CORY MON RELEASES NEW ALBUM: ‘YOU DON’T KNOW ME’

The Proper Way Studio in Ogden turned out to be the place not only for one song, but a new unexpected music project.

NEWS / MUSIC

Shane Osguthorpe, Cory Mon, and Scott Rogers. Photo courtesy of Cory Mon

Cory Mon will release a new album, You Don’t Know Me, recorded at The Proper Way studios in Ogden, Utah, on Saturday. It’s the singer/songwriter's first full-length album in a decade, and a bit of a departure from the “funky, dancy” guy he’s known for. The 12 emotionally-charged songs were waiting for the right time, and perhaps the right studio. 

Mon’s music career spans more than two decades with seven original albums and over 60 songs – work that hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s toured with and/or played with some of his favorite musicians including JJ Grey & Mofro, Sean Hayes, The Avett Brothers, and Patterson Hood (of Drive-By Truckers). This year, he’s on the lineup for Fort Desolation music festival in Torrey, Utah, alongside Black Pumas, Sierra Ferrell, Paul Cauthen, The Record Company, and more.

The music never stops for Cory Mon, which he refers to as “my blessing, my curse,” but he doesn’t force it. The songs on the new album were written over the years to process divorce, figure out relationships, and himself. He didn’t have any set plans for them. “A lot of these songs I didn’t write for an audience, it was therapy,” he says. But one of these songs caught the attention of a musician with a recording studio up north.

Scott Rogers and Shane Osgupthorpe are members of The Proper Way band based in Ogden where they have a recording studio. Rogers invited Mon to record “I Owe” after seeing a video of Mon performing the song at The State Room show supporting Marc Broussard. It was “unreal,” said Rogers, who until then had only briefly crossed paths with Mon in the local music circuit. 

“I Owe” is gripping and raw with emotive screams about a past lover still popping up in dreams ten years later. As a listener you feel his ache of waking up after seeing that “ghost.” It was written 10-15 years ago, but Mon says he didn’t know how or when he would record it.

The Proper Way Studio turned out to be the place not only for “I Owe” but the entire album. It’s not your typical recording studio; it’s a safe haven where artists can be vulnerable. “We specialize in people leaving their religion or relationships” jokes Osguthorpe.

Soon, a small batch of songs turned into “a masterclass of production, songs, and good vibes,” Mon says. He was happy to find that as musicians themselves, Rogers and Osguthorpe wanted Mon to play live, no clicks. “The click kills the vibe,” says Osguthorpe. “It’s as human as possible in here.” 

Another example of this is the beautifully raw song “Clocklight.” Rogers says Mon’s vocals and Osguthorpe on the keys is all that was needed: “His songs are so damn emotive, I don’t even want to touch it.” 

Sometimes silence is the instrument. “There’s as much music in the empty space as there is in the notes,” Osguthorpe says.

Rogers does build fantastic soundscapes when it’s called for, like in the Tom Waits-y “Sun Don’t Shine (Kiss Me Where)” complete with a ratchet, hammers, a chattering teeth wind up toy, dripping water, and steam.

“The Minnesota” has the subtle sound of a river underneath the entire song. And a ticking clock supports the title track “You Don’t Know Me.” The theme of the self-empowerment anthem song, Mon says, is that you can’t categorize a human being. 

“We are all completely and totally ourselves,” says Mon. 

Cory Mon. Photo provided

Ten of the tracks on You Don’t Know Me were released as singles, one every two weeks, starting in October; the last two songs will drop with the full album on Saturday, March 30, including the duet “Gonna Keep On Stealing,” co-written and performed with Mon’s 9-year-old daughter Attie.

Not on the album, but worth mentioning is Attie Mon’s recording of “Stevie Nicks", a favorite song of her dad’s. Her version, “Taylor Swift,” is now streaming on Spotify.

The album release show is Saturday, March 30, 8 p.m., at The State Room in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Proper Way will open the show and join the Cory Mon band for their set. For more upcoming shows and information visit corymon.com.