7/15/09

Word of mouth marketing is the good stuff. For instance, I know that the new Harry Potter movie is now showing. The reason I know this is because everyone and their dog went to see it today. I didn't, but everyone I know seemingly did or is planning on it. There is no better marketing than a referral. It's the biggest compliment. If you have your own business, you know what I'm saying is truth. It's the same way I found out about "The Hangover", The White Stripes, Todd Snider, JBWeld, and the tax credit for 1st time homebuyers. I didn't see any of those advertised on TV. I don't really watch TV. Maybe I would have bought a shamwow or a snuggie if I'd heard about them rather than seen them on an infommercial. As a singer/songwriter in this day and age I'm really interested in word of mouth.

Great Hits Picks:
Here they are, in no particular order. You picked 'em. However, I couldn't narrow them down to just ten and since 13 is my lucky number here you go...
1. Sweet Marie
2. American Life
3. 3 Bricks Shy
4. A Million Miles
5. Hinges
6. Good Country Love
7. The Way
8. Guitar Slingin Man
9. Rolling Thunder
10. Hey Leah
Bonus:
11. Ride This Train
12. Fool Enough
13. Your Cowboy Rides Away

There were a couple of shockers. Like "Holding On". I had no idea you guys liked that song so much. I haven't played that in a stone age. Or "Better Him" and "Ride This Train". Too cool. Great to know!
Thanks to all who participated. This is your collection! As a sign of my appreciation, you all get a signed copy hot of the presses once they ship out, along with some other goodies. Thanks again!!

Flatland Flash:
Tickets for the permier Hickerbilly Event of the Year are on sale now! The 2009 Flatland Jam Featuring Luke Bryan, Jason Boland, Phil Pritchett, Back Porch Mary, White Trash Rodeo, The Fuedin' Hillbillies, Bakin Fat and Myself kicks off September 25th with The Jeff Veteto Memorial Bullride; Concert Saturday; Truck and Tractor Pull Sunday. Free Camping and Parking all weekend long. Only 15 dollars per day, or 35 dollars for the whole weekend. We'll be giving away tickets every Friday from here until the event on WCRC All American Country. And Last but Not least, everyone who purchases a weekend pass before September 1st gets his/her name in a drawing for a chance to meet Luke Bryan in the VIP tent after the show. So get with it and get your tickets today and check out all the new updates at www.flatlandjam.com

That's all I have for now. Have a great weekend!!

Reading:
Richistan

Listening:
Jamey Johnson - That Lonesome Song
Brooks and Dunn - Cowboy Town
Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher

Quote of the Week:
"I'd rather watch a duck walk (meaning Chuck Berry) than a moonwalk anyday"
- R.S. Field (producer, drummer, sultan of swing)

Cheers! - Matt

7 – 9 – 2009

The above title is true but doesn't really have anything to do with what I'm about to write...

I don’t have a lot to say today. No gigs…it’s bumming me out to a certain degree. However, I truly dig the time just hangin’ with the family. I need to slow down more and enjoy these moments when they come along instead of wishing I were somewhere else. The older I get the better I get at this.

Just came home from practice and the new tunes we’re working on are coming along well. We worked up “The Man Who Went Up The Mountain” and it rocks. Think Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi. Then we worked up Nightstalker with the new rodeo lyrics. We’re also pulling Good Country Love and A Million Miles out of the attic and dusting them off. Can’t wait to bust them out at Sidney Days coming up. We tried Mexican Radio, but I kept screwing it up and Rob was ready to kill me so we decided I’d better woodshed on that a bit more before we tackle it. We’ll see.

That’s really about it. Not too much happening on the Posse front that’s different from last week. DO mark your calendars for September 25th -27th, which is of course The Flatland Jam. DON’T miss next weeks blog when I unveil the 10 songs to be on the Greatest Hits Collection. I think that fact that I’m having a greatest hits album is hilarious. We ought to instead name it the Golden Oldies Collection, or the Ultimate Collection…something other than Greatest Hits. I don’t know…

Reading: Richistan by Robert Frank

Listening:
1) Brad Paisley – American Saturday Night
2) Randy Houser – Anything Goes
3) Dierks Bentley – Greatest Hits

Watching: The Hangover (the funniest movie I’ve seen since The Big Lebowski, serious)

That’s about all I got. Remember, just because you’re not paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you.

