New Album Behind the Music Blog #3: Daddy Was A Train

One of the songs I'm most excited to show you is a an Americana tune called "Daddy Was A Train".  I call it Americana because I really have no other description that fits.  It's kinda bluesy, kinda bluegrassy, kinda southern rocky, and kinda hard to describe is what it is.  This song is all about the beat and vibe, and really has nothing to do with the story.  I stole the "hoo, hoo"s from the Stone's "Sympathy For The Devil", but the rest of it's really like old CCR or Black Crowes.  I'm not saying it's that good, I'm just saying if you want to pin my influences down, then there you go. 

I wrote this song after my Dad passed away.  I really like the title.  My daddy was a train just sounded cool to me.  My dad was tough and wild at times, make no mistake, but It really reminds me of what people say about my Dad's dad.  He was a great business man in our community, but he was also a wild man who run his car off the road at 120mph and live to tell about it.  And that was when he was in his 40's.  He smoked 4 packs of unfiltered Camels a day, ate 12 eggs and a loaf of bread for breakfast, got up every night at 3 (if he even went to bed) and had a cig and cup of coffee, and generally blazed his way through life until he dropped dead with his boots on at the age of 71.  Not too bad considering.  But the title of the song is the only thing they have in common.  My grandpa was not a drifter, nor was my father.  It's just a song.  I don't write too many of these. 

DADDY WAS A TRAIN

FEEL THAT MOON A RISIN'
JUST LIKE THE BLOOD WITHIN MY VEINS
NO MORE COMPROMISING
IT'S TIME TO SHAKE THESE RUSTY CHAINS
WHEN I LEAVE HERE IN THE MORNING
GIRL YOU AIN'T THE ONE TO BLAME

WHEN I WAS JUST A BABY
MY MAMA TOLD ME SON
DON'T YOU TAKE TO RAMBLIN'
JUST LIKE YOUR DEAR OLD DADDY DONE
LORD HOW SHE CRIED WHEN SHE LOOKED IN MY EYES
AND SAW THAT HIGHWAY RUN

HOO, HOO, THIS BLOOD'S TOO WILD TO TAME
HOO, HOO, TO TRY IS ALL IN VEIN
HOO, HOO, IT AIN'T EVER GONNA CHANGE
AIN'T NOBODY TOLD YOU, MY DADDY WAS A TRAIN

HEART LIKE A HAMMER
STEADY AND STRONG
ONE FIST OF KING (LORD, LORD)
THE OTHER FIST OF KONG
THE ONLY THING HE LEFT ME
THIS RAMBLIN FEVER IN MY BONES

RUN WITH THE WIND SON
LET IT TAKE YOU WHERE IT WILL
THAT'S THE LAST THING THAT MY DADDY TOLD ME
AND HIS WORDS ARE WITH ME STILL
WHEN I HEAR THAT LONESOME WHISTLE BLOWIN'
LORD IT STILL GIVES ME THE CHILLS

New Album Behind the Lyrics Blog #2: The Man Who Went Up The Mountain

This next tune was started years ago, back in 2006 or 2007, but it wasn't finished until 2009.  I started out writing it one day while I was watching that old Hank Jr. biopic on CMT that was made back in the 80's.  I am continually fascinated how he was hassled and abused with his father's legacy until he fell 600 ft. off a mountain.  The fall damn near killed him and tore his face clean off.  Before the fall he was this clean cut, clean shaven guy in rhinestone suits, just dying under the weight of his father's memory.  After the fall he was this bearded, long haired, hippie/mountain man wearing pearl snap shirts and jamming on blues and southern rock.  He totally changed and said kiss my ass to anyone who didn't like it.  It was like he didn't need to answer to anyone anymore.  He had died and come back and the only one he was playing for was himself.  He got booed off stage, but he didn't back down.  The folks who didn't like it left and were replaced by those who did.  He chipped away at it song by song, tour by tour.  So, as the song says, "The man who went up the mountain, ain't the man who came back down."

That got me the chorus and some verse lyrics, but nothing was finished.  It wasn't finished until I went over to Afghanistan and played for the troops over there.  We saw first hand how they lived and what they had to deal with over there.  For the most part they were 18 and 19 year old kids and they were being asked to be responsible for peoples lives under the harshest of conditions.  I had friends my age over there who'd been in the military for years and they were telling me about the pace of operations and how much they push themselves.  I was just astounded and endlessly impressed with these people.  How could you NOT be changed by an experience like that.  So, then I saw this commercial for the Marines on the flight home and it was this young man climbing a mountain and by the time he had reached the top he was a Marine.  I thought that fit perfectly into my song and so I finished it then and there.  It took me all of 10 minutes.

