Author: jaymathes

There were so many sweet things about my trip this past week that it will take me a couple of weeks to process it all, and say everything that needs saying about it. Working with Jeremy Casella was an awesome experience. Three new recordings – the first installment of several more to come, in anticipation of a new CD – and a few new friends. The trip was well worth it, and I feel a renewed passion for my music, thanks to the sessions and several after hours drinks and meals talking with Jeremy.

First, let’s get to the goods: We still have about three weeks worth of work to do on the songs before they’re completed. We have a bit more tracking to do, and mixing to boot. We recorded “You Coulda Been”, “Not Rainin’”, and “I Remain”.

I’ll start with a little story… Monday, after spending the morning with Megan, celebrating our two-year anniversary, I headed for Nashville. No AC in our 1996 Chevy Lumina V6 3.1 Liter. The drive went fast – both because of how I drove, and because I like driving. I was in Nashville by about 7:30 PM. I quickly unloaded my gear, showered up, and headed to an open mic at the legendary Bluebird Cafe.

Arriving there, I decided I’d grab a bite to eat and scope the place out before bringing in my guitar, etc. Well, I ended up locking my keys in the car!!! I didn’t freak out, though. Who was I going to freak out to? I decided to go inside, eat, and figure it out after I had a little something in my stomach. (The last time I ate was at breakfast with Megan.)

There’s a lot more to the story here, but the chase is that I met a guy my age (a month older), who owned the same car as me, who was originally from Illinois, who had also previously locked his keys in his car and had successfully broken into it. While Aaron, his sister Clara, and I were outside trying to “break in”, other songwriter/performers began filtering out of the club. Each one saw our trouble, proudly flaunted his experiences locking his own keys in his car, and successively breaking into them, and then tried his hand on my vehicle. I met a good deal of songwriters that night that way.

A joke came to me: What’s the best way to meet people in Nashville? Lock your keys in your car. And, How many songwriters does it take to jimmy a car… (I didn’t figure out the answer.)

More stories to come…

JM

This past weekend was totally busy for me! My mom had her 50th birthday party, and I went to two concerts! Two friends of mine are singer-songwriters, and, as a friend does, he checks up on them every once in a while.

Saturday night, Megan and I went to see Lilia Griffin play with her band in a warehouse in Schaumburg. It was for a live album recording. I was totally impressed. She has a natural feel on the guitar (which is hard to come by) and her voice (though she said she was sick) was full, clear, and, on the highs, very crisp. Overall, some of the best female singing I’ve ever heard live.

The second concert was Sunday night at the Beat Kitchen. Julia Klee and her band, Clockwork, played a 45 min. set. Klee’s band rocked out on a few super-solid numbers at the beginning of the set, and closed with a few intimate, no-drums tunes. Guitarist, Andrew, really fed off of Klee. Julia, who plays piano and sings, has written and arranged some really cool vocal lines and harmonies, and reminds me of a catchier Fiona Apple.