Have a great weekend!
Matt

Howdy,

This is the first blog I've typed in quite a while...first one back in the states since the Stan Tour.  I know I promised to type up the blogs for the trip, and I made a good effort at first.  It just to got too hectic and I got too tired.  I slept every free moment we had there towards the end.  Oh well...Mac, our geetar slinger, does a great job with making collages and he made a great one about our trip.  Just click on the "Troops" button above and follow the links.  It really gives you a great feel for how the trip went. 

Happy 4th of July!!  Especially to our men and women over seas in uniform.  God bless you guys for what you do!  And to all the families burning the home fires back here.  God bless you too!  If we ran into you over in Afghanistan thanks for treating us like kings!  It was a pleasure and an honor.  One I hope to get to do again soon.

Okay...I'm just gonna say it...F*ck Twitter!  There...I said it.  whew...I feel so much better:)  I know it's the cool thing to do right now, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  Who the hell wants to know what I'm having for breakfast anyway???  Just kidding.  I admit it's kind of cool, but I just can't handle one more gadgety dohicky.  So I"m drawing and line in the sand at Twitter.  I hope you can forgive me.  Just hit me up on facebook and myspace.  I'm always on it seems.  All right enough soapbox...onward.

So thanks to a cancellation I have the weekend off.  I was thoroughly bummed about that.  It was going to be a big ol fireworks show followed by Rolling Thunder.  It would have been a blast, but the man put the clamps down and cancelled the show.  So now I'm just chillin' with the rest of yous.  If you're gonna be up in Charleston for Red White and Blue days be sure and check out the Heidi Newfield show.  It's free and my buddies, Marty Williamson and Mike Himebaugh from Hello Dave (great band out of Chicago - www.hellodave.com) will be opening the show. 

Lots of bizness coming around the bend...I'll be using the time off to head back down to Nashville and do some recording.  The next couple projects look like this...
1)  I'll be recording a new song called, "The Man Who Went Up The Mountain" and releasing it as a single.  I've teamed up with the Wounded Warriors Project againa and all proceeds raised (after cost) by sales will go to this wonderful cause.  Check them out at www.woundedwarriorproject.com.

2)  We're re-recording "Nightstalker" with new lyrics.  I was hit up by a friend of mine who is involved with the PBR to re-write the song with bullriding lyrics.  In the new version, "Nightstalker" is a bull that is impossible to ride.   I'll post the lyrics here soon with an acoustic demo and you guys can let me know what you think.  Anyway, they are hoping to use the song in some video footage for the riding videos that are made to chronicle the events.  We'll see. 

3)  We're laying plans for a floattrip to take place next summer.  Let me know if you would be up for that idea.  What do you think...yae or nae?  Or would you rather get a cruise going?  Or maybe a traintrip down to New Orleans?  What do you think?  These are all ideas we're tossing around. 

Well...That's what's going on in Possland these days.  Our next gig is in Sidney IL and I hope to see you there! 

Right now you should raise a glass of whatever you are drinking to toast and say a prayer for those troops out there tonight.   God Bless and Happy 4th of July!!

Reading:
1.  Ernest Hemingway - To Have and Have Not

Listening: 
1.  Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away 
2.  Eric Church - Carolina
3.  Todd Snider - The Excitement Plan

Watching:
1.  The Big Lebowski - Deluxe Version
2.  Back To Afghanistan
3.  Oceans 13

Adios! - Matt

Howdy!

Im back. I would've written last night, but we got stuck out at a base called Salerno. We were supposed to get on a Chinook Helicopter yesterday at 8am, get to Salerno at 9:00am, do the show at noon and be back to Bagrum Air Field (our base of operations) by 3:00pm. And we did get on the Chinook, but what was supposed to be a 1 hour flight turned into a 4 hour flight, stopping at a bunch of different bases while folks onloaded and offoaded. We got to see a bunch of the countryside here in Afghanistan. It's amazing the way these folks live and work. Their farms are stepped on the mountains and they mainly grow poppy plants and marajuana. The soldiers are trying to change that, but it's going to be an ongoing challenge.