The word I kept going back to, the keystone, was "gauntlet".  I heard it used several times while I was over there describing patrol routes and transportation routes.  So once I had that line "my best friends called me crazy, but nothing else could save me.  And after running through that gauntlet, Lord, there ain't too much left to phase me."  I was off to the races.  That was the crux of the whole story.  How could you go through being blown up and watching your friends being blown up for a solid year and not be changed?  I've had week long vacations that completely changed my life (the USO tour point of fact), so I have a really hard time imagining a whole year.  For that matter, how could you go through bootcamp without being changed.  It would be impossible.  Now, for the record, this isn't necessarily a negative song.  I think because of the music, most folks assume it's a heavy song, and in many ways it is.  But, I'm not saying that the individual has been changed in a negative or positive way.  (Most likely it's both.)  All I'm saying is that they have changed and their home is not going to be the same place that it was for them as they return.  Their eyes have changed.   

So what started out about Hank Jr. ended up being about our military men and women.  I suppose it could still work for Hank, but every night we play it we raise a glass for the troops. 

The Man Who Went Up The Mountain:

I COME A ROLLIN, BACK THROUGH MY HOMETOWN

PAST THE REDBRICK CHURCH THAT SAVED MY SOUL

AND THE JOINTS THAT BURNED IT DOWN

BUT THERE’S GHOSTS ON THE HIGHWAY NOW

TO WELCOME ME BACK HOME

THE OLD VETS SAY YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK

THE WORDS CUT ME TO THE BONE

CAUSE NOW I SEE, YEAH NOW I UNDERSTAND

LORD I BEEN UP THAT MOUNTAIN

AND NOW I’M BACK AGAIN

I BEAR THE WEIGHT, OF A TRUTH THAT I HAVE FOUND

THE MAN WHO WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN

AIN’T THE MAN WHO CAME BACK DOWN

MY BEST FRIEND CALLED ME CRAZY

BUT NOTHIN ELSE COULD SAVE ME

AND AFTER RUNNING THROUGH THAT GAUNTLET LORD

THERE AIN’T TOO MUCH LEFT TO PHASE ME

THEY DON’T KNOW THE SACRIFICES

ALL THEY SEE ARE VICES

BUT IF THAT’S ALL YOU GOT THEN HOLD YOUR TONGUE SON

CAUSE I KNOW WHAT YOUR ADVICE IS

SO WE KEEP A RAMBLIN, YEAH LIVING LIKE A COUNTRY SONG

OH WE HIT, GET WITH IT, THEN WE CHASE IT ALL NIGHT LONG

THERE’S A HUNGER THAT DRIVES YOU ON

IT TAKES THE MEASURE OF A MAN

THOSE WHO KNOW CAN’T EXPLAIN

AND THOSE WHO DON’T WON’T UNDERSTAND

You can listen to the full version of the song at http://www.mattposs.com/.  Look to the bottom of the page for the Juke Box.  It's song #3.  Let me know what you think...thanks!

Yearly Blog! (just kidding) But seriously, a new blog!

Well, it's been a year since my last blog, so I figure it's about time to write another one.  hoho.  My new years resolution was to write an entry at least once a week.  I didn't even make once a month, or quarter!  Oh well...I guess I didn't have much to say, and as the great Willie Nelson sings in "Shotgun Willie" - You can't make a record if you ain't got nothin to say.  Well, I have shitloads to say now, so we'll see what happens. 

The biggest news I have to share as of right now is that we have a new album coming out this fall!  I've been in Nashville off and on over the past year recording and I'm all but finished.  We've recorded about 16 songs, but only 11 or so will make the final cut.  The release date looks to be towards the end of November (just in time for Christmas!)  Does anyone listen to albums anymore anyway?  So, for the next few weeks I'll be highlighting a specific song and it's lyrics, and talk about the story behind the lyrics. 

So let's jump right in with what could be the lead off tune we will push to radio, Pickup Truck.  I know if you're a fan then it seems like that song has been around forever, but it's really only a year old, and it was one of the first songs from the new batch I decided to record.  It's one of the poppiest songs I've ever written, and certainly one of the most radio friendly.  More importantly, it took me out of my comfort zone.  By that I mean that I'm naturally a story song writer.  I really excel at writing novels, or sections of novels, scrunched down into a 3 to 4 minute tune.  Pickup Truck is just a song with a moral about getting back to a simpler way of life.  There is no plot line, just a statement.  That might sound simple but it was really hard for me. 

Anyway, I've always been behind the times technologically speaking.  If it weren't for my job and family I wouldn't own a cell phone.  I'm the guy who scoffed at the internet the first time I saw it.  I think I said something like "yeah, like that'll last...now where'd I set my beer."  Nowadays I make my bread and butter here on the internets, but at least you get the picture of where I'm coming from. 

In coming up with background material for fleshing out the song I simply looked around me.  Money is what couples I know seem to fight about the most, us included.  I was so tired of fighting about money, hearing about money or the lack thereof, how bad the real estate market is, blah blah blah.  I just want to get into my old truck and drive off into the sunset and not think about it for a good little while.  That's the premise and that's all I say in the song.  The underlying message is "let's not forget about what got us here in the first place...love."  Back when we were first starting out we lived in a 600 sq ft. house and didn't have a pot to piss in, but we had fun and we were in love, and that's all we really needed...most of the time:)  That's it. 

