I know money is tight for most everyone right now, it certainly is for me. And of course there's always music to buy.
Mike Mattison's "Afterglow" (released March 2020) would be a great place to direct a few bucks. It was reasonable at Amazon at $13.89. I also bought Scrapomatic's "Sidewalk Caesars" ($13.05) but have not spun it yet, it just arrived yesterday. This put me over $25 so got free shipping. Prior to Afterglow and Sidewalk Caesars I had nothing by either Mattison solo or by Scrapomatic.
The best description I can give you of Afterglow is a "70's throwback singer/songwriter" effort. Mattison is QUITE a writer...........let's not forget he penned TTB's "Midnight in Harlem." The genre ranges from Soul to R&B with certainly a tinge of country thrown in at times. I've always loved Mattison's voice ever since I saw Soul Stew Revival at Wanee in 2007. That band was short-lived (two years?) but at that point in time Mattison was featured equally with Susan Tedeschi regarding lead vocal duties. And let me tell you, that was a very, VERY strong show, wish I had audio or video or both. After that I got hip to him again with The Derek Trucks Band's "Already Free" (2009). Mattison vocally dominates that record and it's been one of my go-to records ever since it was released. To me Mattison sounds like a classic Soul belter on Already Free.
At times the melodies on Afterglow are just flat out beautiful. And Mattison is not shy with his emotions, either tragic or joyous. On "Deadbeat" he proclaims, "I'm gonna lose myself/Need someone to hold my hand/I'm taking all the drugs I can". But really that's the only dark tune on the record. If the very country-tinged title cut Afterglow doesn't get you tapping your toes and smiling...........well, maybe YOU'RE the one taking all the drugs you can. All You Can Is Mean It is a particularly lovely love song.
I LOVE this record. Really glad I took the leap to some solo Mike Mattison.
AFTERGLOW
1. Charlie Idaho 4:06
2. Afterglow 3:20
3. Deadbeat 4:20
4. Word's Coming Down 3:05
5. All You Can Is Mean It 3:12
6. Kiss You Where You Live 4:25
7. I Was Wrong 3:38
8. On Pontchartrain 4:25
9. I Really Miss You 5:03
10. Got Something For You 4:42
I was supposed to see Scrapomatic this past spring. I got the CD then, as well as a few others. Highly recommended.
You Can't Fight Love is a great Mike Mattison album too. He does his own version of "Harlem", some tasty guitar from Dave Yoke.
Mike just got in a promo with Paste Studios before everything hit
Always loved Mike's take on Rev Pearly Brown's "I Belong to the Band"
I actually got to animate a music video for Scrapomatic, uh...
[checks date]
...8 years ago! Seems like yesterday.
@porkchopbob: Thanks for all the video! Will get to all of them later this afternoon.
cool!
Porkchop: Watched all the video, great version of Midnight in Harlem and Live @ Paste Studio was great! Thanks............
Glad to hear porkchopbob appreciated Dave Yoke's playing on Midnight in Harlem. My wife and I saw Dave with the STB many times. It was great to see his progression as a player. His time with Dr. John undoubtedly had a tremendous influence as well.
@owencarol I always liked Yoke's playing, but gained new respect when I saw him in Butch's band at Wanee.
Whole Show Audio
This is a long shot, but aren't you from the Philly area? My wife and I relocated to Texas, from the Allentown/Bethlehem area in 1-16-16. If you are, from Philly that is, my guess is we attended many shows together without knowing one another. It's a shame as we obviously have similar tastes in music. Back to Dave, his playing has become excellent over the years. Not only that, but he like so many others, is a humble guy and a pleasure to speak to.
@owencarol Nope, not from Philly. I lived in NYC for years so we might have crossed paths at the Beacon.
Appreciating the love for Mattison and Dave Yoke.
Dave is one of my favorite guitarists. He's the type talent that you can't believe hasn't hit it bigger despite being a part of pretty big acts....Susan Tedeschi Band, Dr. John, Oteil's solo album, Butch & Friends, Scrapomatic & a great lineup of "Oteil & Friends" that played Wanee about 5 years ago. I wish he had been chosen to be a part of "Les Bres" or the more recent "Oteil & Friends" gigs.
I see Dave in Atlanta regularly (non-Covid times). One really cool show as a side project called New Stew. They had Roosevelt Collier in the band at some shows and I saw one without him. So....Yoke got all the tasty guitar parts. Corey Glover was the singer and the did Bill Withers' Live at Carnegie Hall and it was tremendous.
Hoping to see Mike & Dave in Scrapomatic in 2021.
Thanks for the reminder on the most recent Mike CD. He's a heck of a talent and songwriter. I've been on the Mattison bandwagon since he joined dTb 18 years ago.
Here is one of my favorite Scrapomatic songs, Party's Over, with some nice soloing from Dave. Written after leaving a Braves game at Turner field and a crew parked near them was tailgating afterward and overserved:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RwB7WChnjrc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
@hotlantatim you don't need the embed code, just the url