Anyway, our flight got commandeered by the Army special forces and we were just along for the ride. Once we did finally get to Salerno it was two hours after when our gig was supposed to be. So we hung out on base and got to meet some very cool folks while we worked out when and where we were going to play. One group was a handful of Illinois boys over there flying Chinooks. It was great getting to talk to them. What was really cool is that we found John Pollard who is actually from Effingham. He and his wife, Julie are both stationed here in Afghanistan. We found out during that time that there were no other flights out of Salerno that night and we would infact be spending the night. This was something we hadn't planned on so we pitched in and went to the PX and bought some clean underwear, socks, soap, etc...for after the show. We'd after all been up since 4:00am walking around in 100 degree weather and we smelled like it :)

So we got setup and did the show. There weren't as many soldiers as we'd hoped but with the schedule mixup not as many knew about it. my voice was giving out the whole time but we got through it and folks enjoyed it. I was so tired by that point that I bugged out right after autographs and let the other guys tear down. The wild thing about getting back to the room was that the whole base is what is called a full "blackout base". that means that there are no white lights allowed outside after sunset. So any light you saw out there was infrared. It was soooo dark that you could not walk without some kind escort or light of your own. This is to prevent snipers from having targets to shoot at. To be sure we were nearly on the front lines of the fight. We were 10 miles from Pakistan and the place was crawling with special forces, Rangers, and light infantry. Along with all the pilots. Anyway, I digress...the night was so black that the stars soooo bright, it looked as though I could reach up and just pluck them out of the sky. I've never seen stars so bright.

Through out the night artillary shells, ours, were being lobbed over into Pakistan and choppers and planes were coming and going. That whole experience in Salerno brought it all home in a big way. The bad guys were only a few miles away, if even that. Our guys and gals are doing such a professional job over here. We have so much to be proud of in them.

So we got up at 4:00am again today and hurried up and waited for a flight back to bagram. And here we are! No gig today, as it had to be cancelled due to our stay in Salerno, but we do get to go out to the flightline and meet the pilots who are toting us around all over God's country.

tomorrow we are going to try and go to Phoenix if we can find a flight, if not tomorrow then hopefully on sunday.

Talk to you later! - Matt

Howdy,

It is 3:30AM here, 6:00PM in the Ham.

We spent another whirl wind day in Kyrgystan and have ended up in Afghanistan at this late hour. Got up around 4:00am to give my vocal chords a chance warm up for the show at 9:00. We also still had to do a sound check so we were busy. Did the show for the night crew and worked some kinks out. The show went off really well and although the crowd was small, they made up for that in enthusiasm. From there it was off to the MANAS (the base were staying at) fire department. They made me dress up in all their gear, oxygen mask and all and do pushups on the tarmack just to see if I could do it. Barely:) From there it was over to the falcon department where we got to hold falcons and learn about how they are used to scare off birds from around the runways. It was really cool. THEN it was off to see some of the biggest planes I've ever seen, the C130 and the C17. I'm glad I went on that tour because that info. would pay off later in the day.

So we got done with all the touring around 5:00pm, grabbed a quick bite and got ready for the show. Pete's Place is the name of the club we were playing and it's a huge tent in the middle of the base. It's a place where soldier's can go and relax, have a couple of drinks and chill out. Think M*A*S*H, but a lot bigger tent and brown instead of green.
Did the show and as soon as we finished, Jeff, our handler, comes up to us and says "The good news is that you guys are still going to Afghanistan, but the bad news is that you are leaving right now." We had to hustle our butts and get all our stuff packed ASAP to make this plane heading downrange. Our orginal flight got cancelled and this was the next best option. So we get to the plane, a C17, in flack vest and helmets, strap ourselves to the sidewall of the plane and off we go into the night. I fell asleep immediately and woke up in Afghanistan. Those flack jackets make good head supports.

They got us staying on base in Bagrum and will fly us out to all the FOB's (forward operating bases) from here to do the shows. What a trip:)

So that's about it for now. We're staying in the same hut where Toby Keith and Charlie Daniels and a lot of other entertainers stayed, so we're in good company.