The original draft includes a 3rd verse that I chose not to record, but I left it in the lyrics here so you can read it.  It's just a fun little tune about getting back to the basics.  Whats more basic than a pickup truck, a bottle of sweet lucy and your baby riding shotgun? 

Once you've read the lyrics please go to http://www.mattposs.com/ and click play on the jukebox down at the bottom of each screen and listen to Pickup Truck for yourself.  Let me know what you think! 

So here it is:  Pickup Truck

Chorus:

Roll on with me now baby

Roll on tonight

I wanna go do something with you mama now

Even if’n it ain’t right

I wanna hear you call my old nickname

Let’s ride until we run outta luck

I wanna take a ride with you tonight

Oh baby in my pickup truck

V1:

There’s hard times no matter where you go

Don’t wanna fight about money anymore

All i need is you by my side

You sweet lovin under the moonlight

No gps just a radio

No cell phone, leave that at home

Just you and me and sweet lucy makes three

Getting lost in love out in the boondocks

(Chorus:)

V2:

The future's just a mystery

The Past is gone so let it be

All we got is tonight honey

Yeah but that's enough

It’s been so long since we just took time

To kick back, relax and let it all unwind

So hop on in, we’ll leave our troubles behind

And get back to the basics of love…

Bonus V3:

No bailout for the workin man

So i came up with my own damn plan

I stimulate you, you stimulate me

We’ll be doing just fine baby wait and see

Howdy All,

Matt here. I'm trying out my new blog so I don't have a lot to say. I'm most excited to announce that I do have a ton of new music coming your way. It will be a while yet before we can get back into the studio, but I plan on bringing you the rough vocal/guitar mixes to see what you think. My songwriting has gone schizoid since the release of Hinges. Of course, with the wild and whooly world we live in how can you blame me? You can break down my songwriting into 5 distinct projects.

The first project will be a set of songs much in the same introspective vein as "Pickup Truck" and "Through Your Eyes". In this crazy economy I find myself looking not out at the world at large, but at my immediate surroundings, trying to find the value in what we already have. So you can expect to hear a couple of road-tripping songs, a couple of love songs (unusual for me, I think), a country stomp or two and a couple of hillbilly tunes as well. Really nothing too different from my last 3 albums. Although there are a couple of surprise cover tunes on there as well. Throughout, I manage to stay strangely optimistic. I figure life goes on whether we can pay our bills or not, so why dwell on it. We're here for the day, we might as well enjoy it.


I save the darkness for the second project, a Mexican themed set of songs that will make up more or less a concept album. There are mariachi songs, cowboy songs, and some surf-psychobilly songs. Lots of people die, get robbed, get their hearts broke, and have to shoot their way out of hard times. I know this sounds strange, but I think it will make more sense once you hear it. I, as most of you know, have a long standing love affair going with Mexico, and despite the drug troubles, immigration troubles, and whatnot, it’s still a great place where the people are very nice, accepting, tough, fun-loving, hard working, extremely musical, and just trying to make their way through a 24/7 crazy ass world. I don’t know what else to say about it except that it’s the most Steve Earle-esque album I’ve ever come up with.

The third project is a tribute to the troops. I’ve written a handful of tunes and re-written some others that have been revamped to fit todays times. I’m very excited about this one as the proceeds will go to benefit the Wounded Warrior Foundation.

The fourth project is a collection of Bluegrass tunes and a tribute album to my Dad. Many of the songs on this album will be songs he wrote but never recorded, and some songs that we wrote together. It will be an all acoustic bluegrass album. Dierks can kiss my ass...I stole this idea from Steve Earle way before he had his "Up On The Ridge" released. I swear he reads my mail. Maybe I could get Tenacious Dierks to come sing on the project. Hey Kristin...hook me up:)

The fifth album will be a “covers” project of classic country songs from the Bill Burry All Request Hour. I sat down with Bill not too long ago and had him list his favorite 10 country songs. He listed them for me, and I intend to record them here and release the results. This project’s proceeds will go to benefit the TREC program here in Effingham County.

So look for the demos to start showing up very soon. Please let me know what you think of the new tunes. I would rather not put a turd out there if I can avoid it and you guys can help me with that process.

I guess you may know this already, but I didn’t win the Zac Brown Sailing Southern Ground Cruise Contest. It’s an honor just to have made it to the finals, but…I really would have loved to win that mo-fo. :)

All for now…til next time…don’t let the bastards get you down!

Poss


Reading:
1. The Future of Music


Listening:
1. Dierks Bentley – Up On The Ridge
2. Tom Russel – Tonight We Ride
3. Tom Petty – Mojo


Watching:
1. Kick-Ass – (great)
2. The Losers – (ok)
3. Gross Point Blank – (classic)
4. The Future Is Unwritten, The Joe Strummer Story - (awesome)