Christmas! Stocking stuffer? =Happy Camper. To check them out simply click here or on any of the shirts below:

After a very busy spring, summer and fall, I will be taking a break from performing over the next 5 months. This will be my first extended absence from the stage in almost 5 years. I will resume touring in the spring of 2012 but until then I will be performing only on a handful of select shows. I am departing for Nashville in a few days and will be spending some time researching and writing for my next album. Looking forward to seeing some old friends and checking out a hockey game at Bridgestone Arena with Peaks & Valleys Producer John Walker.