Kyrgy (Ker-gee) Krud by the way is South West Asia's version of Mexico's "Montezuma's Revenge". Good times:)

Talk to you all later - Matt

Quote of the Day: "Dude, I got SARKED at the FARP." (I have no idea what this means, but it sounded funny.)

Howdy,

I'm going to count this email as a blog, just to let you all know that we're doing a blog from the Stan Tour :) It's 9:30PM monday here, 10:30am monday morning at home sweet home in IL.

We've had one hell of a trip already. We started off on Friday afternoon and most of us haven't slept more than a handful of precious hours. Mac hasn't slept at all in the past 2 1/2 days. In otherwords, this will be short and sweet as I'm about to fall over:)

We left for London and we had a great flight over the pond. We had a 5 hour layover in London so we thought we'd get to relax...WRONG! We ended up spending all that extra time checking our bagage in for the flight to Moscow. I'm not complaining at all, but it was a hurry up and wait scenario for sure. Once we got to Moscow we were held up in customs for a good long while, but we remained in good spirits. We snuck into a first class club and relaxed for a couple of needed hours. We boarded a flight at 10:50pm for Kyrgystan and landed at 5:50 am. We hit the ground running with our liason, Jeff, meeting us at the airport. We had a breakfast and immediately did a tour of the base. We got to drive around in Humvee's and act like big kids checking out the old soviet complex and got a tour of the new American complex. That sounds boring but it was absolutely fascinating. These guys and gals over here are simply amazing. We're in a valley next to a huge mountain range and it's basically a desert. It's a lot like IL climate wise...it's cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Stay tuned for pictures coming soon.

Anyway, our first show is tomorrow morning at 9:00am and then again at 9pm. We get to spend the day with the kanine unit, which trains dogs to patrol the cars coming and going for explosives, and the falcon unit, which trains falcons to hunt and scare off other birds from the runway areas. So two gigs tomorrow and then the next day we're off to Afghanistan.

I'm about to fall over from exhaustion so this is all i'm gonna write tonight. I hope that doesn't sound negative, because i'm absolutely having a blast and am extremely proud to be here for our troops. We ALL are. And these guys and gals are treating us like kings. It's been a true adventure so far.

Talk to you again tomorrow...

Matt

I guess I'm on a story song roll.  With St. Pat's looming on the schedule I got all my Chieftan's, Pogues and Drop Kick Murphy CD's out last week and started getting in the mood.  I just finished this tune this morning...I wrote the 1st couple of lines about a year ago when Mike McDevitt (Mac) joined the band...I would be embarrassed if you knew just how long I spent trying to get the "die dee die dums" right:)

ONE DRUNKEN NIGHT IN IRELAND

MY NAME IS MAC AND A FEW YEARS BACK I STEPPED DOWN OFF THE TRAIN
INTO THE STREETS OF DUBLIN TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE POURIN RAIN
I’D JUST GOT DONE WTH TWO LONG YEARS OF THAT CRAZY ARAB WAR
AND I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE SO GLAD FOR THAT BULLET IN MY BACK DOOR

HER HAIR WAS BLACK AND HER EYES WERE GREEN AND HER SKIN A PORCELEIN WHITE
AS SHE SMILED AT ME FROM ACROSS THE PUB WHERE I STOPPED IN FOR A PINT
SHE SAID HER NAME WAS ROSIE, I SAID OF COURSE IT IS
A FEW PINTS LATER AND A SHOT OF JAMES AND I TRIED TO STEAL A KISS

SHE SAID, LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DEE DIE…DUM

WE FELL INTO THE NIGHT LAUGHING LOUD AND SINGING SONGS
ONE LOOK INTO HER EYES AND I KNEW THAT I WAS HOME
THEN SHE TOOK ME BY THE HAND AND SHE GENTLY KISSED MY CHEEK
IN DUBLIN TOWN IN THE POURIN RAIN SWEET ROSIE SAID TO ME

I KNOW YOU BY YOUR WALK, I KNOW YOU BY YOUR EYES
AND I’VE SEEN THE HUNGRY LOOK IN MY DREAMS A THOUSAND TIMES
SO LET ‘EM CALL US CRAZY FOR DANCIN IN THE RAIN
BUT YOU’D BETTER COME ON WHILE WE’RE STILL YOUNG CAUSE WE MIGHT NOT BE AGAIN

AND WE SANG, LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DUM, LIE DEE DIE DEE DIE DUM
LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DEE DOE…WOAH
LIE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DUM, LIE DEE DIE DEE DIN
HERE’S TO LOVIN’ GIRLS AND FOOLISH MEN AND ONE DRUNKIN NIGHT IN IRELAND

SOME BIG DUDE CAME STROLLIN UP, POKIN FUN AT MY COWBOY HAT
HE SAID YOU LET ROSIE BE YANK OR BE SURE I’LL KNOCK YOU FLAT
THEN HE TOOK MY HAT UP OFF MY HEAD AND PUT IT ON HIS OWN
I CLOCKED THAT DUDE RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES AND HE FELL JUST A LIKE A STONE

TURNS OUT THAT BIG OL DUDE WAS ROSIE’S BROTHER PAUL
AND HE HAD SOME BIG OL FRIENDS WHO JUST HAPPENED TO BE ALONG
WELL I PUT UP A PRETTY GOOD FIGHT BUT THEY PUT ME ON MY EAR
LEFT ME ON THE CURB WHERE SWEET ROSE FOUND ME THERE

SHE SAID, AHH YOU SILLY FOOL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE SUPERMAN?
I SAID COULD YOU LOVE A FOOL, SHE SAID YES I THINK I CAN
THEN SHE KISSED MY BATTERED MUG AND I OFFERED HER MY RING
AND IN DUBLIN TOWN IN THE POURIN RAIN SHE SAID YES TO ME

AND WE SANG, LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DUM, LIE DEE DIE DEE DIE DUM
LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DEE DOE…WOAH
LIE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DUM, LIE DEE DIE DEE DIN
HERE’S TO LOVIN’ GIRLS AND FOOLISH MEN AND ONE DRUNKIN NIGHT IN IRELAND

NOW I LIVE IN COUNTY LEIX (LEASH) AND SWEET ROSIE IS MY WIFE
PAUL IS MY BEST FRIEND, HE’S GOT A HAT NOW JUST LIKE MINE
AND EVERYTIME I GET THE CHANCE, EVERY CHANCE I RAISE A GLASS
TO ROSIE, LOVE, AND IRELAND ANDTHAT BULLET IN MY ASS

AND WE SING, LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DUM, LIE DEE DIE DEE DIE DUM
LIE DEE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DEE DOE…WOAH
LIE DIE DUM, LIE DIE DUM, LIE DEE DIE DEE DIN
HERE’S TO LOVIN’ GIRLS AND FOOLISH MEN AND ONE DRUNKIN NIGHT IN IRELAND

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Radmaker's Friday night.  What a blast!  It's a great little club in a great little town called Tolono.  Hope you can all make it out again this Thursday night when Rad's plays host to David Allan Coe.  He's like a circus comin' at you with all the wheels spinnin.  Not to be missed. 

Dirk recommended a foreign film called "Maria Full of Grace" to me and so I rented it this weekend and watched.  It's a great flick.  I recommend it, but it has subtitles throughout as it is all in spanish.  So don't watch it while you're ironing or playing with the kids cause you have to pay attention.  Anyway, between that movie, another of my favorite movies "True Romance", and a book I'm reading, "God's Middle Finger", I came up with this song over the weekend and I'm extremely excited about it.  I've never really written a spanish flavored song before and this was a lot of fun. One of these days I'll figure out how to record the tunes and post the roughs up here on the blog.  but until then here are the lyrics:  

RUN MARIA

JIMMY WAS A TRUCKER, DOWN IN EL PASO
MAKIN’ GREEN ON SMOKES AND FOLKS UP FROM MEXICO
MARIA WAS A BEAUTIFUL GIRL, A BEAUTIFUL MULE
DOING ANYTHING FOR A TICKET OUT OF SINALOA

LOVE KNOWS NO BORDERS, LOVE KNOWS NO RULES
JIMMY FELL LIKE A STONE WHEN HE SAW MARIA
BUT HER FREEDOM WAS NOT FOR SALE TO A GRINGO FROM OHIO
SO JIMMY KNEW WHAT HE HAD TO DO TO FREE HER

CHORUS:
RUN MARIA, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN GO
I’LL FIND ANOTHER WAY
I’LL FIND YOU AGAIN I KNOW
RUN MARIA, RUN FOR YOUR VERY SOUL
I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU GIRL
RUN MARIA

ONE MOONLESS NIGHT IN JUAREZ JIMMY TOOK MARIA’S HAND
HE TOOK HER TO THE CHAPEL, HE TOOK HER FOR HIS WIFE
THEN HE TOOK HIS GUNS AND WENT LOOKING FOR THE PIMP
NO ONE WOULD EVER AGAIN OWN MARIA

THE DEAL WENT DOWN, THE DEAL WENT BAD, JIMMY GAVE ‘EM ALL THE LEAD HE HAD
WHEN HE CAME BACK OUT TO THE TRUCK HIS SKIN WAS LEAKIN’
HE JAMMED THAT RIG INTO GEAR AND DROVE DOWN TO THE RIO GRANDE
WITH SICARIOS AND FEDERALES RIGHT BEHIND HIM

RUN MARIA, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN GO
I’LL FIND ANOTHER WAY
I’LL FIND YOU AGAIN I KNOW
RUN MARIA, RUN FOR YOUR VERY SOUL
I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU GIRL
RUN MARIA

MARIA REMEMBERS WELL THAT NIGHT DOWN BY THE WATER
AND SOME DAY SHE’LL TELL HER SON WHAT HIS DADDY DID FOR THEM THAT NIGHT
JIMMY GAVE HER ALL THE MONEY HE STOLE, MORE THAN ENOUGH TO SEE THEM THROUGH
KISSED HER LIPS, COCKED HIS GUNS AND RAN BACK INTO THE FIGHT
(SHE CAN STILL HEAR HIM SAYING…)

RUN MARIA, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN GO
I’LL FIND ANOTHER WAY
I’LL FIND YOU AGAIN I KNOW
RUN MARIA, RUN FOR YOUR VERY SOUL
I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU GIRL
RUN MARIA
 

I was listening to an Alan Jackson song the yesterday and was just amazed, again, at how simple, but perfect the lyrics to his songs are.  He's our version of Hank Williams.  He's not doing anything different, wild or crazy like Hank, but he's cutting right to the truth about a feeling, and that's all you can really hope for as a songwriter.  So I wrote this yesterday...for those of you who really know me...you know that I really don't care for computers, cell phones, blah, blah, blah, etc...  I think they are wonderful on one hand, but I also think they have come at a price like all good things do.  And sometimes all I really want to do is chuck the technology out the window of my car at 70 miles per hour:)  This song comes off as more of a rant when you read it, but it's a much happier song if you could hear me sing it.

BACK HOME

I TURNED ON THE TV JUST TO SEE WHAT I'D SEE
ALL PLASTIC AND LIGHTS AND WHITE PEARLY TEETH
THERE WASN'T ANY SMOKE AND THERE WASN'T ANY DIRT
IT WAS SPARKLING AND SHINING AND PERFECT TIL IT HURT
I BEGAN FEELING OLD AND I'M NOT EVEN 40

SO I CHANGED THE CHANNEL, TO TRY AND CATCH SOME NEWS
JUST BOTOXED MOCACHINOS ALL SINGING THE BLUES
THEY WENT ON AND ON ABOUT MADONNA'S DIVORCE
HELL YOU'D NEVER EVEN KNOW THAT WE'RE FIGHTING 2 WARS
WHAT ABOUT OUR KIDS OUT THERE BLEEDIN RED WHITE AND BLUE

SO LEAD ME BACK HOME WHERE I KNOW THE DEAL
WHERE THE MUSIC AND THE FOOD AND THE PEOPLE ARE REAL
LORD NO IT'S NOT PERFECT, NO NOT EVEN CLOSE
BUT THAT'S PERFECT FOR ME, SO LEAD ME BACK HOME

I TURNED OFF THAT TV AND I WALKED OUTSIDE
THERE WAS MY DAUGHTER PLAYING ON THE DRIVE
SHE WAS COVERED IN CHALK FROM HER HEAD TO HER TOES
SAID DADDY COME SEE I DREW MOMMA A ROSE
AND THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD JUST LEFT ME, I FELT SO ALIVE

SO LEAD ME BACK HOME WHERE I KNOW THE DEAL
WHERE THE MUSIC AND THE FOOD AND THE PEOPLE ARE REAL
LORD NO IT'S NOT PERFECT, NO NOT EVEN CLOSE
BUT THAT'S PERFECT FOR ME, SO LEAD ME BACK HOME

BONUS:
SO I WALKED BACK INSIDE AND I LOADED MY GUN
WENT THROUGH THE HOUSE, THOUGHT I'D HAVE ME SOME FUN
I SNATCHED UP THE PHONES, THE TV AND THE DELL
THREW EM IN THE BACKYARD AND I BLEW EM ALL TO HELL
AND LAUGHED MY ASS OFF, THE REVOLUTION'S BEGUN

SO LEAD ME BACK HOME WHERE I KNOW THE DEAL
WHERE FOLKS ARE SCREWED UP BUT ATLEAST THEY'RE ALL REAL
LORD NO IT'S NOT PERFECT, NO NOT EVEN CLOSE
BUT THAT'S PERFECT FOR ME, SO LEAD ME BACK HOME

1/14/09

I slept well last night knowing that I had learned something yesterday.  Not something I'll ever have any practical use for other than impressing Marty Robbins fans and guitar geeks.  I was listening to the radio as I hurried around town when I heard a tune called "Don't Worry" come on, and in the middle of the song there is this great guitar solo.  I freaked out and called WCRC to talk to Bill about the song.  World Famous radio DJ from WCRC, Bill Burry schooled me in the birth of the Fuzz tone then and there.  In case you don't know what fuzz tone is, it's the fuzzy sounding guitar on "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones.  Essentially, it was distortion before distortion officially existed.  Many people, including me, thought that sound was born in England by Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones or by Ray Davies of The Kinks, but as it turns out, the first time fuzz tone was recorded was in Nashville, TN in 1961.  Bill first scolded me for not recognizing the late great Marty Robbins, as I deserved, and then told me how Marty was cutting a record called "Don't Worry" and the guitarists amp "fuzzed out" during the take.  They liked it so much they just kept it on the recording and then went about figuring out how to make the guitar sound like that without blowing the amp up.  Too cool. 

It goes on...What got me to call the radio station in the first place was not the fuzz on the guitar, it was the guitar solo itself.  I recognized the solo, not from Marty Robbins, but from my hero Steve Earle.  Steve used the identical, or nearly identical break in his tune "Hillbilly Highway" off his record Guitar Town.  Back in 2005 I play the same lick on my song "The Last Ones" as a reference to Steve on my album Matt Poss & The Wild Bunch.  I was nervous about lifting the lick outright at first but figured since I did it on purpose and as a sign of respect and admiration that it was probably Okay.  Steve would probably never hear it anyway.  However, after realizing that Steve stole the lick from Marty Robbins in the first place, well now I don't feel a bit bad about it at all. 

AND...just to freak you out...my last album Hinges was recorded at a studio called OMNIsound Studio down on division street (just off Music Row), which used to be the old RCA Victor building...where Marty Robbins recorded...you guessed it..."Don't Worry" back in 1961.  (In my best Paul Harvey voice)  And now you know.....

...wait for it...

The rest of the Story.  bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I hope you can make it to Radmaker's in Tolono this Thursday and Friday nights.  I'll be opening up solo acoustic for a great Trucker band called The Road Hammers.  And then on Friday night I'm bringing my merry band of good ol' fokkers (Rolling Thunder) up with me to burn the joint down:)  

I'll write more after those two gigs.  Hope to see you there!  If not, then I hope to see you back here. 

Matt